You can do better by putting more down, but you are still essentially paying the same amount over the term of the lease. The only difference with putting more money down is that it's that much less money that you are paying interest on. Yes, leases have interest. This is known as the "money factor". Multiply the money factor by 2400 to get the true interest rate. Anyway, since you are really paying the money anyway, you may be better off just putting that money you were going to put down in the bank just in case you have an emergency or something. It is typically said that it is not a good idea to put a bunch down on a lease. I, myself put a bunch down on my 03 Accord to lower the payments, and I am still slightly upside down, so... I'm not really a fan of downpayments on leases anymore. Oh, and I sold Hondas for many years and I am familiar with the leasing process, so I'm not just talking out of my ass. Anyway, I hope this information is helpful. I myself intend to lease a Ridgeline. Just make sure they show you the purchase price, your trade in value, the cap cost reduction, and any "disposition fees", etc... Dealers tend to hide profit within a lease, and its good to know this information. For the record, Honda DOES NOT have disposition fees. So watch out for that if a dealer is trying to charge you for that.
