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Black Edition - I gave it another try

5K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  999cm999 
#1 ·
First, let me say that I am a long time Honda owner (cars, van, generators, power equipment etc). My dad owns a Honda, and so does my brother, and my wife's family. So, a Honda Tribe so to speak. :laugh:

Few weeks back I had a chance to see Gen2 Ridgeline in person and I was disappointed with rear doors not opening wide enough, interior storage space lacking, driver position, rear seat room etc.

BUT...I wanted to give it another shot and take my time. So, today I visited my local NJ dealership and they had quite few (8 they told me) and one was in the showroom (Black Edition). I post some pics I took below.

I am sorry to say this (again) but Honda lost me. Rear doors definitely do not open wide enough (my 2008 Accord has better entry angle thru rear doors).

Arm-rest sucks. I am not sure why but it does. I dont feel comfortable resting my right hand on it (when I am driving) and if I put my hand down it just hangs in the air.

Knee room is much tighter than my Accord. I suspect it has to do with center console, but then again my Accord has it as well (and much better arm rest by the way).

Rear legroom is critical.

So, for the first time in DECADES I will have to buy something other than Honda (likely Ford).

I feel as if I broke up with a long time girlfriend cause she got all strange and nasty.... >:)

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#2 ·
I test drove one yesterday for the first time...I thought the arm rests were comfortable actually to my surprise. Perhaps it depends on body type and other preferences? I have to agree that they are definitely not "trucky" or what you would expect in a truck but i just lay my arm on it and my right arm takes the steering wheel at around 4oclock position.
 
#3 ·
My local dealership got three Ridgelines in on Monday. One FWD and two 4WD. Two of the three sold today. The appearance of the RL was very good, both inside and out. The trunk seemed about the same size in the storage area, but the spare tire space was considerably smaller. I did like the bed material better. It almost has a non-slip rubbery quality. I could repeat most of the compliments and gripes echoed by many of our members. I focused on the rear door opening as so many others have. I'm about 6' 1"/ 195 lbs. My shoulders, although somewhat wide, barely fit through the door opening without turning to the side. It appears that the doors could open another couple of inches if the follower were longer, but the pic in the previous post illustrates how little the door opens. It doesn't seem as if it would take much to alleviate that problem. For now, I'll stick with my Durango and a trailer. Maybe the door issue will be fixed by the time the newer transmission comes online.
 
#4 · (Edited)
This is absolutely bizarre. Look at the pic below that I snapped at lunch today. I obviously did it for the car seat thread, but notice the angle of the door in relation to the seat. It looks to be opened noticeably wider than the images that you posted. Maybe it's just because of the different angle?

 
#5 · (Edited)
This is absolutely bizarre. Look at the pic below that I snapped at lunch today. I obviously did it for the car seat thread, but notice the angle of the door in relation to the seat. It looks to be opened noticeably wider than the images that you posted. Maybe it's just because of the different angle?
The first picture I took, I was looking straight at the side of the truck. I opened both doors as wide as they would go to demonstrate the difference. The limited opening angle of the rear doors have been quite well documented by now - nothing bizarre about it. :wink:

I even tugged a bit on the rear door to make absolutely sure it would not open more. If you take a look at the front door you will see how wide it opens. Rear door - not so much.

It really messed up my plans. I was going to buy an RTS (I am not a fan of touch-screen radio the higher trims have). I want(ed) a mid-size truck but not "this" - whatever the Gen2 is.

Now I am stuck with considering full size truck (nothing else in mid-size truck market floats my boat), or perhaps waiting to see if Nissan will redesign their Frontier.

Tacoma's ride and driving position (and interior space) all suck (in my view), GM twins are likely to be unreliable, current Frontier is way too old etc. Though again, I am not sure when and how Nissan will redesign Frontier.

I like the Ford F-150. I rented it for a week (V8 5.0 engine). Rides smooth, lots of space, flat loading floor but it is a giant. Huge truck and I am not sure parking will be easy. On top of that I am not sure it would be reliable. Tundra, while reliable, has not so great IIHS crash test ratings and it is 11 year old design essentially.

So, I was counting on Honda to be the solution to my truck problem. Everything else except the fridge and the oven in my house is made by Honda :laugh:

But I refuse to award mediocrity and buy what I consider poorly designed and engineered half-assed product (GEN2). One of the reasons why I used to buy "everything Honda" was due to Honda's engineering magic, that unique quality, smartness, and reliability.

I love my 08 Accord and 08 Odyssey. I enjoy owning and driving well executed vehicles.

But Gen2 is a botched job (again, in my view - dont get excited) and it makes me sad that Honda lost its way. And apparently not with GEN2 only either. Lots of people complaining on MDX forums, Pilot forums etc.

I am considering buying a used Gen1 but they are NOT that easy to find and they do keep their price.
 
#6 ·
I haven't seen one in person yet (they don't arrive in Canada for another month or so) but I feel the same way. The Tacoma and Frontier are too small/uncomfortable/dated, but the F-150/Sierra/Ram1500 are all too big for my needs. So the RL looks like it's exactly the size I want and with all the features I expect from a new vehicle these days. I seriously hope I can live with this back door issue because if not I will be looking at a 2010-2013 Gen 1 RL - and as you say, they are not easy to find, especially up here.

Maybe the RLs produced for Canada will have back doors that open wide....
 
#13 ·
OP mentioned knee room - that is something that bothered me about the 2016 Pilot I checked out. Specifically the driver "door shelf" or "window switch ledge" or whatever you call it, tapered to a point in front and the way I sit it was poking the side of my left knee. On the right side the new console design cramped the room for the right knee. Basically I had to sit with my legs less sprawled out than usual, which would tend to irritate the devil out of me on longer rides. Did you have similar impressions of knee room?

Very interested in whether the Gen 2 door shelf is identical to the Pilot in that regard - does it hit your knee the same way?
 
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