I saw something scary as I drove past the Toyota dealership.

[Road Bull]

So I was driving by the Toyota dealership and a black pickup caught my eye. Immediately I thought oh okay this is a new Tacoma. I saw the grill and how it reminded me of a Ford Explorer and it scared me a bit. However I was relieved to notice the Honda emblem on the grill instead of the Toyota. The Honda dealership is connected to the same facility. I wonder how much longer we have before all our vehicles look like melted ice cubes.

 

[TeamLord]

The front of a pickup truck shouldn't look like a minivan. Just my 2 cents!

 

[mountain mike]

There's something about a "front wheel drive pick up truck" that just sounds horribly wrong.

 

[Tam4511]

The front of a pickup truck shouldn't look like a minivan. Just my 2 cents!

They've always had the same frame as the odyssey's as well.
I've never considered them trucks haha

 

[AntleredRuin]

I don't specifically care about 'being considered a truck' or not, as it'll be just as functional as any 'real' truck that probably 95% of truck buyers will ever need. Most people just needs a bed and that's it. No towing (or very minimal); they just need something to keep dirty things out of their cab.

I actually prefer the way the 1st gen looked better, but Honda got a lot of flac for not having the bed be removable so someone could slap a flat bed on it. Because someone really thought that a FWD V6 unibody would make a great hauler...

It's actually pretty ingenious, with the secret storage compartment under the bed where the spare tire and rear diff would go.

I just don't get the point of a FWD V6 unibody Truck that makes the same MPGs as a RWD/4WD V8 BOF Fullsize with twice the power.

 

[mckennar]

I don't specifically care about 'being considered a truck' or not, as it'll be just as functional as any 'real' truck that probably 95% of truck buyers will ever need.

But you can't roll coal or turn this one into a brodozer, which are the only two things 95% of the truck owners in my neck of the woods do with their Cowboy Cadillacs.

Ref: MPG numbers - I've seen some auto journo tests of the Honda that have been as low as 23 MPG observed and as high as 28 MPG observed. While I've personally achieved highway numbers in the lower-range of that spectrum with full size 4x4 V8 modern pickups; combined observed in those full-sizers is usually sub-20 MPG.

I'm not impressed by the Honda's fuel mileage on the highway, but around town I'd say it does alright for itself.

 

[AntleredRuin]

But you can't roll coal or turn this one into a brodozer, which are the only two things 95% of the truck owners in my neck of the woods do with their Cowboy Cadillacs.

Ref: MPG numbers - I've seen some auto journo tests of the Honda that have been as low as 23 MPG observed and as high as 28 MPG observed. While I've personally achieved highway numbers in the lower-range of that spectrum with full size 4x4 V8 modern pickups; combined observed in those full-sizers is usually sub-20 MPG.

I'm not impressed by the Honda's fuel mileage on the highway, but around town I'd say it does alright for itself.

Haha true.

I was going by memory for the EPA estimates for the 1st gen (but I now see that the 2nd gen does better)
Google says 15/20 for the first gen, but I know those aren't always accurate.

 

[Road Bull]

But you can't roll coal or turn this one into a brodozer, which are the only two things 95% of the truck owners in my neck of the woods do with their Cowboy Cadillacs.

Ref: MP

Cowboy Cadillacs.... Bwahhahaha!

 

[T4R2014]

The Ridgeline was and is more truck than most people needed. With that said, the thought of calling a FWD based vehicle a "truck" makes me cringe. Unibody - not too bad. Unibody won't replace BOF, but it has definitely been proven(think Jeep XJ/ZJ, R50 Pathfinder, 02+ Land Rovers)

 

[LittleCaesar]

The indigents here have "Soot Life" plastered all over their rear windshields. If one really wants to get a feel for coal rolling, ask a coal miner. They probably wouldn't give such high praise.

My uncle has an 08 Ridgeline with 281,xxx miles on it. He despises the look of the new one.

