Honda ridgeline

[SirBannedAlot]

I had a 2008 Ridgeline RTL. LOVED it. More than enough truck for the average person, lifted it a tad with some larger offroad tires, the AWD system was great in the snow and mud... It's not gonna haul huge stuff like a real truck will, but if you want to do some light off roading and tow up to 5,000lbs, it was a nice truck. Interior was very nice, leather, comfortable...

The new body style looks... wimpy to me, but I am sure it is a solid vehicle for someone that wants a bit of offroad and utility, without the need for a giant truck...

 

[Granite3]

JDG. Hit up Craigslist to sell yours.

Most are getting thousands more than trade in from the dealer.

@NWSharpshooter has a thread detailing his good luck on selling that way.

 

[JDG.]

Cool! I'm curious how you end up liking it. I've been kicking around the idea of one of those since the new body style came out. I'm kinda liking the look of the new Passport, too (comes out in February).

Its very different from my last truck. Im sure itll be ok with an adjustment period. This ine is far lower end than my last truck.

Bought my wife a new Honda Pilot in 2016 new style she loves it plenty of room great mileage highway around 27/28 highway. I myself have been thinking on getting a Ridgeline JDT, Curious on what they offered you price wise. I know I've been looking at 2 different ones listing from 37,000.00 to 42,000.00 or so.

I got the sports trim awd. Nothing special but was a hair over 32k otd. No leather but none of those pesky driver “aids” didnt want the sunroof either.

Neighbor has a new one, very nice. I have an 09, the old style. 3.5, 218,000 miles never been worked on except timing belt. Still runs great, love the AWD with 4WD lock, don't think the new ones have that.

New one is awd with different modes. Unlikely that ill use any of the modes besides the standard mode.

I had a 2008 Ridgeline RTL. LOVED it. More than enough truck for the average person, lifted it a tad with some larger offroad tires, the AWD system was great in the snow and mud... It's not gonna haul huge stuff like a real truck will, but if you want to do some light off roading and tow up to 5,000lbs, it was a nice truck. Interior was very nice, leather, comfortable...

The new body style looks... wimpy to me, but I am sure it is a solid vehicle for someone that wants a bit of offroad and utility, without the need for a giant truck...

Well i never used the 2500 for anything the ridgeline couldnt do besides a bit smaller bed. I also dont go off-roading so tue 2500 was purely an exercise in excess. The looks are better to me than the last model, but its no looker like a tacoma. I did the switch for mostly comfort reasons and save money to save for a more “fun” car

JDG. Hit up Craigslist to sell yours.

Most are getting thousands more than trade in from the dealer.

@NWSharpshooter has a thread detailing his good luck on selling that way.

I did the craigslist thing. Didnt try very hard though. Dealer came closeish to what i wanted. With the tax benefit, it was worth trading in.

 

[Smoothie]

Keep your 2500 so if the Honda breaks down you can throw it in the bed and bring it home.

 

[logcabinman]

I had a 2008 Ridgeline RTL. LOVED it. More than enough truck for the average person, lifted it a tad with some larger offroad tires, the AWD system was great in the snow and mud... It's not gonna haul huge stuff like a real truck will, but if you want to do some light off roading and tow up to 5,000lbs, it was a nice truck. Interior was very nice, leather, comfortable...

The new body style looks... wimpy to me, but I am sure it is a solid vehicle for someone that wants a bit of offroad and utility, without the need for a giant truck...

We have a house in Ellijay and I need to go up 2 short steep hills. In the winter it is muddy/gravel and in the summer, very dry/sandy. With my Frontier, 4.0 Limited Slip it would bounce and spin, also have a CRV and with a load in the rear, the traction light is always flashing. Sold the Frontier, bought the Ridgeline. At the bottom of the hill I put it in Drive 1 or 2, hit the 4WD lock and it just goes right up like a Jeep in 4WD High. Shuts off in Drive or over 20 MPH. Love it. One of the best things is the under bed storage.

