Generally speaking, we don’t tend to get too excited about concept vehicles. That’s the realm of copper-bodied Peugeots and Lamborghinis that heal themselves, and it’s rarely the place to find something that’s fully suited for the real world just as it is.
With that said, the tides might be turning with the Honda Rugged Open Air Concept. We first saw this UTV at the 2018 SEMA Show and haven’t been able to get it out of our minds since. The Japanese company currently isn’t planning to produce this Ridgeline-based UTV, but we can’t help but hope they change their minds one day.
The fact that we’re still thinking about it four years later should be testament enough. Build it, Honda!
We recently had an office-wide meeting to discuss how awesome this thing is, because that’s the sort of thing we do.
These are our thoughts.
Honda Rugged Open Air Concept: Size and Shape
The first thing that must be addressed about this Honda UTV is the size. Sure, it’s not the F-150 Raptor, but it’s much larger than a typical UTV. In fact, it measures about 70 percent larger and 30 percent wider than a regular Honda UTV.
The massive size further magnifies the aggressive styling. It’s almost as if the Rugged Open Air is taunting riders to get on the trail while taunting other UTVs to get out of its way.
Construction
What’s special about this utility vehicle is the construction and engineering. If you are thinking it looks about the size of a truck, you are on to something.
Honda special ordered a white Ridgeline body from the Alabama factory, complete with front engine room, bed, and tailgate structure plus the full floor.
Then, the engineers lifted the suspension two inches and widened the track with additional two-inch spaces at all corners. They equipped the side-by-side with a tube frame reminiscent of a racecar instead of fitting sheet metal around the various compartments.
Honda then took some aspects of the Pioneer 1000 and added them to the mix. Keen viewers will spot Pioneer headlights, taillights, steering wheel, door nets and doors on this vehicle. From there, the engineers custom-made the rear bodywork, hand-constructed the skid plates, 3D-printed the nose and sprayed extra-durable paint on the body.
Dual RAM Mounts look prominent in the Honda Rugged Open Air Concept | Honda
Inside the Rugged Open Air Concept, you will find the familiar dash of a Ridgeline covered in weather-resistant paint. The shifter is mounted on the dash and utilizes a handle from an Odyssey minivan.
The hodgepodge of parts continues elsewhere inside, adding components from the Civic Type R which are specially upholstered to be weather and grit resistant.
You will notice this Honda is outfitted with 18-inch Fuel Vapor wheels and 33-inch Dick Cepek tires. This allows the UTV to achieve a ground clearance of 14.1 inches. The company claims departure and breakover angles of 34, 26.5 and 27 degrees. It also weighs in at nearly 300 pounds lighter than a standard Honda Ridgeline.
Don’t Call it a Ridgeline
In total, converting a bone-stock Ridgeline into the Honda Rugged Open Air Concept took more than two months, countless hours, and a ton of money. A total of 61 people were involved in the construction and engineering of this concept, and all of those people proudly display their signature on the back.
The build team proudly signed the back | Honda
Driving the Honda Rugged Open Air Concept
Unlike many concept vehicles, this Honda UTV was allowed to be tested by several media sites. What we learned from this experience is that the ROA’s off-road ability is quite impressive.
It’s equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 engine; unsurprisingly, it’s the same one found in a Ridgeline. It pumps out a stout 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque that’s routed through a six-speed automatic transmission pushing power to all four wheels. In total, the ROA side-by-side weighs about 4,000 pounds. That’s only a few hundred pounds shy of a Ridgeline.
What drivers found was that it didn’t matter what type of terrain this vehicle went on, the results were the same. No one left a course feeling beaten up or tossed about. The Rugged Open Air continued to handle with neutral character even late into the day.
While many concepts also are limited in speed, this vehicle went way over 60 MPH on straightaways. On top of that, steering proved to be quick and accurate while the brake pedal is well-modulated and easy to find - just like in a Ridgeline.
The one thing media wasn’t allowed to test out was jumping. That’s a shame considering the clearance and ability this baby packs. Maybe, if it ever comes to production, we will have the chance to see how it performs over jumps.
Hopefully.
What is ROAV Mode?
One thing in particular really stood out to us.
Inside the Honda Rugged Open Air Concept, there is a large, red button that states, “ROAV Mode.” It’s just left of the steering wheel and its function proves to be quite exhilarating.
It causes the vehicle to feel like it’s actually rear-wheel drive, leading to thrilling drifts and skiddy powerslides. When you think about how this concept was built on a front and all-wheel drive platform, not to mention its immense weight for an off-roader, it’s pretty impressive what it’s capable of in ROAV mode.
The larger wheelbase combined with this feature gives more forgiveness and responsiveness than most other UTVs in a similar circumstance, or dune buggies for that matter.
That brings us to a question: what is this thing, really?
A Production Model Would Change Everything
Straight out of the gate, this Open Air Vehicle doesn’t feel like a concept model at all. Or a UTV, or a buggy. Maybe it’s because all the production parts inside lend to a feeling of quality. Yet it also doesn’t come off like a highly-modified truck or Baja rig; that’s because the extreme engineering was done so delicately and precisely.
If Honda were to make this a production vehicle (which we hope they do), it wouldn’t take a lot more work. Especially since this would presumably be classed as a UTV, meaning it wouldn’t have to pass federal safety or emissions standards in the United States or Canada.
Once the Rugged Open Air Vehicle hit the market, it would be official that Honda would have the best and most badass UTV on the market. And given Honda’s global presence in motorsport, that sounds like a win-win to us.
Even if we never get our hands on the Rugged Open Air again, would it be too much to ask to score the ROAV mode on the new Honda Ridgeline? Could you imagine the fun that would lead to? We wouldn’t even be opposed to seeing the ROAV mode in the Pilot or Passport. Anything with four wheels will definitely benefit from this extreme system, and with trucks like the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro, an aggressive Honda Ridgeline would fit right in.
Think the unibody and fixed bed would hold up to abuse? Let us know in the comments, and check out more photos and an official video of the Honda Rugged Open Air Vehicle at the Honda Media Newsroom.
Would you buy the Honda Rugged Open Air UTV?
If we were lucky enough to see the Honda Rugged Open Air enter production, would you buy it? Let us know in the comments and tell us what you like the most about this UTV. We are interested to hear how you would use it.
Images from Honda Media Newsroom
About the Author
Brian Jones is an ASE Certified Master Tech that lives outside of Dallas, TX with his wife and children. He has a passion for old muscle cars, big pickup trucks and anything motorsport related. In his spare time, he does a lot of traveling and writing for dealerships across the country through CarBlogWriters.com.