Rumors about a pickup from Honda’s luxury division have been circulating around for years but somehow, Honda never decided to make such a move. These days, we can also find rumors that speculate about such a vehicle and what’s important to know is that the launch of the Acura Pickup Truck wouldn’t bring any significant novelty in the automotive industry. It wouldn’t be the first premium pickup, as such vehicles were offered by carmakers like Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes etc.
The reason why we believe that there is still a chance for an Acura Pickup Truck is that the demand for pickups is getting bigger every year. A new sub-segment has been formed, a segment of light unibody pickups. The new Hyundai Santa Cruz is here, as well as the new Ford Maverick. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see something similar but with a premium badge. At this point, the officials are still quiet. On the other hand, many talk about the Acura pickup from China, which isn’t made by the Japanese manufacturer, but looks very similar.
What’s About Acura Pickup From China?
The Chinese manufacturer called Gold Cup has launched a new pickup for the domestic market. What’s interesting about it isn’t its design, nor its capabilities. The catch is in the styling and that’s why we like to call it an Acura from China. If you look at the truck’s front end, you can see a shield-like grille design that looks very similar to the ones that characterized the previous generations of Acura models.
Other than the look, this pickup doesn’t have many things in common with Acura models. The mechanical aspect is completely different. The vehicle features a small 1.5-liter turbo-four engine, which puts out around 152 horsepower and comes in pair with a manual transmission. That definitely isn’t something we would expect from Acura.
Acura Pickup Truck Design
If we presume that Honda’s luxury brand is about to launch a pickup truck, the new model would probably feature a unibody layout. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is Honda Ridgeline and it’s not hard to conclude that the Acura Pickup Truck would be closely related to this model. The Ridgeline competes in the segment of mid-size pickup trucks and it’s the only model in this segment that rides on a unibody platform.
With such a design, it definitely can’t compare with rivals in terms of towing capacity but on the other hand, it is far superior in terms of comfort and ride quality. We believe that sounds perfectly fine for a potential buyer of an Acura Pickup Truck. While the Ridgeline comes standard with front-wheel drive and offers AWD as an option, the Acura’s version would probably come standard with the company’s well-known SH-AWD (Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive) system.
Exterior and Interior
When it comes to the exterior design, we presume that the Acura Pickup Truck would feature similar proportions as the Ridgeline. However, we would expect to see a completely different styling, based on Acura’s latest design language. Of course, most of the styling would be shared with the new MDX crossover. The crew cab layout would be the only one on the offer. Also, we would expect to see a little bit finer suspension setup.
On the inside, we would expect to see a premium cabin, wrapped out with nice materials. Most likely, the dashboard would come in the same fashion as the new MDX. We will see the same large infotainment screen and other goodies. As we already mentioned, the Acura Pickup Truck would come in a crew cab layout. We count on two spacious rows of seats that accommodate adults with ease.
Acura Pickup Truck Engine
When it comes to the powertrain, we presume that the Acura Pickup Truck would bring no surprises. In other words, it would come with the well-known 3.5-liter V6 engine under the hood. It features a max output of around 290 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque. The pickup would probably come equipped with the new 10-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive, as we already mentioned.
Such a setup would be enough to provide respectable performances. The new Acura Pickup Truck would be quick and powerful enough to satisfy most drivers. Also, the max towing capacity would probably go around 5.000 pounds.
When it comes to fuel economy, we would expect something like 20 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.
Acura Pickup Truck Release Date and Price
At this point, the Acura Pickup Truck is nothing than a rumor. We believe that the actual chances to see such a vehicle on the road are minimal and that the Japanese manufacturer probably doesn’t have time and resources to bother with such a project. However, if it ever arrives, we presume that the starting price would go somewhere around 45.000 dollars.