New England B.S. Thread

To the Ridgeline's credit, I've heard they ride like a Honda Accord. They're probably a more practical solution to the suburbanites who sort of want an open bed for extremely light duty 'work' but really have no real use for a an actual truck. They're just so damn ugly!

 

I test drove one and it was very comfortable with good tech. Great vehicle for urban and some dirt roads if you can get past the exterior design.

 

I like the second gen way more than the first. I think they look better than the ranger, at least. Realistically, one of those made way more sense for me to buy than a tacoma. payloads the same, towing is 5k vs tacomas 6.5k (for my truck). But, I would have always regretted not getting the tacoma and guarantee it would be traded in within a few years for a tacoma. At least with the tacoma, if I trade it in sooner, resale FTW.

 

my dad has one and loves it, stopped driving his highlander it’s so much better he thinks.

I have driven it a few times and have to admit it is nice, and he has a base version basically.

sorry but it’s not even possible to argue at this point imo

 

The only place I think they have the competition beat is the half ton diesel market (which is a very narrow market to begin with). Cheby's half ton diesel just flat out performs Ram's and Ferd's. The new half ton body style has grown on me but the 2500 and up just look terrible! I'm glad they finally updated the tired 6.0. The only thing that kept that engine alive was good shifting strategy, it was underpowered compared to it's competitors.

 

I just can't get over GMC interior, same since pontiacs from high school. I can't understand it except that people keep buying them and it must be cheap to never have to redesign or make anything nice. Their buttons and head units disgust me.

How many of the half ton diesels sell either? That's a truck market that honestly makes no sense at all with todays emission stuff. If you need a diesel then get a HD. I won't argue the quality of the engine since I have no clue, but the need of it, I will argue.

I don't even hate the outsides that much, although some of the trims are pretty aggressive with their new grills, thats for sure. I just don't like them as a company either. Not a fan of their current direction.

 

Same reason both my Colorado and Tacoma have been regular cab. 96 percent of the time I'm alone, if I need to bring more people we take Cupcake's Rav4 or I drive the biggest vehicle owned in the group I am with

 

This is true. I rode in my brother in law's Ridgeline doing a scrap metal pickup and it was pretty comfy, I'll give it that.

 

Unfortunately they got rid of the base model and a few more lower trims, so now (new) you're starting at like 40k+. They're decent but $$$$$ I'm happy they got rid of the stupid first gen bed design though.

 

Some things don't make sense. The same argument could be made about our forum namesake, a "truck" that makes ZERO sense whatsoever. The Tacoma is expensive, gets terrible gas mileage for a compact and is horrible for towing. It makes less sense than just about any vehicle out there if you ask me. If you need a truck, get a truck. But, it sells like hotcakes, so... who knows?

 

I agree about the market for a half ton diesel (although I did almost buy one). Per the manufacturers' own admission, the expected lifespan of the powertrain is only 150k miles. They seem to do fine when you make them compact like BMW and Mercedes has in their small cars and SUVs, but slightly upsizing it to the half ton market seemed to sort of fall short. They do get really good fuel economy and the Chevy is making good power and actually seems to tow really well whereas Ford's and Dodge's seemed to fall short in the power and towing category. Ford and GM then also proceeded down the path of small displacement, forced induction gas engines that make decent power and respectable tow ratings so that seemed to further make the half ton diesel market disappear.

 

My lifestyle was that I needed an HD truck
I do daily it, but only because I've only got a 15 minute commute. Much longer than that and I'd have bought a little 4cyl sh*tbox to pound the miles to.

 

Very good point. The argument I guess is reliability which seems to be not as high as previous gens

 

That was my exact thought process when I bought my last F-150. I priced out Tacomas and couldn't get it to make sense. I bought an F-150 with more options, more power, and better gas mileage for roughly the same price as the TRD off road DCLB I would have wanted. I was leaning more toward the Tundra than the Tacoma, but the gas mileage killed that for me.

The Tacoma was easier to drive and built a little better, I'll give it that. But I'm in a rural enough area where I never find myself parking in or navigating tight lots or streets.

 

Honestly it probably made more sense for me to buy a million other vehicles. I have a 4 mile commute, so an electric car would be awesome, and most plug in hybrids have a ~15 mile range on battery, so that would be awesome too. If I tow anything, I would want a slide in camper or a bigger camper with enough room, it doesn't fit home improvement stuff well, etc. etc. etc. So for the truck front, should have gotten at least a 3.5 F150, if not an F250/other HD truck I'm not brand loyal.

Still happy with my useless truck But I do agree, older mid size were actually a nice, compact, small truck. Modern mid size is ginormous.

Check back in 15 years/300k miles. Maybe the 3.5 isn't as good as the 4.0, but I have a feeling overall the 3rd gen will still be a toyota after all

 

There are a lot of vehicles that fit sort of 'middle ground' areas that, on paper, aren't practical and likely shouldn't exist but they do and actually sell quite well.

One of the debates I like following and stirring the pot on in the Ford forum is the debate over the existance of the 3/4 ton diesel. There are a lot of people who say that shouldn't exist. Once you drop the diesel engine in, the payload is more in line with, if not under, a half ton with the heavy payload package. The 3/4 ton gas has a payload of around 3,500 lbs +, the diesel is around 2,800 lbs or less depending on options added. Throw on a 5th wheel with a 2-2,500 lb pin weight (which is generally why you buy a diesel to begin with) and you quickly find yourself legally overloaded even though you're well within the truck's realistic limits. On paper, if you're going diesel, you should go with a 1 ton. They price out within about $500 of one another but yet plenty of people still buy the 250's.

 

Point well made! I'd love to see ANY of the so called American "trucks " with what I've done with my Tacoma at around 12yo with approximately 180K on them and see what they look like and what kind of problems they'd have!
My Tacoma has been fantastic! The only things I've done to have been from my own stupidity!

 

I needed a big gas guzzling-SUV because i'm short and balding, and need to compensate.

For my lack of height obviously.

 

Seeing as I stand 5'7 and weigh around 160-ish I get some jokes about compensating also. Mostly from my extended family, who tend to be very large people (both vertically and circumferentially)