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Honda Ridgeline or Ford Ranger compact pick up?

Melensdad

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Near as I can tell, used car/truck prices are insane. I can trade in my 2014 Nissan Frontier for what I paid for it.

Looking for a slightly smaller truck. My Frontier is the 4 door + long bed, with lots of options. I'm looking for a 4 door short bed, with lots of options. After looking around, the Honda Ridgeline and the Ford Ranger both have a lot of things I like. The Ridgeline has a lockable UNDER-bed trunk that is awesome, very car like comfort too. The Ranger is better looking and the Lariat package is very nice. Optioned up the way I want one, either is roughly $44K, so essentially the price is the same.

Not looking for towing. Not looking for off-road packages. Just a nice, comfortable light duty truck with a 5-ish foot cargo bed.

The Honda wins for comfort. The Ford for a bit more of everything truck like. But mostly I haul bags of salt for the water softener, furniture and personal belongings, some fencing gear and the occasional load of mulch for the flower beds. So like I said, all LIGHT DUTY stuff and absolutely no need to tow anything.

Anyone have any thoughts on light duty trucks?

I do not want another Nissan Frontier. It has been a great truck, but the turning radius is worse than a school bus and now that my daughter lives in Chicago it makes driving the Frontier up to see her a chore, especially inside the indoor parking garages. Everywhere outside the city and the Nissan is great, but I'm spending more time in the city than I used to. Both the Ranger and the Ridgeline are a little shorter and both have smaller turning radiuses.
 

bczoom

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I've never had either. Everyone I know has at least 1 truck. None have ever had the Ridgeline as it's more of a toy than a truck. Rangers are the "go to" small truck around here (along with the Tacoma). The Ranger and Tacoma seem to last forever and require little maintenance.
I've had at least 1 Honda in my stable of cars for over 25 years now. My mechanic is telling me they aren't what they used to be and going forward I'd be better off with the Toyota equivalent vehicle.
 
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XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

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Got a Toyota Tacoma as a rental a few weeks ago. It was ok, a little under-powered but otherwise a pretty decent vehicle.

I think the new Ford Rangers look pretty nice but haven't driven one. I think they are now classified as "mid-size". Probably more capable than a 10 year old F-150 of the equivalent trim level.
 
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FrancSevin

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The Ridgeline is a toy marketed to the suburban wanabe's. The don't have room for a 2X4 unless you drop the gate.
If you want a truck to do truck work, go Tacoma or Ford Ranger. If you are a big guy, go Ford.
 

Melensdad

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The Ridgeline is a toy marketed to the suburban wanabe's. The don't have room for a 2X4 unless you drop the gate.
If you want a truck to do truck work, go Tacoma or Ford Ranger. If you are a big guy, go Ford.

As I noted in my original post, for any truck I get, it is not intended to do "truck work" but rather I am looking for comfortable transportation that can carry some stuff.

At this point the heaviest stuff I carry is some mulch. Mostly it is used to haul salt from Tractor Supply, bulk goods from Costco, to move furniture to my daughter, or Dasha's belongings to and from the Notre Dame campus. I haul a few sport fencing bags, but those will actually fit in a large car trunk. We have given up on house flipping so I don't need to carry lumber or bricks.

I could do most of that in a large SUV but the furniture moving and campus move in/move out is much easier to accomplish with a light duty truck.

For what it is worth, you can't haul a 2x4 in a Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma short bed either. I have a Frontier with the long bed and if I am hauling more than a few 2x4s it is better to drop the tailgate than to try to stack them on a diagonal in the bed. None of them can haul drywall or plywood on the bed floor either as all of them are too narrow between the wheel wells.
 

FrancSevin

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As I noted in my original post, for any truck I get, it is not intended to do "truck work" but rather I am looking for comfortable transportation that can carry some stuff.

