Tell my why I should trade in my Honda Ridgeline for a Tacoma DC?

Ridgeline pluses: Interior space & storage, in-bed trunk, wide bed (fits 4'), smooth ride, refined (like Pilot/Ody it's based on)
Tacoma pluses: fuel economy from 2wd (more from 4cyl), towing, rough & tumble ride and image, extreme off road ability, cheaper

I went back and forth on these two as well, especially since I work for Honda, but it came down to fuel economy for me and my 4cyl prerunner fits exactly what I needed.

Most here have never experienced a Ridgeline so they don't know that it can do most of everything the Taco can, but it will inherently have some drawbacks at the extremes of truck activity. That being said, you need to drive what you want and make the decision yourself!

 

Because of this thread, I decided to check out a Ridgeline forum and a Frontier forum. Of course on each forum, this very question is asked, "Which truck should I buy?" and of course the respective forum vehemently supports their respective vehicle. Bottom line I think the OP wants some sort of validation to get rid of his nearly new Ridgeline. The reality of the fact is that 80% of Tacoma owners will never wheel their $30K 2nd gen Tacoma's therefore, a Ridgeline is more than capable for the needs of most users. Figure out which percentage you fall into 80% or 20%. To the OP if your comfortable taking a bath on the depreciation of your Ridgeline and the Tacoma will make you feel better and help you get over your buyer's remorse, get a Tacoma. I wouldn't trade in for a Tacoma to validate my masculinity.

 

I think the point of the pic is to show the ridgeline with a wheel in the air on that tiny little patch of uneven surface. I think any tacoma stock trd wouldn't have a airborne wheel in that same scenario.

 

i just realized you have only owned the Ridgeline for a year, etc... if this is the case I highly suggest you hold on to the Ridgeline for at least 3yrs. Or just ride it out until you pay it off. It seems as if the Ridgeline serves your purpose. I would forget about it as we always loose on trade no matter how good the value...

OR can you sell it privately? and pay off the loan? You don't want to get upside down in a loan...

 

Honda and Toyota both make an amazing product. For be the Toyota is the better all around option because of the "restrictions" found in the RL design. Longevity wise both are great options, but for your active life style and your need for a truck to act and perform like a truck should... Get the Tacoma!

 

I have owned Honda's in the past (two Prelude Si's). They are nice vehicles also, but are more costly for parts and repairs at the dealerships as compared to Toyota in my experience's.

 

ridgline is not a truck. tacoma's are the best truck

 

I'm not here to convince you but I can tell you about my own experience with a Ridgeline and a Tacoma. I've owned the Ridgeline for about ten months. At the time, Honda was the only one willing to extend credit to me so I went ahead and leased it. You're right about not settling for a color that's available versus the color that you want. The Ridgeline was an awesome daily driver and it was far superior than any other truck on the road. The handling and ride was superb. The mpg was not to be desired but with a little McGyver engineering, I have brought that mpg to about 17+ city and 22+ hwy. The 4wd is clever. It's starts out at 4wd and switches to fwd after a certain speed. It has a rear locking differential and 4wd can be locked at speeds under 20mph for extra traction so it doesn't switch to fwd. The in bed truck was genius and has plenty of overall cargo space. I had zero issues with the Ridgeline. Now the looks was less to be desired. There wasn't plenty if at all any after market performance parts for the Ridgeline. The driveline used by the ridgeline probably had a loss of at least 20%+ to the wheels. It is incapable of any real off roading and it's barely capable of mild terrain. The 3.5L engine in the Ridgeline is smooth but lacked torque to move the weight of the Ridgeline. Think of it as a minivan chopped in half.

For the Tacoma, the engine is loud but it has plenty of zip to move the tacoma. It's one of the quickest truck 0-60 even compared to the Frontier that has hp and tq. It has great off road ability stock and with a little work, it's more than capable. The exterior looks great and the interior is snug and comfortable. My only complaint is that having a 4x4, the buttons are all over the place! The only issues I've had so far was the defective JBL sub that was replaced and the soft rear springs that was also replaced. Other than that, I'm more happier with it than the Ridgeline. It also has plenty of after market support.