 

[St Runner]

I have driven the ridgeline both older and newer and they are good driving trucks. The rear visibility is about as bad as I have ever seen in a vehicle. I like to turn my head in my tacoma and 4runner and use the rear window, no way in the ridgeline. Mirrors and back up camera only

 

[fourfive]

Yikes... I hope the 4runners don't keep taking a turn for the ugly since that seems to be the trend for them after the 3rd gen. Regardless, I still think the 4th & 5th gens are better looking then the other SUVs in that class so no disrespect to the 4th & 5th gen owners. Back to the ridgeline topic, I thought that was a photoshop pic at first. Is honda foreal?

 

[Road Bull]

Yikes... I hope the 4runners don't keep taking a turn for the ugly since that seems to be the trend for them after the 3rd gen. Regardless, I still think the 4th & 5th gens are better looking then the other SUVs in that class so no disrespect to the 4th & 5th gen owners. Back to the ridgeline topic, I thought that was a photoshop pic at first. Is honda foreal?

Yeah, initially, I drove by the lot and saw this parked. I am always curious and interested in other Toyota 4x4s, and I thought that's what this one was. It was parked a bit off the street and I was tempted to go back for a second look. I had just left their parts dept. looking for quotes for valve cover gaskets, plenum gaskets and a few other odds and ends. So I just happened to see it driving by. I am not a fan of most of Toyota's front end work for the 4Runner, Tacoma, and the Tundra. Tundra is about as good as it gets these days. But for the briefest of moments, I thought, "was THAT a 2018 Tacoma?"

I got to work, looked up and, AHHHHH!!!! There it is!!! Right in front of me! What, the, hell? But I realized it was Honda's fault and not Toyota's this time. But hey... This keeps offroad bumper fabricators busy for sure. They have their work cut out for them.

It's like a Honda Civic had sex with a Hoda mini van, and THAT offspring had sex with a Honda Ridgeline.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Yeah, initially, I drove by the lot and saw this parked. I am always curious and interested in other Toyota 4x4s, and I thought that's what this one was. It was parked a bit off the street and I was tempted to go back for a second look. I had just left their parts dept. looking for quotes for valve cover gaskets, plenum gaskets and a few other odds and ends. So I just happened to see it driving by. I am not a fan of most of Toyota's front end work for the 4Runner, Tacoma, and the Tundra. Tundra is about as good as it gets these days. But for the briefest of moments, I thought, "was THAT a 2018 Tacoma?"

I got to work, looked up and, AHHHHH!!!! There it is!!! Right in front of me! What, the, hell? But I realized it was Honda's fault and not Toyota's this time. But hey... This keeps offroad bumper fabricators busy for sure. They have their work cut out for them.

It's like a Honda Civic had sex with a Hoda mini van, and THAT offspring had sex with a Honda Ridgeline.

You summed up exactly why my uncle hates the new look. He actually liked the boxy look of the old one. And at almost 300,xxx miles it has done well for him. It is just awful, no way around it.

 

[MudMud]

Dang that thing is ugly.

 

[vukos]

Kill it with fire

 

[ToyotaBrah]

I saw one of these on the road the other day. It's a weird design, for sure. I think the 1st gen looks decent, though.

Honda really had lost their way after 2008.

 

[Majindan]

The shootout I watched on youtube between the Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and GMC had the Honda dead last, the transmission overheated going up a beginner level off road climb. The guys admitted it was the most comfortable and only good for city driving and occasional light hauling. The Frontier edged past the Tacoma for first. Honestly, the newer Tacos look like ass IMO, I hate how big they are now and that huge gap between the radiator and grill is just awful. Short and stocky is how they looked best, not elongated boats, gross.

 

[Mudeprived]

Looks "different" but I'm sure it'll grow on you after a while just like most new redesigns do. It's nowhere as bad as the Aztek that's for sure.

 

[Road Bull]

Looks "different" but I'm sure it'll grow on you after a while just like most new redesigns do. It's nowhere as bad as the Aztek that's for sure.

The Aztek? Isn't that what Walter White drove?