Truck Sales May 2018 Taco surges 21%

Not a light duty test by any means. Long distances over washboard will absolutely kill a shock; the constant, rapid compression cycles will heat the shock to the point of failure. As the article points out, the Ridgeline did better because it is a unibody with 4 wheel independent suspension which greatly reduces the stresses on the individual shock. It's why the rears on the Tacoma blew, but the fronts (IFS) didn't.

 

Also why the TRD Pro has remote REAR Resi's but not up front

 

Ahhhhhh that’s a great point, I never thought of that!

 

Uhh no. The trend has been towards unibody because of the weight savings. If it really was inherently stronger, then why do nearly all heavy duty vehicles continue to utilize body on frame?

Comparing GVWR to HP is a false equivalence. HP is a measurable characteristic, GVWR is a number the lawyers and government agree on. You can register the same heavy truck with two vastly different GVWR's based solely on what license you want to drive it with.

I have no problem with the Ridgeline, but saying it's a more capable truck than the Tacoma is a stretch.

Edit: also if you compare 2wd DCSB models, the payload is the same for v6 models and the taco beats the Ridgeline if you get a 4 banger.

If you get a 2wd access cab taco you beat max Ridgeline payload by 40lbs.

 

Most consumer orientated trucks are still body on frame because the perception is that they are tougher. Most people aren’t open to a unibody platform.

Body on frame is also cheaper once you start offering multiple variants of something. For example, long bed, short bed, dual cab,etc. every single one of those would effectively have to be its own unibody construction and costs would add up. With body on frame you just bolt stuff to the frame and call it a day. That’s why the ridgeline is only offered in 1 variant, would be too costly for multiple variants.

Body on frame is still generally better for towing to your point but the rigidity and inherent strength of a unibody is unbeatable for hauling if done properly. All the weight it better distributed. Look at the crash tests of the ridgeline vs any body on frame truck and you will see how much stronger of a structure it is.

Body on frame is also better for off roading partially because they aren’t as rigid as a unibody. The fact that they flex is actually a desirable trait.

 

Actually the Ridgeline is offered in several variants:
Odyssey
Pilot
Ridgeline
Acura MDX
They all share many common parts.

At the end of the day, the biggest difference between the Ridgeline and Tacoma is off road ability. Certain compromises by Toyota are needed to make a truck that performs well off road and well on road. The Ridgeline is not good off road. It is exceptional on road though. The Tacoma is OK on road and good off road.

 

Well said.

The Tacoma won for me because a 6ft bed, 4wd with low range, ground clearance, and a manual transmission were more important to me than 4 doors and a smooth ride.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

i agree. Ridgeline no question rides and handles on road much better and lot more comfortable. Turning radius is not great for its size but I will say when I test drove them it was nice. As far as most conditions on road from snow and other stuff it handles really better in that arena too unless real deep snow.

 

The only thing wrong with a RL is the looks. Honda really screwed the pooch on that. This market is too wide open to sell the numbers they do, and there is only one reason why they do, looks. A RL wouldn't work for me, but for a vast majority of Taco owners, it would actually be a better choice. Honda just needed to not make it look like a Pilot from r/shittycarmods.

 

I traded my El Camino
For this
and dont regret it. But I do miss the trunk in the bed.

 

What the...

 

I don't hate this as much as I should.

 

Test drove the ridgeline, had some goid tech in it, but it was more expensive and i didnt like the minivan look

 

Hey hey hey, I traded my WRX STi in for my Tacoma, but it wasn't the lesbian type of Subaru. While an awesome car with plenty of fun to be had, it was a really stiff ride. When I hear people complain about the ride comfort in their Tacoma, I just laugh. They don't even know. I drove that thing from Arizona to Maryland and back. My body paid for it.

 

Right? I didn't have a STi but I still have a 05 Mustang GT that is lowered with stiffer springs, talk about rough. The Tacoma is a Cadillac in comparison.

 

Next big storm, I will not pull out the stuck Pilot.... Anyhoo, get a Subaru then it has more ground clearance, MUCH MUCH MUCH better AWD and for less money. Again, I have had Honda's AWD in the 2014 CR-V EX and frankly it sucked.

 

Yep, honda, specifically the CRV from what I have seen, repeatedly has failed tests of the AWD system. It is really poor at sending power to the rear wheels when the front lose grip.

 

I haven't had a 4wd in a while but my last car was the AWD Taurus SHO and that thing was terrific in the snow, even when it didn't have ground clearance it didn't matter.

 

Ultimately it comes down to tires above all else. A Fwd car with snow tires will be quite a bit more stable in snow than an AWD or 4WD with all season.