At this point the heaviest stuff I carry is some mulch. Mostly it is used to haul salt from Tractor Supply, bulk goods from Costco, to move furniture to my daughter, or Dasha's belongings to and from the Notre Dame campus. I haul a few sport fencing bags, but those will actually fit in a large car trunk. We have given up on house flipping so I don't need to carry lumber or bricks.

I could do most of that in a large SUV but the furniture moving and campus move in/move out is much easier to accomplish with a light duty truck.

For what it is worth, you can't haul a 2x4 in a Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma short bed either. I have a Frontier with the long bed and if I am hauling more than a few 2x4s it is better to drop the tailgate than to try to stack them on a diagonal in the bed. None of them can haul drywall or plywood on the bed floor either as all of them are too narrow between the wheel wells.
Quick response, The Ridgeline only comes with a short bed. Pretty and pretty useless as a real truck.. If a fancy gadget filled toy is what you want, the Ridgeline will fill that bill. And there is nothing wrong with that. Especially if you are abig guy. The ford and Toyota cabs are cramped.
Having had both the Tacoma and the Ranger with long beds, I cannot imaging owning one that did not have an 8 foot bed. But I'm a working guy. That said, I know they do exist and people are happy with them.

As for drywall and plywood, a simple 2X4 frame can solve the problem and you can put the 8 foot lumber underneath.

Problem is overall weight capacity. I had overloads on the Ranger. Up to two thousand lbs payload
 
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Melensdad

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YES, at roughly 5 feet, it is the same length as the Ranger, Frontier, Canyon, etc. None of them come with an 8 foot box. With a 4 door cab, the choice of boxes are either roughly 5' or roughly 6' for the long box.

Again the only length bed I am looking at is the 5 foot bed.

If I wanted a real truck I'd buy a F150 or a Ram 1500.

I want a truck I can park in an indoor parking garage in the city of Chicago. I cannot get my long bed Frontier into those garages, largely because of the turning radius, which on that model is horrific. Trucks in the indoor garages are typically relegated to taking 2 spaces, which is not always possible, or going up to the top floor open spaces, etc.

And yes, any of the compact/mid-size trucks can put lumber between the wheel wells and drywall/plywood above them. But that also applies to the Ridgeline too.

Again, and as I noted, I'm not looking for what you describe as a "real" truck.
 

Doc

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Since you would have a short bed would towing be in your future? A small utility trailer lets you get by with the short bed easier. If you would see towing a trailer in your future I'd go Ranger. That's my 2 cents.
 

Melensdad

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Since you would have a short bed would towing be in your future? A small utility trailer lets you get by with the short bed easier. If you would see towing a trailer in your future I'd go Ranger. That's my 2 cents.
NOPE. I've not pulled a trailer in at least 10 years.

My tractor weighs too much for me to tow. I'd need a 10,000# trailer to pull my tractor. And a truck with the towing capacity to pull a 10,000# GVW trailer. There is not 1 single compact/mid-size pick up that can do that. I've actually just had my tractor dealer service it on site when it needed to be repaired.

I don't own a light weight trailer anymore. Sold my custom built 7000# capacity trailer over a decade ago and don't miss it a bit. I have no need to tow anything. If I did, I'd probably buy a full size truck, 2 door, bench seat.
 
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FrancSevin

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Then I would suggest the Toyota and the Ford are not what you want. The cabs are small. No matter how many toys on the dash board they are tight. The Ridgeline cab is more spacious, even in the standard cab version. You need the extended cab and the short bed will fit your needs.

Given what you seem to be looking for, I would suggest, the Ridgeline fits the bill.
 

Melensdad

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Just put a deposit on a Ridgeline. Supposed to get delivery sometime in December.

The cargo bed is the only one of the small trucks that allows for sheets of plywood or drywall to lay flat on the floor between the wheel wells. Ranger/Frontier/Tacoma/Colorado don't do that.

All this class of truck has the same basic size short bed, which is about 5'3" long, but the Ridgeline offers the widest area of flat floorspace. I will very likely order a "bed extender" for the truck. I have one for my Frontier and I think I only used it 1 or 2 times, but my Frontier has a long bed and I am switching to a short bed so I might actually find it useful.

