Performance
Comfort
Fuel Economy
Fun To Drive
Interior Design
Exterior Design
Build Quality
Reliability
Review
We purchased our 2017 RTL-T in November of 2016 after looking at several other trucks including the Toyota Tacoma, GMC Canyon, Dodge Ram 1500 and Ford F-150. Our main requirements were a truck that was comfortable, leather interior, reliable, decent fuel economy and capable of towing our 17 foot Casita travel trailer. After looking at all the trucks we narrowed it down to the Ridgeline and F-150 with the 2.7 Ecoboost engine. What really sold us on the Ridgeline was the ride, which is plush while still being capable of taking us off road (not rock crawling) down back country roads similar to what we were use to in our 2013 Subaru Outback Limited. Also, we wanted a vehicle that had at a minimum a 5,000 pound tow capacity even though our travel trailer probably comes in closer to about 3,500 pounds gross weight. Since my wife was going to be the main driver of the vehicle she had the final say and felt much more comfortable and ease of driving in the Ridgeline over the F-150. Having put nearly 20k miles on the Ridgeline we can honestly say it's been a really good truck with very few quirks and problems. Somethings that we felt needing improvement were the small fuel tank. At 19.5 gallons and towing our trailer across several states we were always conscious of having to start keeping an eye out for fuel stations starting around 200 miles on the trip odometer. Yes, our range is closer to 300 miles when towing but still it was always on the back of my mind. When not towing and driving on long distance trips we felt comfortable up to around 320 miles before staring to get that feeling. I believe a fuel tank in the 22-23 gallon would have been idea for the Ridgeline. Our overall fuel economy over the 19k miles we have put on the vehicle has been 20.2mpg while not towing. We have put about 5.5k miles towing our travel trailer including a single trip last fall that was over 2k miles, our average fuel economy has been 15.7mpg, usually load with two kayaks on the roof, bikes in the bed of the vehicle and probably close to 3,400 pound trailer. The trip computer has consistently been about 1.5mpg optimistic, so our calculations are always based on dividing the miles driven by the gallons of fuel used. Some other things that we find quirky about the Ridgeline is the large infotainment screen needs a button along with the touchscreen. All the fingerprints on the screen require constant use of the supplied microfiber cleaning cloth to remove all the smudges. Another quirk are the rear doors don't open enough to our liking. Occasionally I will have some large objects, like coolers or my road bike, when I don't want to leave them in the bed of the vehicle. If the doors would open a few more degrees it would aid in the ingress and egress of items. Lastly, I wish the bed of the Ridgeline were about 3 inches longer. While decent-sized and usually being able to fit most everything we carry it would make it so much more versatile if slightly longer. Overall, the Ridgeline has been really reliable. I have done my own routine maintenance, which have been oil and filter changes and rear-end gear oil. The only major problem we have had has been a broken motor mount which the took two different dealerships to diagnose and about a week in the shop waiting for parts. This is a vehicle we plan to keep for along time and get plenty of use out of. We paid near list price as the dealers all had very limited supply, not sure if that is still the case.