Just saw the first Ridgeline

Well at least Ridgeline owners don't have to worry about rusted out frames 10 years from now.That is a MAJOR!! issue with the Tacoma

 

You will find that most members on here are real sensitive when it comes to their Taco. They despise any competition, just mention the words GM twins and see what happens. If one minor thing goes wrong with their truck its all ways the same response"I paid nearly 40, 000 dollars I expect better than this". Well guess what guys, your Tacoma is not the most expensive vehicle on the market, in fact it falls right in the median range. If you mention something is better than the Tacoma they jump all over you and tell you get lost. Well, @spylake, are you a member of ridgelineownersclub? I may see you on there, because I am going this weekend to look at the RTS and decide if I want that one or the Sport because after almost a year of looking at the Tacoma and then driving the RL, I prefer comfort and the RL definitely wins that category.

 

It looks like a toy truck/car I would be afraid to take it off-road fearing that the thing will fall apart

 

Man that thing is ugly.... Here it is again in my news feed

 

There's a few areas where the Ridgeline outshines the Taco. Road comfort/smoothness is one. I test drove a new Ridgeline last week and was impressed with the car-like handling. Pulled into the dealership on the way back from getting two tons of landscape rock loaded my trailer. Didn't have the time, but I wanted to unhook my Taco and tow the load with the Ridgeline. I've never owned an AWD vehicle before, always had 4X4 in my trucks. My biggest concern with the new Ridgeline is the off-road capabilities. Tacos cannot be beat in this area, and that is important to me. I don't do a ton of 4X4 in my Taco, but when there's 12" of snow on a shitty road/trail in upper WI, I need to get around. The Ridgeline has not been tested (that I am aware of) in this arena yet. This winter we'll see some reviews of how it performs off-road. Honda has even admitted this fact in its press releases. If you have time, look at the below video of the Taco vs Ridge at their recent press event. No REAL off-road testing going on here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3hWF-QqzNM

 

This.

My wife's 2015 Pilot is amazing in full Touring kit. The RL appears to have followed that route for a specific buyer; in fact I was waiting to see what Honda would do after driving the Pilot. Nothing wrong with the target market they are aiming for and Honda will get it right.

Funny thing is: Wife's Pilot is fully loaded, DVD, leather, seating for 8 real people, 3 zone air, yada yada...my kids (3 small boys) still want to go to school in my 04 TRD Wife cant figure it out.

 

The grown man playing pokemon want to talk about the RL being ugly.

 

I don't play that game lol, South hills honda posted that on their Facebook page and all I did was screenshot it. I've stopped playing Pokémon when I was about 10 lol

 

Smail honda sorry lol

 

My issue is that it looks like a mix between a truck and car. A minivan with a truck bed...almost like they tried to recreate a Chevy El Camino and failed miserably. If I gotta look at my car every day for 8-10 years, I want to like what I'm looking at.

 

I am a member there but can't remember the last time I visited.

 

Sir you have very smart boys. That is a blessing

 

People buy cars/trucks because they like the looks/feel/drivability/make/quality of the product. Don't know anybody who buys a vehicle because they think it's a POS. Sure, some people buy what they can afford due to financial situation, get it, but not someone handing over 40K.

I say if the vehicle fits you, great!! If it doesn't, keep looking. Not being disrespectful daddy-o, agreeing with you.

No need to bash the Ridgeline, looks like a solid performer for those who want what it has to offer. Comfort being one of them, at least in looks, haven't been in one myself.

 

I think I already said if you need certain attributes buy a different truck. Mine has gone everywhere I've asked it and has never stranded me; including some serious terrain in the Smokies and elsewhere. Even so I have no illusions that other brands can handle even rougher terrain. A lot of people need a vehicle that can carry a good load (Ridge beats the Taco here) and at other times take you camping or driving the kids to school. I can borrow or rent a truck for the two times in the past 10 years I needed more capability. How stupid would I be if I chose to drive those beasts daily for 10 years just so I was ready to handle those two trips?

Can you not see that your argument is equivalent to an F150 or Titan owner saying a Tacoma is a toy and sissy truck that only a woman would drive because his is bigger and badder. Tacoma owners bought it because they thought it best fit their needs.

Ridgeline owners are no different and we are endlessly amused by that defensive skittishness of "Real" Truck owners. They need not worry, we are not going to emasculate them. They are handling that task fine on their own.

 

I owned a first gen RL and I loved that thing. No truck out there will touch its on road handling and comfort. The in bed trunk is genius, I rarely even had to use the bed when I went camping because everything fits in the trunk or under the rear seats. And hands down the best truck for winter driving, the AWD automatically kicks in when you need it and being FWD based you have lots of weight over the drive wheels. It also towed my 2 sleds in an enclosed trailer no problem.
The only reason I sold it was I needed a smaller car to fit into a parking space when I moved, otherwise I would probably still be driving it today.

For reference I owned an 2013 F150 4x4, which I traded in for a Taco.

 

You should come back and join us. There is one member on there that had a 2016 Tacoma for 9 months and traded for a 2017 RL. A few others in the truck market chose the RL over the Taco, but most of the talk is about android auto and apple carplay.

 

You are right, and yes, the RL fits my needs and wants more than the Tacoma. I have nothing against Toyota, I bought my wife a 2015 Rav4 because it fit her needs better than any other crossover on the market. I wanted to make the Tacoma work, I really like the TRD Sport, but the headroom was a bit tight compared to the RL and even my Dakota.

 

My ridge was Canadian made as was I. I have some concerns that the Alabama ridges may be less reliable.

 

I'll be honest, I would have bought a RL if I liked the way it looked. For my needs (and my guess most others who THINK they need a fully capable truck) the RL would almost be perfect. I don't care about dick measuring and bro-ing out my vehicles just to impress other guys (which is what most of you really are doing). I need to haul gear, dog, surfboards, mountain bikes, people, home depot runs, tow a small trailer once in a while, and mild off-roading to get to campsites and trailheads. Tacoma is kind of overkill for those things and it suffers with poor mpg. If they made it look better I'd probably go with the RL, or would just get another 6cyl Outback next time.