I like the lockable UNDER bed storage box on the Ridgeline that is large enough to hold the spare tire, jack, AND a large golf bag with clubs.

Ridgeline only offers 5000# of towing capacity versus 7000# on a properly equipped Ranger, but I don't plan to install a trailer hitch so that is not an issue.

Ridgeline doesn't really do off-roading but I've never taken my Frontier off-road in the time I've had it so it is unlikely that I'd take the Ridgeline off-roading either. About as far off-road as I've taken the Frontier is hauling mulch on my property, probably all I'd do with the Ridgeline.

Interior of the Ridgeline is a bit more spacious, semi-luxurious, nicer fitted than the Ranger Lariat. The Ranger with the Lariat package and the Ridgeline with the RTL-E have similar luxury, the RTL-E package has more technology features, that require the added Technology package upgrade for the Ranger to match.

The Ridgeline rides nicer on the road than the Ranger.

For a work truck I'd pick a Frontier, Ranger or Tacoma over the Ridgeline every day. For a daily driver light duty truck the Ridgeline is clearly the choice for anyone who wants a good bit of comfort and convenience.
 
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Doc

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Congrats. Seems like the perfect vehicle for your needs.
I like how Honda reengineers spaces and makes better use of them like they did with the bed of the Ridgeline.
What color did you decide on? What motor? Is it 4wd?
 

Melensdad

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Congrats. Seems like the perfect vehicle for your needs.
I like how Honda reengineers spaces and makes better use of them like they did with the bed of the Ridgeline.
What color did you decide on? What motor? Is it 4wd?
Metallic red color, 6cyl, AWD
 
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alryA

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To late to post, since you got a Honda in the works. We've put some miles on 2 honda's a Cr-v and a element and they both strated to use oil in them when they hit about 140,000. Always used the oil they recommend and changed on Honda intervals, go figure. We now own a 2019 rnager and love it.
 

Melensdad

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To late to post, since you got a Honda in the works. We've put some miles on 2 honda's a Cr-v and a element and they both strated to use oil in them when they hit about 140,000. Always used the oil they recommend and changed on Honda intervals, go figure. We now own a 2019 rnager and love it.
This Ridgeline will be our 3rd daily driver vehicle in a 2 driver family. Probably will get most of its miles in the fall and winter seasons because that is when I am hauling fencing gear around from club to club. Likely, like most of my other vehicles, it will have modest overall use.

So getting to 140,000 miles will take quite a while to get to, probably a decade or more?

I do like the Ranger the best of the 'real' compact pick up trucks, especially in the Lariat trim level + technology package. My local dealer has 1 on the lot. The big problem with it, for me, is it is also optioned up with the off-road package and graphics and some other stuff that pushes the price up over the fully loaded Ridgeline by $2500. Never took my Frontier off-road and can't see taking the inbound Ridgeline off-road either so I don't want to pay a big premium for an option package that is, for me, a waste of money.
 

alryA

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We traded in a 2017 taco in for the ranger. Gets wonderful fuel mileage, super comfortable to drive and operat and has buckets of power. We like to so well, we'll look at Fords when the Element needs to go. Its about the same size at the 1987 f150 we got rid of a few years back. Still a moot point so you got a ridgeline on order! :LOL:
 
Congratulations on this purchase. You made a good choice of choosing Honda Ridgeline. If I were you, I would take advantage of the upcoming Black Friday sale. You might find some interesting truck accessories that will go well with this vehicle.
 

m1west

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Boy the prices have gone up since my last purchase. I looked the price on the Ridgeline and thought it was pricy. I looked up my Nissan Frontier model, in 2015 I Paid $24,000.00 for a SE V6 with lots of options, tow package and crew cab. Now the base model starts at $34,000.00. Doesn't seem pricy anymore
 
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