Just saw the first Ridgeline

honda you can do better than that. The Ridgeline to me is no way close to comparison with the Tacoma. Not sure what Honda was thinking. It will be interesting to see sales volumes for 2017

 

It's ugly as sin on the outside...and not very truck like, but the interior is way nicer and roomier.

Pick your poison.

 

I believe it was TacoJohn (?) that said it best in another thread, "feeling threatened by the Ridgeline is like feeling threatened by all your wife's gay guy friends."

 

It's very Honda. All their vehicles have similar styling. Not for me. Looks flat and pinched.

 

Hehe, yep that was me. I see tons of people who are bashing the Ridgeline for whatever reason. I wouldn't drive one by I understand it's filling the niche for a suburban guy who has a small family and who occasionally hauls but wants the creature comforts of a car. It's not even really trying to go head to head with the Tacoma. I think it's ugly but one thing it does have is a bigger hauling capacity than the Tacoma and better MPG.

 

It will continue to be the truck for Honda people but will never be the Honda for truck people. I think Honda might be okay with that...

 

looks like a junkyard van hack into a truck


shit all around

 

I also saw my first in-person 2nd-gen Ridgeline yesterday, at the Honda dealer. I was actually struck by how small it looked, which is impressive since the interior dimensions are closer to a fullsize than a midsize. The Taco has a super-cramped interior by comparison, yet the outside looks bigger due to the visual 'weight' of the huge hood/grille.

The transverse engine layout+unibody makes for a very space-efficient design, compared to longitudinal+body-on-frame.

I would 100% buy a Ridgeline if they offered it with a 6MT, but alas.

 

Hit the nail on the head there.

 

I test drove the Ridgeline Sport and it is a very comfortable vehicle. I had more headroom in the RL vs the Tacoma. The driver seat is height adjustable. The shift points were right on. It is give and take. If you can deal with the looks of the exterior the interior is better with a few exceptions. In order to get the 8 inch touch screen you must get a model with leather seats. All trims with cloth seats have a 5 inch radio screen. If you get the FWD you only have 3500 lb towing capacity, if you get the AWD you have 5000. The ground clearance is also an issue. Just getting it off the curb the salesman managed to scrape something underneath, not sure what.
So it all comes down to what you do. If you mostly use it for transportation to work, grocery store, shopping, the ridgeline will be a more comfortable ride for everyone. If you tow stuff and like to take the roads not often taken, the Tacoma is what you need.
I don't see it being direct competition for Toyota, maybe a few here and there but not enough to impact any sales numbers.
Basically most RL buyers will be current Honda owners that want something different or ones that have the first gen RL and are trading up to the new style.

 

My uncle is thinking about getting one, not a fan either, it's literally a Honda Pilot with a truck bed.

 

I wish I could transplant those ridgeline seats into the taco. They are pretty amazing!

 

Looks a lot better than the last one, still not sure of the front end though.

 

It's a Honda Pilot with a truck bed instead of having a third row

 

Do the radiator still fail and mix engine coolant with the transmission fluid slowing destroying the engine and transmission at the same time - after only 40K miles? Sign me up!

 

So summarizing some of the posts above mine. RL can haul more, has better power, better mpg, better ride, nicer interior, much more room inside. It's probably worse off road, can tow about 1000 lbs less. Resale will be about the same. Looks are always subjective, lots of people think Tacoma has a really ugly front end. They won't sell nearly as many RLs as Tacomas but I think it's good to have options in this segment.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PINf0tTD7wk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRLHbHm1tB4

 

not only that, but rain gets in from errywhere

 

I'm not going to go buy one as it doesn't speak to me personally. At the end of the day, I'm a fan of more diversity in the car market so I'm happy to see another "truck" on the menu.