 

[SirBannedAlot]

We have a house in Ellijay and I need to go up 2 short steep hills. In the winter it is muddy/gravel and in the summer, very dry/sandy. With my Frontier, 4.0 Limited Slip it would bounce and spin, also have a CRV and with a load in the rear, the traction light is always flashing. Sold the Frontier, bought the Ridgeline. At the bottom of the hill I put it in Drive 1 or 2, hit the 4WD lock and it just goes right up like a Jeep in 4WD High. Shuts off in Drive or over 20 MPH. Love it. One of the best things is the under bed storage.

Yeah, that storage was great. Used it for track days, I could load my leathers and gear and tools into that storage area, and then put my ramp on and load my bike into the bed, leaving all my cab space for passengers.

It was also very capable in the snow. We had that actual snow storm in like 2009 or something, where we got 6-8 inches plus some ice... I was living on the far side of Lawrenceville and my buddy needed his work laptop, so he asked me to pick him up in Norcross and drive him to Kennesaw and back. I have just gotten new, oversized chunky offroad tires and was like, LET'S GO.

Running down the interstate in half a foot of snow at 50mph, happy as a clam. When a tractor trailer had jack knifed and was blocked a section of road, hit the 4WD lock and went up and over a snowy embankment like it was nothing.

It couldn't haul heavy stuff or do rock crawling I am sure, but on anything I threw at it, it was surprisingly capable...

 

[MAK]

Gets no respect from from the average truck guy but I don’t choose my vehicles based on what other people want or would buy. 95% of those bashing them have never driven one, and a large percentage of those would never exceed its capabilities even if they did own one. For the average guy not needing a truck for work (regularly hauling large loads), it would perform just fine. I agree the first gen are very odd looking but then I think the latest generation is weird looking too compared to a regular truck.
I bought a low mileage, service documented 06 a year ago after wrecking my 99 F150. I actually wanted to get another F150 of that generation but I was in the middle of a move and couldn’t find one in the condition I wanted in a short time frame. Ran across the Ridgeline and once I got past the looks, I decided I liked it. I still own an old F100 and have owned several generations of F150 and F250, Ranger and a Chevy over the years. The bed is a tad shorter than a compact truck crew cab but it’s wider and will fit a sheet of plywood without having to go over the wheel wells. The under bed storage is a fantastic feature that will be hard to give up once I move on to a new truck in the future. Yes, the spare tire under the bed would be a PITA if you are hauling a full load and have a flat. Regarding capabilities. I’ve found it to tow and haul heavy loads better than my previous trucks. I used it on a few occasions to pull my old 20’ Ranger bass boat with 200hp outboard. I was initially afraid it would be a white-knuckle experience but I actually thought it did as well or better as my full size trucks had done. Had enough power to make it up the steep inclines of my local N Ga Mt roads without losing speed, and the curvy roads didn’t give any problems or make the back end feel loose or out of control. When I had a load in my last full size Ford, it noticeably changed the handling. I had to be careful to not attack curves the same way I normally drove it. A load in the Ridgeline doesn’t seem to change the handling much if at all. I had to pick up a few loads of pea gravel a couple months ago and was amazed at how well it did. The first two loads were a half ton each (about 1/2-2/3 full) but on my third load the guy thought he was doing me a favor and filled the bed... Way over listed capacity and it was really squatting. I was going to have him take some out but decided to give it a try. Even way over loaded it still ran well and I didn’t feel like I was going to go over the side of the mountain on the tight curves.
I have a steep gravel driveway that requires 4wd and it works perfect for that. When my son and his girlfriend got stuck in the bad weather leaving our cabin last month, I was able to drive to Suches in the freezing rain and snow and get them back safely.
The fact that my wife absolutely loves it, and doesn’t mind driving it like my previous truck is a definite plus. Hopefully it will continue to live up to the Honda’s reputation for reliability.

