Joined
·
246 Posts
I got the opportunity to road test a new Canyon yesterday. 4 door, 4wd with 3.6L engine. I can sum it up like this - for me, I need more than a truck and that's why I choose the Ridgeline. This road test confirmed I made the right choice for me.
In general - The only Ridge owner that would trade out for a Canyon, never liked their RL because they wanted a 'truck'.
The goal: to run the Canyon through the same chores as my RL does.
The criteria: I have it for one night, and can't put too much mileage on it.
With this in mind, Thursday is my errands night. I try to pack in all my stops in one evening. The truck I got is likely a direct comparison to my own RL, except it's a higher trim level. I followed the same routine on the same roads I take every day.
1 - wow, is this ever small! The interior feels cramped next to my RL. Not satisfied with my own bias judgement, I pulled the 2 truck together at home and had my son try all the seating positions with me. In the back seat, without any doubt, the RL is superior in comfort and space. The under seat storage? Win goes to RL again.
Front seat comfort for me was not good. 170lbs and 5'7", the seat cushion just fits my @ss? The bolsters irritated my legs, and there's no dead pedal to rest my foot! Didn't realize how much I use that.
The center console pales in storage compare to my RL. The feel of the buttons and the plastic is barely equal, but more so, I noticed the feel of the buttons when you actuate them. ex, signal lever feels clunky, the mirror selector button feels like something from Radio Shack, and the space for the mirror adjust buttons is really tight. The door pull is in the wrong spot and too car like (+1 for the RL "tool" grip door pulls!).
The leather was nice and the contrast stitching cool. But the nooks and crannies to clean would put my OCD into overdrive LOL.
Front seat (electric) adjustment doesn't move the cushion where I want it, very limited.
Driving, I found the gages too low and prefer my RL big gauges.
So - interior: RL roomier, more comfortable and simple. Canyon, much more upscale looking, but I'm not impressed after just using it one day. Especially after doing groceries... Where do you put people in this thing?
2 - Ride and drive: I hate this transmission! 6 gears that can't decide what to do. The buzziness from engine is felt in the floor and seat, and the exhaust note sucks. It honestly feels like the exhaust was grounded to the frame somewhere. Stab the throttle (quick on/off) and the RPM jumps, mission does a bunch of shifting and it all sounds wrong. Rolling stops and light accel from a corner causes a significant hesitation... like the whole thing just kinda stops in time to think. The jittery truck ride would soon tire me, and this could never do as a daily driver. It feels strong, but I think it's more noise than anything else! On this test, I averaged 15L/100km where my RL under similar conditions gets between 11.5 and 13L/100km. On the hwy portion, I got 12.8L/100km, where my RL typically returns 12.5. Obviously, both do better in warm weather. This test is under the same conditions for both vehicles.
So - RL drives nicer, smoother and sounds a LOT better on accel. Canyon steering is nice and heavy (but maybe a little too much), both trucks feel solid and planted. I like using the headrest in the RL, but couldn't do it with the Canyon... the ride is too buzzy to relax in the seat the same way. F/E looks to be better in my RL. Used as a DD (85% of what I do), the extra power was not noticeable in the Canyon.
3 - Appearance: I won't go too deep here as these are only opinions.
"I" didn't care for the look of the Canyon. "I" don't think my RL is 'beautiful', but I think it's hot when I have the Toyo tires on it.
I've taken my RL off road. It has limitations and I wouldn't bet pinks with the guy driving a Taco. But side by side with my RL, I find it hard to believe the Canyon wouldn't be dragging it's butt through the bush. My shorter RL with excellent overhang front/rear and a short wheelbase should easily be the better buggy. (Note - my RL has a 2" lift. This is likely helping.. A LOT).
4 - in Summary:
The Canyon is a nice TRUCK. I love the full transfer case and low range option. The bed has a gator finish that looks super tough. The gate is lockable and has the soft lowering feature. It looks like a sedan inside. The leather steering wheel is very comfortable and the right size. The info-tainment system is very good.
The RL (1st gen) is far more useful, much easier to drive, a much nicer place to be when on road. The storage is still head and shoulders above a 'truck'. The RL IS NOT A TRUCK! It's much much better than that :act035:
I doubt that the extra bed length, better towing or power would sway "me" to a truck. Likely, the day I need to tow or haul something big, what are the odds the load would be too much for the RL and just right for the Canyon?
