3rd Gen Tacoma vs 2017 Ridgeline OffRoad video!

~75% of the utility of a traditional body-on-frame midsize pickup (in terms of towing, actually 100%+ for payload), with ~10% better fuel economy, better handling on snow/ice, and vastly better ride quality. If pickup consumers made their buying decisions rationally, many would see the Ridgeline as a compelling tradeoff vs. a Taco/Colorado/etc. Unfortunately for Honda, truck buyers aren't known for being rational (as evidenced by all the truck owners I know with huge lifts/tires that never venture off pavement).

I think Honda will meet their objective, which is to convince a decent segment of crossover buyers that they'd rather have a small bed and some fun tailgating goodies (cooler, bed speakers, etc) than a 3rd row that is only suitable for children. I'd consider one myself, except Honda isn't offering a manual transmission. My options if I want something with a stick that can comfortably tow my 3500# gross utility trailer are pretty limited: Taco, Frontier, Wrangler, used Xterra, used FJ, used Cayenne 6MT (total unicorn)...that's about it (not considering Ram Cummins with the 6MT; total overkill).

 

Very well said.

 

Ridgeline has some nice features, the interior mostly. AC and heat feed through the center console to the rear seats, that's a very nice feature. Rear underseat storage, nice feature, flat floor, nice feature. Foldown center armrest rear seats. That's a very user-friendly rear cabin. Power rear slider.

It's a truck because you can load a refrigerator upright in the bed, or saplings, anything over four foot tall.

8 inches stock ground clearance and little hope of aftermarketing more clearance isn't exciting. 2016 Colorado has 8.4 inches stock, Tacoma 9.3 inches. If the Ridgeline could fit higher profile tires in to get the ground clearance up some that would be nice, AWD is much better than open diff 4WD with ABS-activated LSD.

 

.
My 2013 Ridgeline was AWD (Honda called it 4WD) ... and it had an electrically engaged rear locking differential too.

It was great in high speed rain or snow (rear diff not locked).

It reminded me of my old Subaru ... but Honda added a rear locker.

The Ridgeline is no Tacoma ... ... but is good for a lot of other things ... depending on what you need and/or want.
.

 

Did anyone notice the shakiness in their voices in the ridgeline? Seems like a rougher ride vs the tacoma plus their body displacement in the ridgeline seating had them flailing all over the place

 

Ridgeline would be fine for folks that are loading ATV's, dirt bikes to get to the trailhead, and using it as a commuter soccer mom vehicle. And I can think of about 15 times people have asked me if I can pick up a used refrigerator for them since it's a stupid idea to load a refrigerator horizontally into an SUV.

Seems like a good multipurpose vehicle, eight inches ground clearance isn't exciting. But class leading Tacoma has 1.3 inches more stock clearance. It's not like the Tacoma is a 90's Land Cruiser with 12 inches stock ground clearance.

It can only clear 8 inches of rock, but the Colorado can only clear 8.4 and the Tacoma 9.3

 

I liked how the Ridgeline handled the washboards and handled on the highspeed turn. You're not fighting to keep the rear end under control and you don't have the ABS kicking in to limit momentum.

 

yet 70% of sales go to the Tacoma and that will continue. Very few people will buy the Ridgeline due to its price and because Honda doesn't make trucks.

Honda Pilot

Honda Pilot

2016 Tacoma has 10 inches minimum ground clearance

 

It is exactly a Pilot front end with a bed on the back

 

It doesn't have a manual, bye.

 

9.3, but still class leading. Same as F150, I think Dodge has a little higher in one version. 9.3 is one of the top numbers in all classes, even the newest Land Cruiser is only 9.1 inches (how the mighty has fallen, 1995 Land Cruiser was 10.8 inches).

Jeep Wrangler 10 inches, Jeep Cherokee 8.7 inches.

I guess safety concerns for rollover and emergency maneuvers have dropped ground clearance across the board. The newer versions of the Wrangler is as wide as the Tacoma to get rid of the 'death wobble' with the high center of gravity.

I think the international midsize pickups have less ground clearance than the Tacoma. Hilux, Ranger, Nissan are all around 8.4 inches I believe.

 

I wasn't speaking to the frame, I was referring to the look. From the front and side, it really looks like a sedan with a cargo bed. Much more sedan than SUV.

 

I'd give this serious consideration if it looked for manly /aggressive.

 

A baja with a 5 speed manual would have dusted both trucks on that course, so I don't know how much I gained from that video. The honda doesn't come in manual, so my decision was made for me anyway.

I bought an off road TRD. Locking rear diff was not an extra cost. And therein lies an advantage Toyota has over Honda, Toyota makes a trim that is more road pretty with a scoop(lite) and matched fenders and no locking diff for those that don't want those things, Honda gives you no choices. Perhaps I am wrong about it being a marketing advantage for Toyota, but I like making my own choices, and would rather do business with a company that gives me more choices.

Reading between the lines of the Honda rep, they have an all wheel drive system for dummies, and they won't tell me how it works. They should have changed the name from Ridgeline to City Trucklite. I can see it now, the Honda Ridgeline Super Bowl ad, with a dozen eggs placed in the bed of both trucks for a grocery run, with the proud Ridgeline owner returning to his loft with zero eggs broken, and the Tacoma owner hosing out the bed of his truck in front of his mobile home.

 

Sounds like that Tacoma owner has his damn priorities straight.

 

Well I wouldn't say it is exactly a pilot. There are several parts that are different, but yes it does have a pilot front end with a bed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNAsXWnFtic

If you start the video at 8:15 and watch until about 12:30, you will see there are several parts that are changed. According to one of the guys they changed 50 percent of the components for the chassis to handle truck like loads.

 

Does the 2016 Off Road Tacoma feature ATRAC anymore? Didn't see it on Toyota's website.