[DinoNJ]

Hello everyone,

I am a long time "lurker" first time poster.

I currently own a Honda Odyssey (my wife's actually), an Accord (my car), Honda Generator, Honda Snow Blower, and a Honda lawn mower. As you see, there is a "theme" there.... :grin:

I needed (nay, wanted) pick up truck and I test drove Tundra, F-150 but I (obviously) tend to buy Hondas so I have been anticipating with excitement Gen 2 Ridgeline. I like the smart engineering Honda is (was) famous for (dual action tailgate, hidden trunk etc). I also hoped Ridgeline will have interior that is big enough for two adults to seat behind me/the driver (6 foot 280 pounds).

Now, I visited a Honda dealership today in New Jersey and they had a black edition Gen2 Ridgeline on the lot (no sticker yet I guess not on sale yet). My timing was fortunate as I was able to (I think they were reparking it) see the interior and sit inside both in the drivers seat and behind the driver with the seat adjusted for me.

So, here are my observations (my 2 cents so to speak).

On the positive side, it is a handsome looking truck, ground clearance seems ok, though the front air-dam may need to be removed for some medium off-roading. The bed is very accessible even from the sides (not too deep). Interior design theme is nice as well. I cannot comment on ride as I was not able to actually drive it.

As for the negatives (which actually disqualified this truck for my needs) the front seat (when adjusted for a six foot guy) has a lot of shoulder room but the knee room is far from ideal. Also, the rear seat room is limited (leg room). My wife is 5'-9" and she barely fit behind me. When I tried to sit "behind myself" it was a no-go.

Another major disappointment was the limited opening angle of rear doors. I was shocked by how little they open. I am not sure why this was done?

I really wanted to like the truck and to some extent I still do, but not enough to buy it. Certainly not to shell out $43k or so for the black edition. And I waited for this truck for more than a year, holding off from purchasing a truck.

I hope they fix the rear doors opening angle at least - if that can be fixed without major redesign. Also, $44k is full-size truck territory so I am not sure their pricing is sound. And this coming from a Honda guy (prior to current Hondas I also owned CRV, another accord etc.).

Anyway, I was so happy to finally see a Ridgeline in person and it IS a good looking truck in my opinion, but some of the design features and approaches seem like an afterthought.

I likely will go with a full size truck now, though I really, really, wanted the Ridgeline to win me over. Sadly, it did not.

Thank you for reading.

 

[tkepongo]

How would you compare the Ridgeline to the Tacoma?

 

[DinoNJ]

How would you compare the Ridgeline to the Tacoma?

I am not interested in Tacoma (too small, rides rough, strange seating position etc) nor in Canyon/Colorado (GM Twins) which I also test-drove by the way (do not trust GM quality). Tacoma is not for me. Rear seat is even smaller than in Ridgeline. Unless you will be offroading a lot, I'd stay away from Tacoma.

I do believe when it comes to 90% of small truck duty Ridgeline is FAR better than Tacoma or GM twins (though Tacoma is better for hard core offroading). From all accounts Ridgeline rides better, has a better AWD system etc.

However, I do not understand why Ridgeline's rear doors' do not open at a wider angle. If one is to try to load a large flat screen tv in the back, with the back seats raised, the narrow angle of openings of the back doors would make that unnecessarily difficult.

My family members (other than my wife) are over six foot tall and I need to be able to have two adults sit comfortably in the back with driver (me) adjusting the seat for 6 foot 280 pound guy, and that is not the case (at least when it comes to my family) with the Ridgeline.

As I said, I am a Honda guy and the Gen2 ridgeline kind of broke my heart a bit. I was hoping it would be the truck I would buy. I am sure it handles like a dream, I love the in-bed trunk, dual action tailgate, I like the 6-speed tranny that is in it, but.....above faults are a deal breaker at least for me, and I suspect they might be for some others.

My suggestion to Honda would be to make the rear doors open wider. There is not much they can do about rear seat legroom (or can they?). Because, with some tweak Ridgeline can be very competitive and attract both large truck buyers and small truck buyers.

 

[henni]

..adjusting the seat for 6 foot 280 pound..

Something sets off alarm bells there, as normal bodyweight for 6 ft male is under 180 pounds. Even for WODKILLER the weight would be well under 200 pounds

 

[speedlever]

Something sets off alarm bells there, as normal bodyweight for 6 ft male is under 180 pounds. Even for WODKILLER the weight would be well under 200 pounds

There's "normal" and then there's reality. I'd like to see what Rusty thinks about the G2 driver's seating position and legroom. He's one of the larger ROC members that I know of. I suspect he'd qualify for both football and basketball regarding weight and height. And yet he drives a lowered G1 RL.

