New Tacoma vs the Ridgeline

New to the forum and hate my first post to be about the Ridgeline. However, I thought I'd throw out there what I learned while shopping for a new truck for those who may be interested. I will say upfront that I could not pull the trigger on a RL. I am waiting for a good deal on a 2018 Taco DCLB OR in Cement or Quicksand to pop up, which is why I am here and not on the RL forum. The RL may be a "Pilot with a bed," but it lacks the Pilot's backseat and has a heavier suspension than the Pilot. IMO, the RL strengths vrs the Taco are the ride, fuel economy, overall width (larger back seat/front seat with more adjustments, bed, lay plywood flat), locking bed trunk, dual swing tailgate, rear seats that lift up for flat floor, rear seat armrest/console, and smooth acceleration and transmission shifts. The weaknesses vrs the Taco are safety (have to spend over 41k to get AWD with safety sense equipment RTL-E AWD), styling, towing anything over 5000 lbs (the RL tows excellent under 3500 lbs), off-trail ability (wont go off-road at all, barely makes it across a median), and believe it or not technology (have to get RTL-T/ MSRP 39k to get nav/apps and still no safety sense), stuck with small tires, and it is difficult to put any sort of lift on the RL. Long term ownership is starting to show the RTL AWD system overheats when driving in sand or gravel for long slow periods, some transmission malfunctions when towing close to 5k, small rear door opening, lots of rattles, no cap gas neck problems, loose/falling off trim pieces, slow nav /apps, safety systems shut down with just a little bit of ice/snow/mud on them, and complains of no lumbar support in drivers seat. People also worried about the auto shut off damaging half the engine. Folks are happy with snow/mud performance, fuel economy, and overall daily drivability of the truck.

My question to the TACO folks is how comfortable would 250 mile trips to the bay and hunting spots be? I am 6' and 210 lbs. Could an adult rear passenger actually make the 3 to 4 hour drive in the backseat? I hate the headrests have to be removed to fold the seats down. I am always driving my hunting dog around and don't want him on the seat fabric. Estimating highway fuel econ would be around 21/22 with city being around 16, that running with no lift and factory wheels. Love what the TACO can do once I am there, just worried about the ride down. Currently have an 06 Tundra and 02 Tahoe which both are comfortable and get 17 MPG on the highway doing 75. Will the truck easily tow 3000 lbs 70 MPH on flat roads staying around 3k RPM? Turning 4k is just too noisy IMO on a long trip. I get the ECT button and towing in lower gear, would it be necessary to keep in D4 on flat roads at 3000 lbs though? I am hoping to stay out of a full-size, just due to daily inconvenience of driving around a large city and poor highway econ on Tundra.

The TACO is a beautiful truck and hands down the best off-roader. I am watching the Ranger, just worried about the longevity of owning a turbo 4 with a 10 speed transmission. I think it will spend a lot of time turning higher RPMs. Like the JT as well, just not interested in waiting until late 2019, early 2020. JT will have a premium price and will get poor fuel economy, plus the Jeep/Fiat gremlins.

 

Funny!

I am old enough that my dad and most of my boyhood friends dad's were WW II vets- most/ all those men didn't have/ need man cards......

Growing up, my dad and many of those men drove "station wagons".



It is really very interesting how we identify our ability to be men with the possessions we aquire.

Not like the 3rd gen Tacoma isn't a nice looking ride, but pretty sure anyone with the coin can walk into any dealership and buy one, regardless of orientation or ability to do "real man" tasks....lol

 

Fair enough, good point.

I just always think “soccer mom” whenever I see the current RL. I actually sold Hondas for about 6 years, in a previous life. I thought the original RL at least looked truck like. The dealership didn’t sell many the whole time I was there.

 

My new tacoma is due in next 2 weeks. Can't wait

 

Like Tom Petty says, “The waiting is the hardest part”!

 

Several people have messaged me asking about my G2 Ridgeline issues. I bought the vehicle because the back seat seemed to have more legroom than the Tacoma and I liked the way the back seats fold up. Below is my review of the vehicle:

I found the front interior cramped especially around the driving pedals -- the parking brake pedal interferes with foot and leg movement. Try stretching your leg all the way out...tall guys can't do it.

The tailgate does not have a lock--good for thieves to steal -- yes this does happen. Pop-a-Lock makes an after market install which requires drilling and may be tough for the average guy to install. Even if you install a hard or soft bed cover you can’t secure your bed without a tailgate lock.

