I just got the latest Car and Driver in the mail yesterday and was surprised that they publised probably 8-10 letters from readers ripping them up for naming the Honda Ridgeline the best pickup in the test. The readers mostly focused on the same stuff that has been mentioned in the threads on this board (i.e car based, towing, off-road capability, etc.).

Whenever they test trucks or SUV's they alway pick the most "carlike" option, so it was no real surprise. Add that to the fact that it was a Honda, and you can guess who they will pick every time.

One letter even said something to the effect of, "You guys could have a comparison test of cars without a Honda included, and a Honda would still win."

They didn't even include any snide comments from the editors after the letters. Seems like they at least acknowledge their bias by printing a large number of differing opinions.

 

I suppose the fact is that the Ridgeline is the most car like, and to most consumers who seem to buy pickup trucks just to haul the occasional bed full of mulch for their flower bed or their new playground set for the kids and just want to be able to cruise comfortable with a high-up view of the road around them, the Ridgeline is absolutely the most ideal of the bunch.

IIRC it has a 6500 pound towing capacity as well which certainly is not bad.

And it's both unibody and body on frame. It has a full truck ladder frame with the added rigidity of a unibody exterior frame. That's a bad thing?

Pair that with the V8 that Honda is currently working on with the Ridgeline, and I think the Ridgeline would be a great choice to consider for 90% of the truck buyers out there. For those planning on using it as a work truck then the Ridgeline is not the one to consider. But again... in the day and age of soccer moms and Z71 Silverados that never have and never will be taken off road or tow anything more than a Jet ski... does image really matter more than comfort to these people?

 

Honda did not build a truck.......they built an alternative to a truck. No one wanted it. So to make it a real truck they are throwing a v8 in it. Not to mention that they priced it too high for a truck and the dealers dont allow 7 to 10k off the msrp like Nissan and the Domestics. This thing has no focus. No target audiance materialized. I doubt it will make a diffrence at all.

 

I think that you're right, that for how the majority of people actually use them, the ridgeline might actually work better than anything else out there.

The problem is, people who buy the Z71's and never take them off-road do so for the image that having a vehicle capable of that kind of treatment has. When it ceases to be capable of being a work truck/off-roader, it is no longer desirable. I don't think practicality has much to do with why these people buy a pickup in the first place, so I guess I do think that image matters more than having the utmost practicality since the modern trucks are at all uncomfortable anyway.

 

You're dead wrong if you think that 90% of truck owners buy them for an occasional load or two....you're totally ignoring work trucks, fleet trucks, etc...

 

Once Honda puts a V8 in there, they'll sell more trucks. I don't know why they didn't start w/ a V8 like Nissan did.

 

It all depends on what you want the truck to do. I just bought a Ridgeline RTS. I traded in a 2001 S-10 extended cab. The Ridgeline will do more than the S-10 and the Colorado.
I considered the Colorado, but with the problems I just went through with the S-10, I just couldn't do it. Then after hearing the "Honda's not a real truck" comments, I looked at the comparisons to the Colorado. The Ridgeline has a higher towing capacity by 1,000 lbs. It has 35 more horsepower. It has a 1" shorter, but a 6.9" wider bed. It's payload capacity is higher than the Colorado (only by 58 lbs). So unless you just hate Honda's, or the look of the Ridgeline for some reason, there's really no other legitimate reason to bash it.
It drives great, has plenty of horsepower (I don't need a V-8) I'll hot rod around in the Camaro thank you, and so far I feel like I'll get my moneys worth from it.
I wouldn't compare it to anybody's full size trucks (except for quality) because it just wasn't built to compete with a 3/4 ton V-8 model. I was also tempted to buy a full size silverado at the employee discount, I certainly could have saved some money, but I just don't need a full size truck and if you don't need it, they just aren't that fun (for me anyway) to drive around everyday.

 

No they wont. Honda's kind of caters to the I hate v8 crowd. They have no target audiance. Thier buisness case study was flawed. They never intended to put a v8 in it. That was part of what made it diffrent. They are scrambling to change that now because their original idea flopped.

FYI, they forcasted the main driver of this vehicle to be female. V8's are something that attracts men. I dont think they can compete with the Domestic's and Nissan. I think if they stay with this they will be bringing up the rear with Toyota in a few years.

 

It's a turd.

Next.

 

Ugly and way overpriced..But hey it is "carlike"........ yippie. Let me go out and buy one right away

 

The best is that those letters are probably published in the very same issue that has the absurd RSX vs WRX vs SRT4 vs CobaltSS vs IonRL comparo, in which they finished in that order. Car and Driver can be so full of crap that it causes MY *** physical discomfort.

That test is being discussed in another thread (the car comparison, not my *** discomfort).

 

With a bed full of mulch, how are Ridgeline owners supposed to access the spare tire, which is temporary spare only, assuming they got a flat?

Not to mention they scolded the Tacoma for being too trucklike in a comparison of trucks.

 

Well... like I was saying. The average consumer doesn't WANT their truck to be truck-like. I'm not saying it's right or wrong. Hell... I have a 4Runner which is where the new generation Tacoma's platform was derived from. Our 4Runner is very quiet and very nice inside but when you hit a bump you definitely feel it. No, it doesn't shake shimmy and rattle when you hit it... it just has a solid "thud" and that's it. But still, some people just don't like that at all.

 

And some people do. Thats why you see more trucks on the road then cars even at night and on weekends. People prefer to drive them even when they could drive their car.

 

"Carlike"... is that even a word?!?!

GM and Ford have done "carlike" "trucks" since 1963... Ranchero anyone? El Camino?
Big whopetydoo.

IMO, Honda is trying to lay claim to some truck buyers - especially those people who think there is Honda cars, and "the other stuff". The Blinded Honda owner that needs something to haul home a flowerpot will buy it - done. Can't blame them for trying to grab some market.

Will I ever consider one? Not in a billion years.



OK. Then I chose both these 2 reasons to bash it.
I worked my '88 Ranger 4x4 like a pack mule in the Grand Canyon for 12 years, then sold it to pay towards my F250 SuperDuty PowerStroke. I don't "ride around" in my trucks, I use the sh1+ out of them. I wouldn't put 1500lbs behind a Honda, much less 6500.
I don't like Hondas. I don't like the brick-shaped front end of this truck-wanna-be, and I think it is more stupider than stupid to put a storage compartment UNDER the floor of a truck bed.
You will never need anything in that storage compartment until you have 500lbs of crap piled up on the door.
Heck, maybe I'll design a shower with the soap holder on the floor and the drain in the side wall so the soap won't ever fall out of the holder, and the drain won't get clogged-up with hair anymore - that's a novel idea too.

Like Pacer said....
NEXT.