Redesigned Ridgeline

OK not looking to trigger all you RL haters, well 90% of the forum, just want some honest answers and info from people who have driven it.

I for one am impressed with the looks of the Ridgeline after the redesign. It has a more refined interior than the Taco, should drive much smoother with independent suspension, has a more modern 9-speed auto trans with paddle shifters, and has a lot of innovative features such as the industrial powder-coated bed, tie down cleats at the FRONT of the bed (don’t understand the lack of this on the Taco), the trunk inside the bed, etc. The MPG numbers are pretty good for the RL—at least 24 MPG on the highway, some people say they get 28 routinely.

I know the differences between unibody and body-on-frame and agree the Taco should be much more offroad capable. You don’t have to convince me for “serious truck stuff” the Taco is the way to go.

FWIW I love my 2019 OffRoad...lease is up in 1 year, and I may buy outright and keep or sell and get something else. We don’t do much off-roading, just camping in somewhat remote areas, fishing, hauling bicycles and kayaks, and we pull a 3000-lb trailer. To be honest I’m not thrilled with the towing of the Tacoma—it gets it done, but seems like a lot of work.

I enjoy a manual transmission, but my other car is a manual, and sometimes, OK at least half the time, I wouldn’t mind just putting it in drive and going, especially if the automatic is a decent one.

I don’t know how well the Ridgeline would handle towing—still researching that online—should do OK since the engine is more powerful than the Tacoma, and the TC is 5000 lbs.

Anyway, looking for an opinion from people with some experience with the 2021 Ridgeline. If you wanna rag on it, well have at it, but IMO Honda has finally got their design down and is going to take a lot of market share from the other midsize trucks.

 

I dunno. I tricked one out on the website and it came in at 43,000+
For those dollars I'll take my SR5 4WD V6 Access Cab tricked out.
Looks good - but side by side if someone gave me 43,000 and said go buy a truck... I go Taco

 

I'm waiting to see Honda apply some NSX electric motor technology to the Ridgeline.

 

I agree. The taco is nice and all but after driving the pilot (same as the ridgline)…it got me thinking.
The taco is kinda stiff….dated interior. Not the quickest, mpg isn’t that great.

but the taco does look cool, and is more capable off road.
After thinking it over and looking at my lifestyle, I think the ridge line would of been a better choice. It really is a nice truck

 

Looks really nice. And that j-series engine is amazing

 

Wait. Only 90% of us hate the ridge line. We need more cancel culture and polarization.

 

Can’t do it but I do like the seats

 

OP,

I get the appeal of the Ridgeline for certain people, especially those that need a bed for projects but don't necessarily need to go off road. There are a lot of people who have to hate on the Ridgeline but so what -- that says a great deal more about their insecurities than the Ridgeline. I know two contractors who have Ridgelines and they serve their GC and plumbing business really well.

Sounds like you are not really going "off road." Light off road camping you will be fine. One thing I am curious about, however, is the towing. Quick search for data says the Ridgeline can tow up to 5,000 pounds. The Tacoma is rated 3,500 to 6,800 pounds. I find that confusing ... and maybe someone here can explain that.

But ... for the purposes that you describe I think the Ridgeline would serve you well. I saw the new design and thought it looked pretty good as well. I am not giving up my Tacoma but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the Ridgeline for what it is ...

 

In 6 years when you have to sell it, you won’t like it so much

 

Easier to get in and out of I bet...

My 3 week old Taco is the first new car I've had in like 30 years. The wife always got new and it got handed down to me and then
the kids took them and left me with nothing but a Motorcycle.... she finally bought a 2017 Forester ( love it too! ) and I got the old
hand-me-down manual transmission Patriot -

So to get into my new Taco is a dream... heck anything new would have been a dream.

The Forester and this Taco will last us for what is left of our pitiful little lives - and the kids will inherit 2 well maintained good
vehicles that will serve them for several years too.

My son is plotting my early demise as I write this...

 

Burn it!!!!

In all seriousness though, I will give OP that the redesign does look better. However, I still can't stand the rear end or the overall looks of it. But, to each their own. I enjoy the idea of their in bed trunk, but that comes at the sacrifice of a full size spare. As many trust issues as I have with GM, I'll still take another Canyon/Colorado before a Ridgeline.

 

I would rather keep my Taco and my Honda Acty Kei truck, likely more capable than a Ridegline anyway......

In all seriousness though. If the Ridegline had a solid rear axle, and wasn’t a unibody I would definitely consider one over my Tacoma. That being said, if they changed those two things the truck would cost much more than most would be willing to spend, myself included.

 

Being hyper critical when looking at those pictures. I can't stand seeing the negative camber on the rear wheels.

 

very true. i bet it does not hold value as good as tacomas.

 

The Ridgeline is a great vehicle, it's not a truck, doesn't pretend to be, it just has a bed to load crap in, ElCamino style. Way more comfortable then the tacoma, all kinds of interior gadgets, because it's a mini van with a bed, and a mini van engine...... had to.

 

Is that a law? I mean having to sell in 6 years?

And while 90% here may hate RLs, 90% of those haters would be well served by one.

 

That is super-cool!

Some of the EV startups are concepting cab-forward vehicles like that. Personally I don't think they will do will in the consumer truck market, but for work vehicles they're certainly neat.

Good points above.

Personally I don't have any ergonomic or ride issues with the Taco, but would like to see if the Honda seats and ride are that much better.

As far as towing, the 4WD full cab Taco is rated at 6800, but if you've done any towing with it you will know you don't want to get anywhere close to that. It certainly doesn't seem like it LIKES pulling a reasonably heavy load, not that it can't do it.

I think the Honda TC was kept a bit lower because of the frame and just to be conservative. There's no reason a 3.5L engine couldn't tow a bit more than 5000 lbs. (The new Bronco is only rated for 3500 lbs, which is certainly conservative.)

I didn't notice that it didn't have a full-size spare. I haven't had to use a spare since, oh, 1984 or so, so I'm hoping my luck in the wheel department will continue. (My former Z4 and current Miata don't even have spares, just FixFlat kits.)

 

Taco 4 the win all day

 

Co-worker in office owned RL but his opinion 'i dont want to own it ever' only reason he said 'has noting to do a truck, its still a car.. no clue why he said.. but i am on t o my 8th tacoma and never looked away from there. but my 2008 Tundra is power beast as comp to Taco