TSX69
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Driven: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport
Apparently, though, none of that matters much. Pickup buyers like their trucks big, and unless Honda can make the Ridgeline a more compelling alternative -- perhaps by giving it a clear advantage in fuel economy -- it appears likely to remain an outlier.
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superchg
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With fuel mileage of 15/21, the Sport package amounts to putting lipstick on this gas hog!
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NoSpinZone
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Does the Ridgeline REALLY get worse or equal mileage to a Ford F-150 V8, or is this one of those EPA scams again that Honda chooses not to partake in?
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carcrazy84
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It needs a bigger, better engine and a 6 speed, and/or to lose weight. A dated 3.5L lugging around a 4500 lb truck isn't going to get great fuel economy.
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typer_801
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No, the 5.0L V8 gets 14/19 in 4wd.
3.5 EcoBoost gets 15/21 and 3.7L NA V6 gets 16/21 (both in 4wd).
http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/
NoSpinZone wrote:
Does the Ridgeline REALLY get worse or equal mileage to a Ford F-150 V8, or is this one of those EPA scams again that Honda chooses not to partake in?
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Bafflegas
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Everyone keeps knocking the Ridge for its fuel economy. Truth is, NO pickup, compact or otherwise, gets good gas mileage when compared to a sedan.
Toyota Tacoma 4x4 V6 5sp auto gets 16/21
Nissan Frontier 4x4 V6 5sp auto gets 14/19
Chevy Silverado 4x4 V6 5sp auto gets 14/18
etc.
Personally, for what I require in a truck, I would take the Ridgeline any day.
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carcrazy84
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The Tacoma gets better city mileage and has more torque.
The Frontier has more power, torque, towing capacity.
The Silverado is larger, weighs more, has more torque, towing capacity.
etc.
The Ridgeline isn't very competitive in mileage when considering the virtues of its competition. And it isn't really cheaper.
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jfunk
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Here we go again... This vehicle was NEVER intended to be a stump pulling work truck. My 2007 mileage was rated at 16/21. Yes, I would like the mileage to be better, but for a unibody with a strong, fully boxed/laddered bed, with excellent ride and handling, it IS very good at what it does. What do you need it to do?? Look at some of the images of what the Ridgeline is successfully towing below.
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12327
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6SPDTL
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I agreed with your analysis till I bought an ecoboost F150. It rides and handles similarly to the ridgeline and fully loaded with navigation etc it cost me 40K. Plus it pulls out stumps with ease and provides almost the same FE as the ridgeline. The Ridgeline is a great truck but its sorely outcompeted in this market. How can it be succesful when you can buy a 6 cylinder F150 that has twice work capacity and costs a lot less? I dont think its a problem just for the ridgeline its a real problem for all midsize trucks.
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DanielAcosta
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I still like the Ridgeline, and even had a deposit down before they originally came out. I ended up getting my deposit back and buying an 05 Frontier, which was then traded for an 07 Tundra, which I still have.
Next truck will be whoever gives true 4x4 capability with 25mpg. If I had to guess right now, it will probably be something from Toyota, but I am hoping Honda's new earth dreams technology will make it to the Ridgeline and make it a more compelling choice.
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NoSpinZone
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jfunk,
I don't expect the Ridgeline to be a F-150... I just expect it to get quite a bit better gas mileage than one, and there's no reason it shouldn't.
I think you're throwing up a pretty big straw man saying that people expect a mid-size V6 truck to perform like a full size truck.
The Ridgeline should get much better gas mileage than a F-150, and it's starting to look like it simply does not.
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jfunk
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No straw man argument here, my reply was an apples to apples, direct response to CarCrazy's 'comparable' V6 truck mileage quotes. To which I believe, while the Ridgeline is not class leading, is still competitive.
Aside from that, the many other virtues of the Ridgeline I believe continue to elevate/differentiate it, to be desirable vehicle amongst the competition.
You should glance at some of the posts from domestic converts at the Ridgeline Owners Club website, they are quite happy. Am I saying everyone should buy the Honda? Certainly not, but it's still a pretty darn good vehicle, capable of handling a large majority of suburbanites needs.
JR
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6SPDTL
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Among midsize pickups its first class. The point now is that fullsize trucks provide the same fuel efficiency as midsize ones but have disproprtionally bigger "utility" capacity, what is the use for midsize trucks to begin with? The whole idea of a midsize truck was lower capacity rewarded by lower operating costs, now that operating costs are a similar whats the use?
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NoSpinZone
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6SPDTL,
Are you saying that no midsize trucks, not just the Ridgeline, are beating the F-150 handily in gas mileage?
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jfunk
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6SPDTL wrote:
Among midsize pickups its first class. The point now is that fullsize trucks provide the same fuel efficiency as midsize ones but have disproprtionally bigger "utility" capacity, what is the use for midsize trucks to begin with? The whole idea of a midsize truck was lower capacity rewarded by lower operating costs, now that operating costs are a similar whats the use?
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I guess therin lies the the decision of each prospective consumer. They have to decide what is most desirable and relevant to their needs, and what gains or sacrifices they are willing to make in certain areas. It's good to have choices and competition, so long as this representative republic allows it..