Ground Clearance is awful -- 7 and a half inches. I pulled into a parking slot and the front end scraped on the cement-parking barrier. So much for any off-road or dirt road diving.

The V6 engine with the 6-speed transmission is underpowered and not as smooth as expected. It may work well in the Pilot, but did not drive as well in the new Ridgeline.

Spare tire is a tiny donut and not really good for any off road areas. Real Trucks come with a full-size spare if you want to go off-road. The bed is too shallow to safely haul stuff and is not usable for stacking stuff up in the back. I tried to safely stack up firewood in the bed and it was too shallow. Also, with a full bed of stuff, I hoped I didn’t get a flat, as I would have to unload the entire bed to get to my donut spare. Can you imagine trying to change a flat on a busy highway after unloading your bed to get to the spare?

Option packages do not include an XM radio until you are in the RTL-T price range of $35,860. This is ludicrous, as the "lower" priced models of $30,000 to $34,000 don't have a decent entertainment system. Any vehicle that is priced over $30K should at least have an XM radio.

Towing capacity is very weak. There is no way to put an oil cooler or an ATF cooler on the Ridgeline RTL. They are not made for the RTL-T versions and below unless you buy the AWD high priced model.

I called every Honda dealer in the area and there is no two wheel drive Honda part number for this needed ATF option. If you haul in the mountains, you take the chance of burning up your transmission. Honda puts a trailer hitch on the RTL but no trailer pigtail to plug the trailer lights into. A trailer plug is a dealer-installed option for an extra $500.00.

My Ridgeline had front wheel drive alignment problems that took two trips to the dealer to fix. It also had door alignment problems. I fixed the door alignment issue by selling the vehicle. Final production line quality is left up to the dealer and owner to fix. Honda quality and finish is not visible in the new Ridgeline. Finally go to the Honda Ridgeline Owner’s Forum and read what other owners are experiencing in the second generation Ridgeline.

Bottom Line: This "truck" is not a truck. The uni-body construction and front wheel drive are more of a sport utility vehicle (SUV). Just having an open bed does not make this a truck. My 2017 Ridgeline was underpowered and is for consumers who want a truck bed, but don't need the utility of hauling or going to off road areas. I would call the Ridgeline an SUV as it is just another Pilot but without the covered luggage area. Consumer Reports (CR) rated the Ridgeline as the #1 small pickup. I disagree with this rating and believe the Ridgeline should be re-classified as an SUV. If you disagree with the way CR has rated the Ridgeline or Tacoma, then go to their website and tell them. I have done this several times, but they only listen to consumers if they get enough feedback. In the meantime, Tacoma is outselling the Ridgeline and is proof that truck-buying consumers want a truck that can do the job!

 

I liked the backseat room and the flip-up seats...the tailgate is cool, but you can't lock it.

 

Tacoma Vs. Ridgeline....

 

Funny thing is... All of the original SUV's (Expedition, Explorer, Forerunner, Pathfinder, etc.) were all derived from trucks, and built on a frame. Now I believe only the Forerunner and the largest SUV's (Expedition, Sequoia, Armada, etc.) are still on frames. So really, the Ridgeline is derived from a Crossover... not from a real SUV. At least that's the way I see it.

 

Yes, I sadly owned the Ridgeline. See my post below:

I bought the vehicle because the back seat seemed to have more legroom than the Tacoma and I liked the way the back seats fold up. I have always liked Hondas and I have owned almost every model from the Honda S600, Pilot, CRV Accord, Civic, 2 Elements and several motorcycles. Below is my review of the vehicle:

I found the front interior cramped especially around the driving pedals -- the parking brake pedal interferes with foot and leg movement. Try stretching your leg all the way out...tall guys can't do it.

The tailgate does not have a lock--good for thieves to steal -- yes this does happen. Pop-a-Lock makes an after market install which requires drilling and may be tough for the average guy to install. Even if you install a hard or soft bed cover you can’t secure your bed without a tailgate lock.

Ground Clearance is awful -- 7 and a half inches. I pulled into a parking slot and the front end scraped on the cement-parking barrier. So much for any off-road or dirt road diving.

The V6 engine with the 6-speed transmission is underpowered and not as smooth as expected. It may work well in the Pilot, but did not drive as well in the new Ridgeline.

