MattyG

Canyonero all the way!

mmarshall

Yep......that's about the mentality of some truck ads I've seen.

LexBob2

Good parody of some the over the top truck ads.

MattyG

I partially blame the Detroit truck makers for this. They wanted to capitalize on the "Napoleon complex" that is rampant among truck buyers, so the macho posturing advertising is just an extension of rugged outdoorsy types struggling to get to the Walmart for some... kitty litter or some sort of thing. But hey being tough while doing it works right? I think this market buys its trucks by the pound rather than for the value.

The Ridgeline is a nice urban CUV with a truck bed on it. You can move dishwashers, or even a fridge with it. And it works really well in the long run. Problem is that truck buyers see this vehicle's space, cargo and mileage and immediately drift over to the Detroit big three who now have their gas mileage under control for a change. The Detroit trucks don't age well, while the Ridgeline is a long distance marathon champ.

swajames

Fair points, but Detroit also offers comparably sized and capable trucks with smaller engines and reduced towing/payload capacity, such as the Canyon/Colorado, which are broadly targeting same segment as the Ridgeline - so it's not just macho posturing. The Ridgeline is a great truck, I'd certainly consider it if I were in that market, but my boat and trailer are heavier than it can comfortably tow so I do need something a bit more rugged. I think Honda has a hit on its hands here, but don't forget Detroit (and Toyota etc) are in the mid-size segment too and their products are by and large just as compelling. Honda's issue, I suspect, is not only that the Big 3 full-size trucks are very good, but also that they can be had at significant discounts when purchased new. You don't have to invest much more than the cost of a new Ridgeline to get a lower to mid trim full-sized Ford/GM/Ram truck if bought well. Toyota may be an exception here as you usually don't see the Tundra discounted to anything like the same extent as new trucks from the the Big 3.

ArmyofOne

This thing does nothing about a truck well.

It gets the same gas mileage as a full size truck, but it can't tow as much because it has a smaller engine.
It's not as roomy or as comfortable as my ram (I know, I have driven one)
It's as expensive or more expensive as the full sized half tons, so its not very good value for money.

Honestly, I see zero reason why anyone would buy one of these over any of the 5 full sized half ton trucks available on the market today. (F150, Ram 1500, Tundra, Titan, or Silverado/Sierra).

mmarshall

IMO it delivers the comfort quite well. And it has some clever features.

I know you have driven and owned big Rams (I respect that.) I've sampled (but not owned) a couple of recent big Rams myself. They indeed ride comfortably...I remarked on that. IMO, the Ridgeline also delivers a refined driving experience...both of them noticeably better than other pick-ups.


I've already mentioned one reason.....limited garage space.

ArmyofOne

Honestly though, the only time my truck has seen the inside of a garage is when I park at the airport. It isn't a huge concern for me, so I cant imagine it would be for very many truck owners. But it will fit in any standard 2 car garage, even with the 3" lift, I know because my first one fit in the garage I had in New York, and that was actually a 1 car.

I just think any of the half tons are better at being trucks than this "thing". This isn't good at being a truck, and its not good at being a car. It is too big to be a car, and doesn't have the covered cargo space to be an SUV. It gets the gas mileage of a full sized truck (worse in some cases, full sized rams can hit 30mpg in diesel trim), and can only tow 5,000lbs, and while thats probably more than most who buy trucks nowadays need to tow, some of us still use them to their capacities.

The Tacoma is in the same boat in my opinion. It costs as much as a Ram Big-Horn. Why? Its not a full sized truck?! And still it gets 18mpg hwy.

mmarshall

Agreed. No question the half-tons are better trucks, from a working point of view.

Not only that, but IMO, except for the Tacoma's durable powertrain (which can last for 300K miles or more if serviced properly), it doesn't seem built as well as the Ridgeline. It uses noticeably cheaper materials.