This has been a good discussion, and prompted me to join this forum after a couple months of lurking. I'm an F-150 driver that has been long lusted after a Ridgeline, but I'm just not sure this new one is enough.
I have some issues with my F-150 Crew with the 5.4. It was a great truck, perhaps the best vehicle I ever owned...until it wasn't. Anybody who is familiar with F-150s probably knows the story. Within a span of 2 years I've had to put upwards of $5K into it. All the spark plugs busted when changed, both 4x4 IWEs, fuel pump control module, rear end, cam phasers and tensioners. All before hitting 100K. It's an absolute POS, poorly engineered and poorly built, designed to make it through the warranty and who cares after that. Did I mention the seats have numerous stains from...frickin' water?
Resale, though, has been excellent. And it does everything I have ever asked of it and then some. We have 3 kids and really needed that big back seat, especially with me being 6'3"
But now the kids are a bit older and we are down to one car seat and a booster, in a couple years we will be down to one booster. My wife absolutely hates driving it and to be honest I am growing a bit tired of the size day in and day out.
I thought the Colorado was my answer. But the outside dimensions of those really aren't that much smaller than my current truck, yet the interior is. And for some reason GM refuses to put head restraints in for the middle back seat passenger in all their trucks. So they are out.
After my experience with Ford, and reading about the carbon issues and underwhelming mileage on the Ecoboosts, they are all but out. Did I mention I had an Explorer at one time that was also garbage? My mom bought a 2016 Edge and the build quality on that looks to be questionable too. Paint drips, uneven panel gaps, doors you have to slam shut to fully close, etc. I don't think I could bring myself to buy another Ford regardless of how nice they seem on a test drive.
I had a 4Runner before my F-150. Tacoma is too small and outdated, so is the Frontier.
So that leaves me with the Ram and Ridgeline. I like the Ridgeline, but I just feel Honda missed the mark on a few key things. The bed is so shallow I think I'd need to go with a topper to fit my gear in it. And I really don't like that because it makes stuff in the bed visible, there is no locking tailgate, and I like being able to climb up in the bed when loading and unloading. I'd much rather have a deeper bed than that trunk, which should be possible with the unibody construction. I don't like the looks, but that's not a dealbreaker. I'm also leery of the rear suspension. I've seen some pics of the Ridgeline loaded down and I couldn't help but notice that like the Odyssey, when the rear suspension squats the camber is pretty severe; the tires are riding on the inside edge instead of perpendicular to the ground. I've had issues with front tires on rental Ford box vans because of that, and it would make me nervous to try any long-distance drives with larger loads. I'm surprised I never see it mentioned anywhere. And of course getting a few key options you may want in a base Ridgeline is all but impossible.
I'm not in the market for another year or so, but I do want to like the Ridgeline because it would be a much better daily driver yet still enough truck to do what I need. I'd need some convincing at this point though. I'd really like to see a bench seat in front, a midgate like the Avalanche, and a deeper more traditional bed. Perhaps a thousand more pounds or so of towing as well. That would be MY perfect truck.
But I digress. I guess my main point is that if you plan on keeping a truck for more than 3-5 years and the Ridgeline meets your needs, I know what my choice would be.
I have some issues with my F-150 Crew with the 5.4. It was a great truck, perhaps the best vehicle I ever owned...until it wasn't. Anybody who is familiar with F-150s probably knows the story. Within a span of 2 years I've had to put upwards of $5K into it. All the spark plugs busted when changed, both 4x4 IWEs, fuel pump control module, rear end, cam phasers and tensioners. All before hitting 100K. It's an absolute POS, poorly engineered and poorly built, designed to make it through the warranty and who cares after that. Did I mention the seats have numerous stains from...frickin' water?
Resale, though, has been excellent. And it does everything I have ever asked of it and then some. We have 3 kids and really needed that big back seat, especially with me being 6'3"
But now the kids are a bit older and we are down to one car seat and a booster, in a couple years we will be down to one booster. My wife absolutely hates driving it and to be honest I am growing a bit tired of the size day in and day out.
I thought the Colorado was my answer. But the outside dimensions of those really aren't that much smaller than my current truck, yet the interior is. And for some reason GM refuses to put head restraints in for the middle back seat passenger in all their trucks. So they are out.
After my experience with Ford, and reading about the carbon issues and underwhelming mileage on the Ecoboosts, they are all but out. Did I mention I had an Explorer at one time that was also garbage? My mom bought a 2016 Edge and the build quality on that looks to be questionable too. Paint drips, uneven panel gaps, doors you have to slam shut to fully close, etc. I don't think I could bring myself to buy another Ford regardless of how nice they seem on a test drive.
I had a 4Runner before my F-150. Tacoma is too small and outdated, so is the Frontier.
So that leaves me with the Ram and Ridgeline. I like the Ridgeline, but I just feel Honda missed the mark on a few key things. The bed is so shallow I think I'd need to go with a topper to fit my gear in it. And I really don't like that because it makes stuff in the bed visible, there is no locking tailgate, and I like being able to climb up in the bed when loading and unloading. I'd much rather have a deeper bed than that trunk, which should be possible with the unibody construction. I don't like the looks, but that's not a dealbreaker. I'm also leery of the rear suspension. I've seen some pics of the Ridgeline loaded down and I couldn't help but notice that like the Odyssey, when the rear suspension squats the camber is pretty severe; the tires are riding on the inside edge instead of perpendicular to the ground. I've had issues with front tires on rental Ford box vans because of that, and it would make me nervous to try any long-distance drives with larger loads. I'm surprised I never see it mentioned anywhere. And of course getting a few key options you may want in a base Ridgeline is all but impossible.
I'm not in the market for another year or so, but I do want to like the Ridgeline because it would be a much better daily driver yet still enough truck to do what I need. I'd need some convincing at this point though. I'd really like to see a bench seat in front, a midgate like the Avalanche, and a deeper more traditional bed. Perhaps a thousand more pounds or so of towing as well. That would be MY perfect truck.
But I digress. I guess my main point is that if you plan on keeping a truck for more than 3-5 years and the Ridgeline meets your needs, I know what my choice would be.
