Stopped to look at a Ridgeline yesterday.

Kind of related to Bobzilla's thread, I rolled into a small lot with about a dozen cars on it. All were trucks. All Chevies, 2 & 4WD, and two Honda Ridgelines. One had leather, the other had cloth, each had about 85,000 miles and looked rust free.

I was driving my 1990 full size Chevy Scottsdale. Owner salesman talked about the towing capacity of ~2500lbs on the Honda, OK for jet skis but it kinda sucks. Box is small but it rides OK for a truck.

I told him I wanted to get rid of my Chevy. "Why? You don't want this."

OK, have a good day.

What the heck?

Sounds like he would rather sell the Chevies? I don't get it.

I thought the Honda had a 5,000 lb tow rating.

In reply to bastomatic:

At least the new ones are listed at 5k with AWD, 3500 for FWD. I'm unsure of the first gen trucks.

I have a Ridgeline and the towing capacity is 5K. Great all around vehicle and trouble free.

Clearly the salesmen didn't know much about the Ridgeline and hid this lack of knowledge by discrediting the Ridgeline.

The price alone discredits the Ridgeline.

I want to like it, and price aside I do, but when you factor in the price and see what else you can buy the Ridgeline loses.

carguy123 wrote: The price alone discredits the Ridgeline. I want to like it, and price aside I do, but when you factor in the price and see what else you can buy the Ridgeline loses.

I have no interest in a Ridgeline. They tow a decent amount, but the bed is to small and it looks terrible. And now that I've owned an Odyssey for almost 2 years, I see that the Japanese can made a reliable car (though not stellar to me) but ergonomics and user-friendliness is a swing and a miss. It's like they are great textbook designers; they know that chapter 3 says this about button layout, and chapter 5 says this about the cargo hold, but they TOTALLY miss the point of how the van is used.
Naturally, I assume the same carries over to the Ridgeline.

I wound up behind a new one today after it cut me off. At first I thought it was a Ram as those seem to be the usual suspects in questionable driving. The shape of the tailgate, back of the cab, taillights, and even the Honda emblem looked a LOT like a smaller ram

The newer models are quite a bit nicer than the old design. The old design was trying so hard to be "butch" and truck-like that it came off as sort of cartoony to me. (especially the interior design)

The new one isn't trying to be something its' not. It looks and drives like a Pilot with an open bed--- which it is. It's interior is well designed and has that simple elegance Hondas are known for. It has limited capabilities for a truck, but it's not really a truck, it's an SUV that you can put mulch, or a motorcycle in the back. For some, it's an ideal machine. I know the Suddards love theirs.

If Honda made the Ridgeline with a 6' bed (and retained the four doors) I'd be all over it. Even a modest 2" lift and some tough tires would be enough for most of the places I go, even in the wilderness of the southwest.

Sorry about the potato pic, apparently Traxda doesn't want to sell it's products.

I have a 2007 Ridgeline. AWD. 5,000lb. Tow capacity. Love it. The looks are polarizing, people either like it or they don't. Not much in between. Great vehicle for my needs.

You know if they lowered it and call it an Ute, they'd probably sell more. Of couse then it would still be polarizing.

RossD wrote: You know if they lowered it and call it an Ute, they'd probably sell more. Of couse then it would still be polarizing.

and then the Doc would REALLY hate it

mad_machine wrote:

RossD wrote: You know if they lowered it and call it an Ute, they'd probably sell more. Of couse then it would still be polarizing.

and then the Doc would REALLY hate it

QFT!!!

pheller wrote: If Honda made the Ridgeline with a 6' bed (and retained the four doors) I'd be all over it. Even a modest 2" lift and some tough tires would be enough for most of the places I go, even in the wilderness of the southwest. Sorry about the potato pic, apparently Traxda doesn't want to sell it's products.

I agree on the bed length. Even though it's only 18", a 6 1/2 foot bed would be a lot more appealing than the 5 foot beds on many of the 4 door trucks.

I know where they stylists got their inspiration of the new Ridgeline...