Tacoma or Ridgeline?

^^THIS!!!

I drive clients from time to time; my customers are surgeons. They love my truck!

I can only imagine what my clients would think of me if I had a Ridgeline...

 

I wonder if the majority of Ridgeline owners actually think they're truck looks good, or if many are just diehard Honda fans and are just happy Honda has a "truck".

 

Wives wanted a minivan. Dudes didn't want to look gay driving around minivan. Settled on Ridgeline.

 

The way this dude is looking at the sheep creeps me out. The sheep look nervous too.

 

Here's another useless opinion. As a somewhat older guy around here (52...), I'd be a bit self-conscious driving around in the all butched-up looking G3 taco. I'm just not a kid anymore, and the new design is a bit over the top for my tastes, especially the silly looking snout. Also, the taco drives like sh!t. I happen to live where the roads are flat & smooth; if I lived in some pothole infested snow belt city, I would have gotten rid of my taco long ago. To the OP, if your clients are professionals and you live with cr@ppy roads, I'd never consider a taco, for both the looks and the ride. Like 90% of taco drivers, I don't go off-road and my towing/hauling needs are modest. But I need the utility; my taco get's plenty of use.

I saw a ridgeline this weekend. I was interested in it primarily because it promised a far better ride and would certainly handle all my "truck" needs. But if the taco appeals to kids who want to look "tough", the RL is, well, I'm not sure. It's not attractive at all. The wheels/tires look ridiculously small. The whole package is just completely un-appealing.

When the current taco gives up the ghost, and I'm done paying for kid's college, most likely I'll go to a full sized domestic truck.

 

Agreed. The Ridgeline will be much more comfortable and have better egress/ingress for your clients which I'm guessing would be an important consideration.

 

Whut? Are you saying buy a truck because it's sales #'s are high? So go with an F150?

Just because sales numbers are high does not make it the best of the bunch. That's like saying McDonalds makes the best burgers because of billions and billions served He's buying a truck, not determining what brand of jeans to buy to fit in with the crowd at high school.

 

Still better looking then the turd gen face

 

is there a sheep in the trunk too?

 

Wow, she must be in shape. Good on grandma My wife (not fat or out of shape) has issues getting into my truck - but she is only 5'2"...

 

*pilot

 

You'd be better off with an SUV, especially if you don't plan on using a bed regularly. Get a 4Runner, plenty of back seat room and should tow a couple of motorcycles pretty easily.

 

I second this. Still have body-on-frame too!

 

Is that picture legit or photoshopped?

Come on a picnic basket?!?!? Please tell me that is not a Honda promo picture.

 

Google found it fore me. Must be real.

 

The "automobile journalists" are all getting boners over the "new" 2017 Nissan Armada which is the same as the global Nissan Patrol which is the similar to the Infinity QX80. Body on frame, V8.

 

What would you rather drive....a Ridgeline or a *gasp*.... PreRunner?

 

My philosophy is this:

The Ridgeline would do ~95% of what I need it to do, it's the other 5% that's a problem. Also, I prefer my vehicles to have slightly more capability than I would realistically need.

The Tacoma:

• Can tow 6000+ lbs if you need to. Wouldn't want to do it regularly, but I have before and it's nice knowing that if I need to it's capable of it and legal to do so.
• Is arguably one of the most off road worthy vehicles on the market in stock form. I rarely take my truck anywhere worse than a rutted logging road, but there are a couple places I've gone that the Ridgeline wouldn't have cut it for. I saw a video of a Honda engineer touting the off road capability of the new Ridgeline as they were driving around a dirt track. Let's just say there's a reason no video exists of that truck on anything resembling Toyota's proving grounds.
• Has the biggest aftermarket support of almost any vehicle.
• Has the benefits of traditional body-on-frame construction with a truck drivetrain. Need to back a trailer up a steep dirt hill or crawl through some rough terrain? You've got 4 Lo. Want a stiffer back end that handles weight better than factory? There are hundreds of options for leaf springs, air bags, etc.
• Has a full size spare that you can access even if you have a bed full of mulch.

The Ridgeline:

• Is great if you are going to do the occasional Home Depot run, light off-roading, light towing, etc.
• Is great if you are going to leave it stock.
• Is more than likely going to "just work". It should be reliable and capable within its own limits.
• Is more suited to a family (more back seat room, trunk, etc.)

There are other things that are more opinionated too. For instance, one could argue the Tacoma just looks better and is "cooler" overall. Or, you could argue that Honda's reliability may be a little better. But all of that becomes subjective.

 

The Ford F-150 is on a different class segment, and it has been around for as long as can remember, and I remember a lot.
And no, the sales numbers don't make it best in class, but you shouldn't ignore them either as there maybe some truth to the saying there's safety in numbers.
I would much rather buy the Tundra quality wise than the F-150, even though the sales suck in comparison to the 150, but the full size Tundra just got here in '07 so it's still a baby but growing fast sales wise.
However, the Tundra MPG sucks a$$ so until they get that right and some time in the marketplace, I suppose the sales will drag.

As far as your comment on what brand of jeans to buy to fit in with the crowd, that's entirely up to you. Studies have shown that the car you drive is perceived as who you are. It don't matter if it is or not.

So I ask you, do you want to be the nerd, or just look like the nerd at the high school reunion??
If you buy and drive the RL you get the best of both nerd worlds.

Hope that helps
Cheers!