A Ridgeline vs My Tacoma

Test drove one before I bought my Tacoma. It definitely did everything I needed, however it just didn’t drive like a truck or come in a stick (what I wanted). Usually I go for need over want, but let’s remember they’re about the same price as a tacoma. For the same price get what you want, not what you need.

 

I love how nobody ever brings up the Ford Explorer Sport Trac when discussing Ridgeline aesthetics. Way better comparison.

 

Does the Honda Ridgeline come with VTEC? Asking for a friend...

 

Wow I'm seeing an awful lot of hate here. No shit the Ridgeline isn't a good choice if you want to go off road or frequently tow more than a few thousand pounds, that's not what it's for. They aren't trying to go after people buying TRD Off-Roads or Pros or ZR2s or Gladiators and actually using them, or going after that image. It's for the people who buy an SR or SR5 to carry skis or mountain bikes, take dirt bikes to the trail, transport home improvement stuff, go camping at established campgrounds or whatever else it is people do with their trucks besides go off road and tow. My truck came home yesterday, like it does many Sundays, covered in mud with some new dents in the skid plates and a trailer hitch packed full of dirt from the multiple obstacles where I needed just a bit more departure so I can safely say a Ridgeline wouldn't do it for me. If I was just looking for a daily that I can load some dirt bikes or something into the Ridgeline has 400 more pounds of payload(yes. 400 pounds more than we do), gets better fuel economy, I'm sure is a comfier highway cruiser, has more interior space and will also last forever(yes the Tacoma will take more abuse, but under normal use the Ridgeline will last just as long. My dad's had a first-gen Pilot since new and it's never missed a beat). Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Also LMAO at the masculine comments. Buying a manly looking truck, sticking a lift kit on it and proceeding to never take it anyplace a Subaru Outback can't go is just very expensive cosplay. Trucks are for doing things with, not for compensating. I don't judge, hey it's your money buy what you like and do what you like with it, but don't go around shitting on a decent vehicle that does everything 90% of truck buyers actually ever do because it doesn't look "manly" enough and especially don't if you fall into that 90% and have never actually done something with your truck that a Ridgeline couldn't do.

 

Amen brother!

 

At least that has a V8, a full frame, and is rear wheel drive.

 

I'm not buying a Ridgeline ever, Tacoma is definitely my first choice.
The Ridgeline did make it into Death Valley on the washboard without its shocks puking oil unlike the Off Road.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ridgeline-vs-tacoma-on-death-valley-dessert.501741/

 

Yeah but at least you could get a supercharged v8 option with one of those.

 

1st off you are on a taco forum I'm sure you'd see taco hate on the Ridgeline or pumpkin spice forum. We are allowed to like what we like. Feel free to drive a Subaru Forester of that is what floats your boat. I'm only crapping on its awful handling characteristics. If it handled like my XC60 I'd enjoy that too, very sporty and euro feel but the Ridgeline handles like a boat... I was test driving the black edition.

BTW I thought the Ridgeline looked more like a baby Avalanche than anything else. The new one looked 100% nicer but the front end looks exactly like a Pilot to me and very uninspiring. Still might have bought it despite the looks just for the 26mpg was it? except I truly hated the handling and I drive a lot so I need to like my car and enjoy it.

 

Questions...?

 

Well that was the entire point of my post. I like my Tacoma and do use the capability, but I won’t shit on anyone for buying a Ridgeline or call it girly like a lot of people here were, it seems like a perfectly decent vehicle that would make sense for a lot of people. I’m surprised on the handling though, my dad’s Pilot isn’t anything to write home about of course but it drives fine for what it is and feels comparable to or better than any other circa-2004 midsize SUV I’ve driven.

 

Tacoma wins hands down for best looking truck.

 

Totally opposite experience with my daughters newer Civic...too many fit/finish issues to even list.

 

Except everything they list in the bullet point comparison is something that... I don't care about...

Android Auto... don't care. Really, if I cared about audio performance, I'd replace any unit with after market anyway.
Dual-action tailgate... may be "nice" but I've never encountered an issue where I thought "it would be nice to open my tailgate to the side"
Truck-bed audio system... because I ride in the truck bed?
Lay-flat truck bed... not sure what this even means
Passenger volume... slightly larger, but I've never seen any issue with the size of my truck, and in an ideal world I'd have a truck that is smaller than the Taco even (gen 1/90s ranger size would be perfect)
Lockable in-bed truck... same complaints as I've seen a ton of times, how is it useful if I actually have stuff in the bed of the truck?

 

Well done. A picture is worth a thousand words. Encapsulates my sentiments nicely. Oh, and the functionality differences.

 

Truck................Baby Truck

 

Well there is a masculine and feminine styling to cars and the Ridgeline definitely is more feminine (though my wife still didn't like it) so yeah girly is a bit mean but even the new Ranger is more feminine than the old one. Each person has their own taste and we aren't shitting on people for buying it, I'm sure it is a good truck and if you haven't sat in on the interior is awesome. The handling is normal for a typical American car like a buick or mercury or cadillac... that's to say it goes forward and backwards and turns eventually. Drive by wire for everything. If you don't enjoy driving as in you drive to get there the Ridgeline is perfect for you. If you prefer to turn down the radio and find some random dirt road to tool around on I feel the taco is better. These are pretty spartan pickups though.

 

Picture would have been more appropriate had the girl truck been in front.

 

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I drove one just out of curiosity before I bought my Taco and had the same complaint you did... it didn't drive like a truck. It had a stiff/plasticky ride quality, with lots of road noise, typical of unibody vehicles. Trucks just do a better job isolating road noise and harshness from the cabin, and feel more substantial, both of which are important to me.

 

I had to park in front to keep my truck from mounting the Ridgeline...

Didn’t want to clean up all the oil.