So my advice to you is that if you're not gonna go off road at all, stick with what you have until you are not upside down on it and if the color and the looks are totally unbearable to you, I suggest you make that extra $40 payment. I also suggest looking into a 4x4 because you might not need it now but you might regret it later. BTW, my mpg on a 4x4 DC is an average of 18mpg doing about 75% city. 2,700 miles so far.

 

My take is that if you need to be convinced to buy a Tacoma ,well you shouldn't have to be, Its a mans mans truck. The ridgline is just a Honda pilot with a bed. My gf's dad has one its nice but not for what I do with my Tacoma

 

I think just by entering this forum and asking the question, you have already made your decision. So, what color Tacoma are you gonna get?

 

True!

 

I'm reletively new to TW and purchased my 2006 doublecab Prerunner a little over a month ago after trading in my 2000 Odyssey for it.

I have driven both the Ridgeline and Tacoma before purchasing my truck. I also don't really plan on any off-roading but really needed a vehicle with an open bed. One of the reasons I went with the Toyota was the reliability. Toyota has been making trucks for decades whereas the Ridgeline is Honda's first truck.

I was also experiencing some tranny problems with my old Odyssey and come to find out Honda has issues with their v6/5spd tranny combos. Don't think the Ridgeline can handle much abuse, imo.

Besides all this, the test drive of each sealed the deal. I was looking for quite a while and gave me plenty of time for research. I can't be any happier with my decision.

 

I recently had the same debate while purchasing a new vehicle, here were my opinions.

While test driving the ridgeline I really liked all the compartments and the trunk below the box bed, one thing I didnt like was that it felt like I was driving a mini van, and for good reason, its because it is built on a honda pilot frame.

I also didnt like how the ridgeline had all time rear 4 wheel drive and was front wheel drive for the majority of the time. I prefer to be able to turn it on and off.

When I test drove my tacoma I loved: The power, the 4x4 and diff lock, the truck feel that the ridgeline did not have, and the standard transmission.

Just a few of my thoughts as I was really torn between the two until the testdrive

 

Why haven't we seen pictures of the Ridgeline in question yet?

I'm curious what color you went with that is causing your remorse!

Several members have posted pictures of their trucks in your thread. POST A DAMN PICTURE ALREADY!

 

My Ridgeline is Dark Cherry Pearl. It's a darker color and shows scratches (I am very meticulous about where I park and only have 4400 miles on it) and dirt. In my opinion Honda's paint does not hold up very well and I live in the Florida sun. It is tough to keep clean and when washed, the sun dries the car so fast it inevitably gets covered with water marks. If I could get past the darker color then I could probably make the Ridgeline work. It does have alot of neat features to it (tons of interior storage and the trunk in the bed). Sorry but not pics to post.

 

Around here, everyone drives sliver, white or gray vehicles. It's so freaking boring and I never realized it until I had some color (red). Now, I am very happy that I stand out a bit...especially since I think my truck looks awesome

I would want to blend in if I hated the look of my truck (like if I drove a Colorado or Canyon). In your case, the Ridgeline is not a bad looking truck.

 

I wouldnt count on toyotas paint being any better, mine is chipped and scratched all over the place.

 

I've been to so many dealers these past few weeks. I've inspected the paint on various Tacos. I am shocked to say most of them already have tiny tiny chips in the paint to some even having etching already!!!! These in my opinion are serious. It might be dealer's neglect or it could just be really poor paint. I don't know. But I did post something about it here.

 

NONE of the "big 3" imports have very good paint, IMO. My Altima was no better than either of my Toyotas and I've heard/seen horror stories about Honduh paint so I think this issue is a wash.

 

there are many cases of people claiming that there trucks scratch very easy, I bought mine with plenty of scratches and chips so I would probably agree with them. Its alright tho I dont plan on keeping this silver forever.