This comparison chart was put together with the help of HondaPartsOnline and PartsOlatheToyota, demonstrating that comparing these two pickups isn’t as easy as it may seem.
If overall capability is your number one priority, then the 2016 Tacoma might have the upper hand, but according to HondaPartsOnline director Gib Goodrich, looking strictly at the numbers might cause you to miss out on the intangibles.
“The new Ridgeline is a truck unlike any other,” said Goodrich. “A purely spec-based comparison doesn’t address the Ridgeline’s comfort, high quality interior, or competent road manners. You can’t put those specifications on a chart like this, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t important.”
While that does make sense from an overall perspective, Tom Blackman from Parts.OlatheToyota likes to look at things a bit differently.
“I appreciate that comparisons can’t be made on specs alone, but numbers matter,” argues the Honda representative. “For years, Honda Ridgeline enthusiasts have been saying ‘look how nice our interior is’ or ‘don’t knock the Ridgeline’s ride and handling until you try it’, but the fact is that the Ridgeline wasn’t a sales success because it wasn’t very capable.”
That sounds to us like ‘shots fired’, because calling the Ridgeline out like that was sort of a low blow. However, looking at the numbers, it’s hard to form an argument against it.
All in all, where Blackman argues that the Tacoma is the more capable truck (particularly off-road) and costs less, Goodrich brings up how the Ridgeline is better than the Tacoma in terms of comfort, interior quality and handling.
Which side are you on?
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