Spare tire is a tiny donut and not really good for any off road areas. Real Trucks come with a full-size spare if you want to go off-road. The bed is too shallow to safely haul stuff and is not usable for stacking stuff up in the back. I tried to safely stack up firewood in the bed and it was too shallow. Also, with a full bed of stuff, I hoped I didn’t get a flat, as I would have to unload the entire bed to get to my donut spare. Can you imagine trying to change a flat on a busy highway after unloading your bed to get to the spare?

Option packages do not include an XM radio until you are in the RTL-T price range of $35,860. This is ludicrous, as the "lower" priced models of $30,000 to $34,000 don't have a decent entertainment system. Any vehicle that is priced over $30K should at least have an XM radio.

Towing capacity is very weak. There is no way to put an oil cooler or an ATF cooler on the Ridgeline RTL. They are not made for the RTL-T versions and below unless you buy the AWD high priced model.
I called every Honda dealer in the area and there is no two wheel drive Honda part number for this needed ATF option. If you haul in the mountains, you take the chance of burning up your transmission. Honda puts a trailer hitch on the RTL but no trailer pigtail to plug the trailer lights into. A trailer plug is a dealer-installed option for an extra $500.00.

My Ridgeline had front wheel drive alignment problems that took two trips to the dealer to fix. It also had door alignment problems. I fixed the door alignment issue by selling the vehicle. Final production line quality is left up to the dealer and owner to fix. Honda quality and finish is not visible in the new Ridgeline. Finally go to the Honda Ridgeline Owner’s Forum and read what other owners are experiencing in the second generation Ridgeline.

Bottom Line: This "truck" is not a truck. The uni-body construction and front wheel drive are more of a sport utility vehicle (SUV). Just having an open bed does not make this a truck. My 2017 Ridgeline was underpowered and is for consumers who want a truck bed, but don't need the utility of hauling or going to off road areas. I would call the Ridgeline an SUV as it is just another Pilot but without the covered luggage area. Consumer Reports (CR) rated the Ridgeline as the #1 small pickup. I disagree with this rating and believe the Ridgeline should be re-classified as an SUV. If you disagree with the way CR has rated the Ridgeline or Tacoma, then go to their website and tell them. I have done this several times, but they only listen to consumers if they get enough feedback. In the meantime, Tacoma is outselling the Ridgeline and is proof that truck-buying consumers want a truck that can do the job!

 

I owned a 2007 Pilot. Loved everything about the car except one thing...gasoline guzzler. Window sticker said 17 city (could be as low as 14 in certain conditions). My wife drove it and very light footed and the best we ever got was 12 mpg. That sucked! Very happy the day I sold it.

 

My 2003 pilot got around 15 to 17. Nice ride, but drank fuel like yours

 

Late Stage Capitalism in a nutshell.

 

I have a post on the last page that explains what happened.

 

Your Camino is a work of art...I too would be proud to own it.

 

Love my Taco. My buddy got a Ridgeline. He keeps telling me how he wished he got a Taco.

 

That is a manly man's wagon as it is sporting Big Block flags on the fender.

 

I have been to that dirt roads to the Race Track a few times, it was full of washboards and if you want to smooth out the ride you may have to drive faster and I don't think the stock Bilstein could handle that. Even my Land Cruiser UJZ100 blew out a stock front shock. This where your big high-priced FOX/OME shocks with remote reservoirs will shine as the smaller stock shocks would overheat.

 

I strongly suspect the difference in towing capacity in 2wd is the difference between FWD and RWD. The Ridgeline AWD and the Tacoma 4x4 have similar towing capacity, but the 2WD and the 4x2 do not. Receiver hitch tongue weight on the 4x2 Taco adds weight to the driven wheels and increases traction; tongue weight on the RL removes weight from the driven wheels and reduces traction. FWD and towing just do not go together.

I first noticed the low towing capacity of the Pilot/Ridgeline series when I was helping my wife shop for a replacement for her GMC Yukon XL several years ago. We test-drove the 4Runner and the Pilot; she picked the Pilot. It has been a good choice for her. My biggest complaint is the lack of legroom; I am not comfortable driving the Pilot for more than an hour at a time. The new Pilot/RL has even less legroom for the driver that ours so I did not even consider the RL when I bought my Taco.

 

Even going RL AWD (5,000) vrs Tacoma 4x4 (6,400) the Tacoma is rated to tow 28% more. The 5,000 lb rating makes towing a small travel trailer loaded with water and other goodies right up against the tow max. The Tacoma leaves another 1,400 lbs to play with. Another potential big issue is the fact some RL owners who tow are reporting the RL transmission are overheating on long slow tows due to the AWD constantly having to adjust while going over terrain.