[phineas]

After doing research and going to see a new Ridgeline, I am more confused. Sorry if my questions have been discussed here but I haven't been able to answer my questions.
I have a 2007 RTS and there are things that I would like on a new Ridge but it seems that I have to go to the RTL-E to get them. In addition, I don't understand some of the features so here goes.

Is the sliding rear window only available on the E and the Black? I use it often for long items including fishing poles

Heated mirrors ? Only again on E and Black?

I don't understand what it means if you dont get AWD. Is there an equivalent to what my 2007 has, four wheel drive on demand?
If you don't get AWD is the tow capacity only 3500 lbs???

I use my truck for pleasure and for working and don't need all the fancy doodads .
I really walked away really dissapointed. I wanted more towing capacity , a longer bed option, and heated mirrors but I didn't expect to have to spend almost $45k.

If you lived in Canada, a lot of the stuff that you need to get to the RTL-E for is available at lower levels. So that's always an option. :grin:

I think the whole forum agrees with you about the rear window, even folks like me who have an RTL-E. I think there should be a manual window option at the very least. The RTL-E has an electric rear window, which is nice and all. But a manual window would've been fine in my book. To have a pickup truck without such a window through most of the trim levels is a huge mistake.

Most trucks have part-time four-wheel-drive. The Ridgeline doesn't offer that. Your choices are front-wheel-drive (FWD) and all-wheel-drive (AWD). With AWD, traction to all four wheels is always available, if needed. The Ridgeline uses a pretty good set of electronics to control wheel slip and ultimately maximize traction. It's yet to have an objective, comprehensive off-road test by an independent authority. We're going to see those soon though. But bottom line, if off-roading is your thing, the Ridgeline is most likely not the best choice for you.

And yes, FWD-only Ridgelines are rated at 3500 pounds for towing. It's 5000 pounds for AWD.

Last I checked, the Tacoma didn't have heated mirrors at all. You might want to check out the Canyon/Colorado, which have the tow rating of 7000 pounds. The Tacoma is a little less than that as I recall, around 6500 from memory. The Tacoma definitely comes in longer bed configurations both with and without the double cab.

You should look at the Ridgeline bed carefully; it's a lot more functional than the Tacoma short bed. Yes, it's very shallow, which bothered me a lot before I bought it. But when it comes to real-world loading, I've been getting a lot more stuff in the back of the Ridgeline than I ever did in my Tacomas. (That's especially true if you include the trunk.) Having an almost fully flat floor that's 5 feet wide is a bigger deal than I realized.

 

[phineas]

I know its dumb but sometimes to have one item you need another item installed...Like for example heated mirrors and a sunroof only come on a higher model together because the harness is in the same loom that feeds them both. This is just a made up scenario...I ran into something like this years ago but cant remember what it was...

I can see maybe if the rtl-e had a sub and a power rear window that both those would run in the same harness so it would only be beneficial for production costs(obviously not the consumer) to have them both in the vehicle..Maybe?

Well, for sure, the sunroof and the rear window go together, they have integrated user controls and I'm sure a shared mini harness branch in the roof. That's the reason why I was saying that it should probably be a manual rear window on other trims. That of course, would give them three SKUs for the rear window. I can't recall whether the RTL-T and lower trims have a rear window defroster, but I'm betting they don't.