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6SPDTL
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I dont know of any midsize truck that is getting significantly more than 23mpg highway which is what the f150 is rated to (2wd) on 4wd its 21. My FX4 with towing rear end (3.73) regularly turns 21mpg if I keep it at 65mph or less (a hard thing to do) even at 75 it easily turns 18 mpg. Its intersting to see how significant the wind resistance is to a huge square block of steel :) That is almost the same FE the Ridgeline gets with 115 less HP and almost 170 less lb/lbs of torque. What makes me sad is that the Eboost is pretty much a Honda 3.5 with DI and twin turbos, something Honda could have probably produced 5-10 years ago, if they had wanted to since they had a clear mastery of mutivalve variable timing long before Ford did. Honda will have similar technology (earthdreams or whatever) in the next few years but now for the first time they are playing catchup rather than leading by one model cycle. They got leapfrogged. I have 13K on my E boost, up to now (fingers crossed) its been bulletproof. It hauls and tows with remarkable aplomb, in fact, it tows better than any gas v8 in the market. I was hooked the minute I took it on a test drive and floored it and it performed like a honda engine: smooth, unrelenting power all the way to redline with essentially zero lag. In fact, even better than Honda since there is absolutely zero ramp up in its monster torque, it's like a pancake from around 1800 RPMS all the way to redline.
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NSXman
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6SPDTL wrote:
I dont know of any midsize truck that is getting significantly more than 23mpg highway which is what the f150 is rated to (2wd) on 4wd its 21. My FX4 with towing rear end (3.73) regularly turns 21mpg if I keep it at 65mph or less (a hard thing to do) even at 75 it easily turns 18 mpg. Its intersting to see how significant the wind resistance is to a huge square block of steel :) That is almost the same FE the Ridgeline gets with 115 less HP and almost 170 less lb/lbs of torque. What makes me sad is that the Eboost is pretty much a Honda 3.5 with DI and twin turbos, something Honda could have probably produced 5-10 years ago, if they had wanted to since they had a clear mastery of mutivalve variable timing long before Ford did. Honda will have similar technology (earthdreams or whatever) in the next few years but now for the first time they are playing catchup rather than leading by one model cycle. They got leapfrogged. I have 13K on my E boost, up to now (fingers crossed) its been bulletproof. It hauls and tows with remarkable aplomb, in fact, it tows better than any gas v8 in the market. I was hooked the minute I took it on a test drive and floored it and it performed like a honda engine: smooth, unrelenting power all the way to redline with essentially zero lag. In fact, even better than Honda since there is absolutely zero ramp up in its monster torque, it's like a pancake from around 1800 RPMS all the way to redline.
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There are no two ways about it. The line of F150 engines are 2nd to none. I considered both a Ridgeline and F150, but with my 70 miles a day commute I could not afford the gas. So I ended up getting a 1969 F250 (with a 300ci I6) to do my chores and just sit at home the rest of the time. However, I have test driven every F150 engine (3.7, 5.0, 3.5TT, and 6.2) and the level of power and refinement is amazing. Bringing fuel economy into the mix just is icing on the cake.
Over the years I have needed a truck and never could bite the bullet on the Tacoma, Frontier, 4.0 Ranger, or any of the midsize because of the reasons 6SPDTL mentions. It would be interesting to see if Ford could make something out of the 2.0T in a midsize truck.
I've got nothing against the Ridgeline (like I said I highly considered one). But it leans more toward luxury and a car like feel than utility and it is just crazy expensive in the mid to high trims. You can just get so much more truck for the same money going full size.
My new (new to me) Si Sedan + the F250 will get it done.
Enjoy your F150 6SPDTL.
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longhorn
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Ford is not going to replace the Ranger truck. Ford figures correctly why buy a Tacoma when one can buy a fullsize 150 with the same mpgs and more power.
As regards the Ridgeline, Dodge....errr.....Ram has stated the next Dakota like truck will be unibody,so Honda was ahead of the curve there. When the next Pilot debuts in 2 1/2 years with the large platform hybrid,we will probably see a heavily modified Ridgeline. I saw heavily modified because I do not see how Honda can make a business case to put much more into it.
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6SPDTL
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The ridgeline has 2 possible futures, make it cheap (unlikely) or make it more capable while maintaining the price. If a ridgeline could tow 8-9k while maintaining similar economy it would have been a no brainer for me, I preffer the ridgelines AWD to the F150's 4WD any day since the only offroading I do is the little expeditions I've taken on logging roads to test the 4wd. It is pretty darned good in the unpaved slippery stuff :), I took it up an offroad, rutted, snow covered (12in) 40% grade that was an "oh shit moment" (with snow tires of course), it didnt even blink on 4wd high! Thugh it nice to have the fact is that for 99.99% of the time the worst I ever use my truck is to get my big boat (8K) up the ramp. Hope to take it to Canada next year to do a little sailing to Isle Royal on Lake Superior!
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NSXman
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longhorn wrote:
Ford is not going to replace the Ranger truck. Ford figures correctly why buy a Tacoma when one can buy a fullsize 150 with the same mpgs and more power.
As regards the Ridgeline, Dodge....errr.....Ram has stated the next Dakota like truck will be unibody,so Honda was ahead of the curve there. When the next Pilot debuts in 2 1/2 years with the large platform hybrid,we will probably see a heavily modified Ridgeline. I saw heavily modified because I do not see how Honda can make a business case to put much more into it.
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I doubt there would be a Ranger, but it would be interesting to see nevertheless with the 2.0T.
However, what might be more likely is a new Bronco. That would be kind of neat for the Wrangler and FJ Cruiser crowd.
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/ford-bronco-auto-shows
http://blog.caranddriver.com/tags/ford-bronco-concept/
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mobis21
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Any updates on the next Ridgeline?
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