Disclaimer - these are my impressions, based on what I use my RL for. Your results may vary :act024:
In general - The only Ridge owner that would trade out for a Canyon, never liked their RL because they wanted a 'truck'.
The goal: to run the Canyon through the same chores as my RL does.
The criteria: I have it for one night, and can't put too much mileage on it.
With this in mind, Thursday is my errands night. I try to pack in all my stops in one evening. The truck I got is likely a direct comparison to my own RL, except it's a higher trim level. I followed the same routine on the same roads I take every day.
1 - wow, is this ever small! The interior feels cramped next to my RL. Not satisfied with my own bias judgement, I pulled the 2 truck together at home and had my son try all the seating positions with me. In the back seat, without any doubt, the RL is superior in comfort and space. The under seat storage? Win goes to RL again.
Front seat comfort for me was not good. 170lbs and 5'7", the seat cushion just fits my @ss? The bolsters irritated my legs, and there's no dead pedal to rest my foot! Didn't realize how much I use that.
The center console pales in storage compare to my RL. The feel of the buttons and the plastic is barely equal, but more so, I noticed the feel of the buttons when you actuate them. ex, signal lever feels clunky, the mirror selector button feels like something from Radio Shack, and the space for the mirror adjust buttons is really tight. The door pull is in the wrong spot and too car like (+1 for the RL "tool" grip door pulls!).
The leather was nice and the contrast stitching cool. But the nooks and crannies to clean would put my OCD into overdrive LOL.
Front seat (electric) adjustment doesn't move the cushion where I want it, very limited.
Driving, I found the gages too low and prefer my RL big gauges.
So - interior: RL roomier, more comfortable and simple. Canyon, much more upscale looking, but I'm not impressed after just using it one day. Especially after doing groceries... Where do you put people in this thing?
2 - Ride and drive: I hate this transmission! 6 gears that can't decide what to do. The buzziness from engine is felt in the floor and seat, and the exhaust note sucks. It honestly feels like the exhaust was grounded to the frame somewhere. Stab the throttle (quick on/off) and the RPM jumps, mission does a bunch of shifting and it all sounds wrong. Rolling stops and light accel from a corner causes a significant hesitation... like the whole thing just kinda stops in time to think. The jittery truck ride would soon tire me, and this could never do as a daily driver. It feels strong, but I think it's more noise than anything else! On this test, I averaged 15L/100km where my RL under similar conditions gets between 11.5 and 13L/100km. On the hwy portion, I got 12.8L/100km, where my RL typically returns 12.5. Obviously, both do better in warm weather. This test is under the same conditions for both vehicles.
So - RL drives nicer, smoother and sounds a LOT better on accel. Canyon steering is nice and heavy (but maybe a little too much), both trucks feel solid and planted. I like using the headrest in the RL, but couldn't do it with the Canyon... the ride is too buzzy to relax in the seat the same way. F/E looks to be better in my RL. Used as a DD (85% of what I do), the extra power was not noticeable in the Canyon.
3 - Appearance: I won't go too deep here as these are only opinions.
"I" didn't care for the look of the Canyon. "I" don't think my RL is 'beautiful', but I think it's hot when I have the Toyo tires on it.
I've taken my RL off road. It has limitations and I wouldn't bet pinks with the guy driving a Taco. But side by side with my RL, I find it hard to believe the Canyon wouldn't be dragging it's butt through the bush. My shorter RL with excellent overhang front/rear and a short wheelbase should easily be the better buggy. (Note - my RL has a 2" lift. This is likely helping.. A LOT).
4 - in Summary:
The Canyon is a nice TRUCK. I love the full transfer case and low range option. The bed has a gator finish that looks super tough. The gate is lockable and has the soft lowering feature. It looks like a sedan inside. The leather steering wheel is very comfortable and the right size. The info-tainment system is very good.
The RL (1st gen) is far more useful, much easier to drive, a much nicer place to be when on road. The storage is still head and shoulders above a 'truck'. The RL IS NOT A TRUCK! It's much much better than that :act035:
I doubt that the extra bed length, better towing or power would sway "me" to a truck. Likely, the day I need to tow or haul something big, what are the odds the load would be too much for the RL and just right for the Canyon?
Disclaimer - these are my impressions, based on what I use my RL for. Your results may vary :act024:
Attachments
-
43.4 KB Views: 507
-
41.6 KB Views: 440
-
32.6 KB Views: 461
-
37.9 KB Views: 440
-
40.7 KB Views: 439
-
31.6 KB Views: 432