 

[GeauxLSU]

Buy what works for you. I saw a new one the other day and it didn't even have a trailer hitch receiver on it. That sort of told me they aren't designed for my needs.
Having said that. It's a Honda for crying out loud. It'll likely to be reliable and durable for it's intended use, which probably covers 90%+ of the the uses most people need. I drove a couple a new ones (2018) for a couple hundred miles each. No real complaints though not as comfortable a ride for me as some others. Good move on eliminating as much of the electronics as possible. Most of that stuff is just an annoyance.
Congrats on your new ride!

 

[SirBannedAlot]

Gets no respect from from the average truck guy but I don’t choose my vehicles based on what other people want or would buy. 95% of those bashing them have never driven one, and a large percentage of those would never exceed its capabilities even if they did own one. For the average guy not needing a truck for work (regularly hauling large loads), it would perform just fine. I agree the first gen are very odd looking but then I think the latest generation is weird looking too compared to a regular truck.
I bought a low mileage, service documented 06 a year ago after wrecking my 99 F150. I actually wanted to get another F150 of that generation but I was in the middle of a move and couldn’t find one in the condition I wanted in a short time frame. Ran across the Ridgeline and once I got past the looks, I decided I liked it. I still own an old F100 and have owned several generations of F150 and F250, Ranger and a Chevy over the years. The bed is a tad shorter than a compact truck crew cab but it’s wider and will fit a sheet of plywood without having to go over the wheel wells. The under bed storage is a fantastic feature that will be hard to give up once I move on to a new truck in the future. Yes, the spare tire under the bed would be a PITA if you are hauling a full load and have a flat. Regarding capabilities. I’ve found it to tow and haul heavy loads better than my previous trucks. I used it on a few occasions to pull my old 20’ Ranger bass boat with 200hp outboard. I was initially afraid it would be a white-knuckle experience but I actually thought it did as well or better as my full size trucks had done. Had enough power to make it up the steep inclines of my local N Ga Mt roads without losing speed, and the curvy roads didn’t give any problems or make the back end feel loose or out of control. When I had a load in my last full size Ford, it noticeably changed the handling. I had to be careful to not attack curves the same way I normally drove it. A load in the Ridgeline doesn’t seem to change the handling much if at all. I had to pick up a few loads of pea gravel a couple months ago and was amazed at how well it did. The first two loads were a half ton each (about 1/2-2/3 full) but on my third load the guy thought he was doing me a favor and filled the bed... Way over listed capacity and it was really squatting. I was going to have him take some out but decided to give it a try. Even way over loaded it still ran well and I didn’t feel like I was going to go over the side of the mountain on the tight curves.
I have a steep gravel driveway that requires 4wd and it works perfect for that. When my son and his girlfriend got stuck in the bad weather leaving our cabin last month, I was able to drive to Suches in the freezing rain and snow and get them back safely.
The fact that my wife absolutely loves it, and doesn’t mind driving it like my previous truck is a definite plus. Hopefully it will continue to live up to the Honda’s reputation for reliability.

That mirrored my experience with the '08. I didn't mind the looks, I saw it as an import Avalanche...

Throw a larger set of tires on there, like Nitto Ridgegrapplers or something chunky, and that thing will go way more offroad than most people would expect. The AWD system is very capable...

 

[JDG.]

Buy what works for you. I saw a new one the other day and it didn't even have a trailer hitch receiver on it. That sort of told me they aren't designed for my needs.
Having said that. It's a Honda for crying out loud. It'll likely to be reliable and durable for it's intended use, which probably covers 90%+ of the the uses most people need. I drove a couple a new ones (2018) for a couple hundred miles each. No real complaints though not as comfortable a ride for me as some others. Good move on eliminating as much of the electronics as possible. Most of that stuff is just an annoyance.
Congrats on your new ride!

Thanks. I didnt think you could yet the new ones without the hitch. You do need to pay for the awd to get 5k towing otherwise your limited to 3.5k. I sold my trailer and do not see a need for one in the foreseeable future. I was looking for comfort with the occasional run to home depot. Looks are meh, but in typical JDG fashion, I will make a few changes. Already going full led’s, blacking out the chrome, etc. certainly wont go as far as I did with the 2500.

This one is pretty simple on the inside, im sure itll be a very dependably vechile for long time.