 

[bigdogrod]

yeah "normal" was the width of the gen 1 seats, "reality" is what our wide american a$$es did to them :grin:

i couldn't get down to under 180 unless you cut a leg off or something... i'm 6 foot and 235, i could get to 200 maybe, but any less and i'd be a stick figure.... which is what all the media says everybody should be anyways... which is b.s in my opinion

 

[JJ13]

While I have not actually sat in the new Ridgeline yet, I have spent almost an hour now in the new Pilot. I can't image the seating position is that much different if any. I am 6'3" 245, and have more than enough knee room. I don't know the OP's comfortable driving position, but I had more than enough room when I adjusted the seat. Maybe he prefers a close to the steering wheel position? Once I get into a new RL I will post my findings.

 

[fraugher]

Some interesting new notes. The rear doors always looked like they would be an issue IMHO. Even in the RL1, I sometimes wish I could open them further. Having driven the Pilot, I agree that not only is there less room at the legs, but the cockpit feeling makes it feel like even less than that... basically like you are in a sedan. Not the relaxed seating position I expect from a truck.

 

[xrdad]

OP may be right about the doors. I also got close to one the other day and the door opening struck me as smaller than the G1.

But I didn't measure and don't know for sure. My impression is that the angle is slightly tighter, but the real reason is the door panel looks 'thicker'?

Should be able to confirm soon... would be disappointed if this is true as the G1 door opening is easily best of the small trucks, and even it can be a chore to load large items, something I do occasionally.

 

[zroger73]

On size: I'm 5'-11" and 160 lbs. soaking wet and my arm still hangs off that silly "armrest". I guess I don't have sufficient surface area or padding as the average American.

On doors: I've never given a thought to rear door opening angles (probably because I rarely use them). However, one of the first things I noticed about the CR-V I currently own is that its rear doors open almost 90° - I thought they were broken at first!

 

[CCDAstro]

All these folks getting close to G2 RL and not one of them has a cell phone with a camera? OK, maybe I am just being silly but one does wonder.

Seat no issue for me as I am not that big (or small) in any dimension. Sometimes average is good, as long as it is not IQ. :wink:

 

[Carsmak]

I'll definitely look at the rear doors when they show up on my dealers lot. I thought the G1's rear doors were impressive, and I've brought home all my flat panel TV's, most recently my 55", and loading was about as easy as could be.

 

[84im]

Something sets off alarm bells there, as normal bodyweight for 6 ft male is under 180 pounds. Even for WODKILLER the weight would be well under 200 pounds

If you're talking about North Americans you're dreaming. Maybe 50 years ago, but today....no way.

 

[AG87BlkLX]

Finally some people are getting to see Gen2 on dealer lots.

 

[25 Year Honda Owner]

All these folks getting close to G2 RL and not one of them has a cell phone with a camera?

I see where this is headed, same thoughts here.

 

[DinoNJ]

Something sets off alarm bells there, as normal bodyweight for 6 ft male is under 180 pounds. Even for WODKILLER the weight would be well under 200 pounds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4-hMP9L5W8

Yes, I am a part of big conspiracy to mess with Gen2 Ridgeline sales....

I am six feet 280 pounds. There is a photo of me (face redacted) from a NJ State Judo Championship (yes I took a medal). In today's America how can anyone doubt there are PLENTY of people over 250 pounds and 6 feet? Just go to any shopping mall.

The fact is that Honda could have done better job with interior packaging of Ridgeline. Certainly much better job with rear doors opening angle.

I did not take a photo of the Ridgeline as the guys who were reparking it were not really supposed to let customers go in etc (it is not officially on sale yet) and everything had to be done super quick before their boss gives them hard time. I might swing by the dealer today for some parts for my accord and I might snap some exterior photos.

 

[46&2]

Which dealership had the Black Edition?

 

[DinoNJ]

Which dealership had the Black Edition?

DCH Paramus Honda on Route 4 East in Paramus, NJ.
When I drove by last night it was not in the parking lot though. Someone told me that apparently a guy already put a deposit on it but that is just what the parking lot service guy said so who knows.

 

[cccbock]

6 foot and 280 is not unusual. It might be way less prevalent in Honda owners though. Being involved to some degree in college football, I see 6 foot 280 pound guys regularly. Stop by Walmart on the weekend and you will see 280 pound folks, both sexes, all over the place. I'm not dissing them, I am 6'1" and I weighed 270 when I bought my first RL. By the time I got to my second RL, I managed to get that down to 195. I don't think Honda spends much time designing accommodations for big folks in their vehicles.

 

[JJ13]

DCH Someone told me that apparently a guy already put a deposit on it but that is just what the parking lot service guy said so who knows.

That is the common practice, if they have a deposit down on a vehicle before its sale date they will move it to one of the off site lots for storage. That's exactly what my salesman told me would happen to the RTL-T that they have due in, supposedly this week. On the bright side he also told me where their 3 off site storage sites are. I'll start hunting again after this weekend.