Talk me out of a Honda Ridgeline

Good read with coffee this morning! ☕️ Aesthetics are an important part of the ownership experience for me. If I didn’t like the way the Ridgeline looks, I wouldn’t buy it.

 

I've been looking for a car to replace the wifes outback, showed her the ridgline and she said "I ain't driven that". And she usually doesn't care used to drive a saturn.

I'd get one I'm just not sure if there big person friendly inside. If you don't need a 3rd row then I think it's better than the suv. Keep all the dirty gear outside.

And when you here any crap about it ask them what there payload is

2021 Honda Ridgeline/Payload
1,509 to 1,583 lbs

 

This right here. Nothing against the Ridgeline, I’d get a van too for a handyman business. Way more storage for tools, supplies, etc. and you keep the dry, secure and organized.

 

In 20+ plus years of doing mobile communications work for oil, gas, coal and other industrial industries, I’ve only worked on two Honda Ridgelines. Both were owned consecutively by the same female executive. Both times the glovebox was filled with “female toys”. I know it has nothing to do with this post other than I came for the comments and this is the only Ridgeline experience I have. Lol. She was present when I worked on one and had to disassemble the dash, she said “the toy industry is a multi billion dollar industry and I’m not the only one”. I liked her.

 

If I had to work 70 hours a week in my regular job there is NO WAY IN HELL I'd be looking to start up something on the side.

Don't you want to have any time off at all?

Time is the most valuable of all things.

All the money in the world can't get time back...so think about how you want to "spend" your time.

SPP

PS don't buy a Ridgeline

 

Oh, I forgot, one of my best friends, who is an accountant, traded his Taco for a Ridgeline. He quit drinking booze and eating fatty, good foods too. The rest of us laugh when he talks about his truck and how it perfectly hauls their $4k bicycles. He is in nice shape though.

 

Check out Honda's recent issues, basically across the line. They are no longer in Toyota's league in terms of reliability. Don't know what's led to the change, but their new drivetrains are no where near where they used to be for quality.

 

Awesome Ridgeline story! However, the question begs to be asked... why did she keep them in her car! Traffic jams?!

 

I like everything about the Ridgeline except how it looks, the refreshed one does look somewhat better, and I hear they’ll “toughen up” the styling on the next one

 

I used to be in finance/accounting and so I crunched a few numbers and financed a new Tundra. Do the math on the cost of depreciation on any car (purchase price of a new one, less the trade in value of an old one via KBB). There’s literally no car less expensive to drive than buying a Toyota Tundra. Here was my math:

OTD on a 2020 SR5 Tundra: $42k
KBB of a 2014 SR5 w/ 40,000 miles: $34k

Maintenance (few oil changes): negligible

That is $111/month to drive my Tundra.

Now let’s figure out the cost of the extra gas:

Tundra (40k mi, $2.50/gal, 15mpg): $6,666
Honda (40k mi, $2.50/gal, 20 mpg): $5,000

What’s the chance you have a $1,600 repair on a Ridgeline in 6 years? idk but the Tundra is also a nicer car imo so I considered this cost negligible.

When comparing these numbers to a lease, you must also consider the cost of financing. The numbers are laughable, the Toyota Tundra is the least expensive car on the road. Btw I also found out the SR5 is the least expensive Tundra too (not surprising).

 

I dont give a fuck I'd drive a ridgeline. And I own 3 pickup trucks.

The first generation looked good to me. The second generation would look better if they didnt use the front end off the Pilot, but i think they are changing it this year.

I dont understand why people dont say its a truck. It has a bed, its a truck. A bigger, more useful bed than a tacoma. I work in construction, what you will probably need the most for your sidegig is payload capacity and bed space. I think for a small operation the ridgeline will do the job.

The fuel mileage on the older ones I thought was only about 20mpg which is not significantly greater than a conventional pickup truck. I dont know what the newer ones get.

