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Ford Ranger 4x4 vs Honda Ridgeline 4x4

How much better does the Ridgeline actually drive? My understanding is that the Ranger drives really well on-road. I honestly don't see any upside to the Ridgeline.

And yeah, no excuse for drum brakes in 2020 for sure.
 
The Ridgeline drives/rides like a car, which is to say very compliant and smooth. No juts or anything over rough pavement and it handles fairly well for what it is. The Ranger largely does the same, but it can get a bit bouncy on rough roads, but nothing that's extreme. Also, Ford tends to ship them with 45 PSI loads in the tires which, for some reason, the dealerships never lower to the proper setting which, for my 4X4 crew cab version, is 30 PSI. Once I changed the tire pressure to the correct setting, it was literally like night and day in terms of comfort and ride quality. It's one of the first things the Ranger forum mentions for people to do.
 
The Ranger is certainly going to ride better than a fifth wheel F250. Friend of mine has one and loves it. It’s important to understand that... generally.... as payload goes up, the ride quality goes down. The smaller trucks *are* better, but they aren’t cars.

As Korn pointed out, the Ridgeline rides like a typical car/SUV. For MOST people who own trucks, it would be a better vehicle.

Not trying to say one is better than another. But you DO need to be honest about your intent. If you want the off road rig or towo huge things, then there’s a vehicle for that. If you have an occasional need to haul around town or want a moto hauler, the Ridgeline is darn good at that task.

FWIW, this is based on driving time with a dually F250 w/ fifth wheel horse trailer, a newer Colorado, 90s Dodge RAM, 90s F150, and the Ridgeline. Not an owner - just some solid seat time. That’s my experience - take it as you will.
 
Eldritch said:
Oh, I'm not in. I just bought a 1999 Ford F-150 4x4 with a manual transmission and I am very pleased at what that $1700 truck from the Salvage Yard has bought me.

My mileage is trash, even in 2WD, but this thing is a fucking tank. Awesome for my weekend projects and misc. dump runs for the family or plowing through a field of hostiles in the coming zombie apocalypse.
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This is why I am keeping my 2004 F150 when I get around to getting a newer, nicer F150. No way am I going to do a dump run or haul other peoples' stuff around in a Raptor. :laughing


As for the Ridgeline, isn't it built on the same platform as the Pilot and the Odyssey? I like our Odyssey, but I wouldn't want it as a truck. :p
 
This isn't a knock on you Fred, but I don't get why people buy nice ass trucks or lifted trucks to the point getting the load onto the bed is more trouble than its worth if they're not going to be used for their intended purposes. As soon as I stopped riding I really saw no need for my old 2004 Tacoma and sold that shit for a Camry. It was nice to have for hauling shit but the day to day practicality of it was a bit of a hassle.
 
I'll be buying it to take it off road in the desert and in the mountains. Going to outfit it with some radio gear as well for my HAM radio shenanigans. Also, the large back seat for the family.

Right now when I go to the office, my office is only 3 miles away. When the new building opens, my office will be less than 1.5 miles away and I'll just walk to work. So no worries about gas mileage and time to buy something fun for the hell of it. I'm done with practical and boring. :p
 
mrzuzzo said:
How much better does the Ridgeline actually drive? My understanding is that the Ranger drives really well on-road. I honestly don't see any upside to the Ridgeline.

And yeah, no excuse for drum brakes in 2020 for sure.
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The modern Ranger I’m sure drives very nice on the road...for a truck. But it can’t hide the fact that it’s a truck. Solid rear axle. Body on frame construction. Lots of drivetrain “slack” you feel. And so on.

Ridgeline comes from the Pilot. And the Pilot comes from the Odyssey. It’s no secret why minivans easily started outselling regular vans...because minivans drove like cars. Vans were essentially trucks with a big box of a body on top instead of a cab and bed. So of course vans drove like trucks. Minivans are made like most modern cars are. Front drive layout for compact efficient packaging. Unibody construction. Independent rear suspension. So of course they drive like a car.

If the extent of the off highway use is the crumbly road leading to the campsite. And the most you’d ever tow is a couple of jet skis? And the most you’d ever put in the bed is hauling a BBQ to tailgate at the game with (also the Ridgeline has a neat audio system in the bed available)? The Ridgeline would be the better “truck” to have day to day.
 
Agent Orange said:
This isn't a knock on you Fred, but I don't get why people buy nice ass trucks or lifted trucks to the point getting the load onto the bed is more trouble than its worth if they're not going to be used for their intended purposes. As soon as I stopped riding I really saw no need for my old 2004 Tacoma and sold that shit for a Camry. It was nice to have for hauling shit but the day to day practicality of it was a bit of a hassle.
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The same reason why I’ve heard so many people have a stupidly powerful sports car, and have never had it over 85.
 
Kornholio said:
* The Ridgeline has a unibody frame instead of body-on-frame construction like the Ranger...and every other truck out there.
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So if you have no intention of lifting the truck and putting huge wheels/tires on it, or swapping out the entirety of the bed (for like a utility bed or whatever), is there any real advantage to the body-on-frame?

Towing capacity? At the high end, "Ultra duty", I'm sure it matters. But in the mid range?

The Ranger is rated at 3,500lbs, my JGC is rated at...3,500lbs, and it's a unibody.

So, just curious.
 
current state of the infrastructure and road pavement conditions suggest that trophy truck / dessert racer suspension might be a nice-to-have, even for a daily driver mall crawler

seems like there is more aftermarket support for the ranger also, even if it is fairly new to market
 
berth said:
So if you have no intention of lifting the truck and putting huge wheels/tires on it, or swapping out the entirety of the bed (for like a utility bed or whatever), is there any real advantage to the body-on-frame?

Towing capacity? At the high end, "Ultra duty", I'm sure it matters. But in the mid range?

The Ranger is rated at 3,500lbs, my JGC is rated at...3,500lbs, and it's a unibody.

So, just curious.
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That's not apples to apples. Ranger can hitch tow 7500/750
 
berth said:
So if you have no intention of lifting the truck and putting huge wheels/tires on it, or swapping out the entirety of the bed (for like a utility bed or whatever), is there any real advantage to the body-on-frame?

Towing capacity? At the high end, "Ultra duty", I'm sure it matters. But in the mid range?

The Ranger is rated at 3,500lbs, my JGC is rated at...3,500lbs, and it's a unibody.

So, just curious.
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Yakoo752 said:
That's not apples to apples. Ranger can hitch tow 7500/750
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Yeah Matt beat me to it. Not sure where you're getting 3500...but the 2019+ Ranger is rated at 7500 pounds and has a payload capacity of nearly 2000 pounds.
 
GPzPop said:
current state of the infrastructure and road pavement conditions suggest that trophy truck / dessert racer suspension might be a nice-to-have, even for a daily driver mall crawler

seems like there is more aftermarket support for the ranger also, even if it is fairly new to market
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Production vehicles are not trophy trucks.

Marketing is a hell of a thing.
 
Kornholio said:
What the hell is a "trophy truck" anyway? :dunno
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Something that a Raptor or TRX is very much trying to look like. But still a far cry from a real one.

jimco-racings-spec-trophy-truck-is-a-rugged-racer-thatll-blow-you-away2.jpg



About as close as a Mustang is compared to its NASCAR Cup car version.
 
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