Like any pickup truck on the market today, the 2006 Honda Ridgeline has a fair amount of hard plastic throughout the interior. The good news is that it’s not terribly glossy, but the bad news is that there are squeaks and creaks on rough pavement. To offset this, the Ridgeline benefits from high-quality touches such as switchgear that looks and feels great, operating with the well-damped precision of a luxury sedan. The standard all-weather floor mats are substantial and mean business, and the woven mesh headliner wouldn’t look out of place inside an Audi.

As for build quality, our California test vehicle was an early-build production unit with some hard miles on it, and it was not up to Honda standards. Our Chicago test vehicle was much improved, but still held a few rattles and squeaks. The truck we drove in L.A. suffered a squeaky dash, misaligned airbag covers in front, right A-pillar trim that had an obvious gap between it and the dash, inconsistent glove box door gaps, warped lower left dash plastic, and slightly crooked navigation system installation. Outside we found a front fascia that would embarrass General Motors in terms of fit, GM-sized tailgate gaps, bad rubber seal fits on the driver’s door, and cheap plastic bumper “pads” that could be clipped in and out with our bare hands. If not for a follow-up drive in a different Ridgeline, we’d have trouble asserting confidence in what you’ll find on a dealer lot today, but the truck we had in Chicago was screwed together with much more care.