 

BTW El Camino's are badass.

SPP

 

Fuel is only one part of the cost of truck ownership -- look at the overall life cost and the retained sale value. I'd weigh that into my consideration. Whatever you decide ultimately will be right... unless you go with the Ridgeline --- lol j.k

Good luck on your choice!

 

I'd say get the Ridgeline, it's a nice truck. It was my second choice.

The Ridgeline is ahead of its time. Unibody is the future and everyone is following suit. Ford is coming out with Maverick and Hyundai has its own. As well as all the electric trucks.

Seeing some of the first gen Ridgeline on the road, I can see how Cybertruck got some inspiration.

I think more will follow and as development continues. Someday they will figure out a unibody as strong as body on frame.

 

I am afraid that if you are asking about this here it may already be too late?

Just get a Minivan like I have,trust me for any kind of contracting where you need to keep a lot inside the van is really the right call.

Oh and mine does get about 30mpg no matter what is in it.

 

The Type-R looks nice, but it doesn't really exist.

 

Honda would sell a lot of those Type R's

 

I actually love the concept of the ridge line. However the mpg just isn’t better enough than a tundra to justify it if you need a truck.

 

I was understanding that her husband had cancer and couldn’t completely fulfill his end of the relationship and rather than “handle it herself” to his knowledge and diminish his pride she would take care of it before she got home. Very uninhabited southern WV. Lol

 

I know a couple guys who have Ridgelines. I actually work with one of them, does he catch hell for it? Absolutely. BUT, I have rode in it quite a few times and it's actually not that bad. Not my cup of tea, but the ride and interior refinement is something the Tundra lacks. My wife has a 2019 Honda Passport so I am used to the fancy interior.

The pearl white black editions is pretty slick, get it and slap some beefier AT tires with the roof rack and it looks like your light off road style truck. Ultimately it's whatever suits your needs.

Also, don't sleep on the 2022 Nissan Frontier. It looks pretty sweet too!

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here... but the Ridge Line should haul all of your White Claw. Could be a perfect fit.

 

Hey, I'm an offical old fart and as nice as the Ridglines are built, I wouldn't buy one.
They will give you a long life drive train wise but it looks like an "almost truck".
Something you'd find in "Sun City, or some other southern California senior city".
My real reason for never buying another Honda vehicle is not that Hondas are bad, it's just that I hate / Acuras.
Wife owns an MDX and something is always wearing out.
Case in point, the MDX uses oil by design and you have to keep an eye on it.
I was adding a quart yesterday and while leaning over to insure a good oil pour into the engine, the gas springs just gave out and the hood came down and hit me in the head.
Twice mind you after I pushed it back up. (cussing and yelling portion left out)
I looked up replacement gas springs for a 6 year old MDX and saw $152.00 a pair by Acura.
Amazon had better units available in one day for $26.00 a pair.
Reviews of the Amazon units showed they were far superior to the factory units.
One purchaser stated that for the first time ever, when he realeased the hood latch the hood just went up like it was powered.
Never had that happen with this MDX even when brand new.
Sooo, if you plan on keeping the Ridgy for a long life, they will get you for replacement part costs big time.
Get the Toyota and never look back.

 

Good point. They are cheaper than tundra/taco also.

 

Gotta say this post has made my day.
I'm sitting at the puter laughing and the wife is still in bed reading her Ipad mini.
She asks what's so funny. I said, "your damn MDX can rot in Hell".
She just says i'm nuts.

 

This freakin guy. April fools is still like 4 days away. What are you smoking?

 

Being in that age range, personally a Ridgeline just isn’t acceptable.

The Ridgeline reeks of, “I only bought this because it kind-of-sorta looks like a truck and people may think I actually do stuff with it. But in reality, I don’t have enough room to park a real truck at my assisted living facility.”

 

I’m gonna say it, if you need a car but want the versatility, why not. Just call it a car and nobody will blink an eye.