Car And Driver - Gladiator vs Colorado vs Ranger vs Ridgeline

[joeym7]

The Ridge line is a nice car if you want your "truck" to drive like a car (and that is why it usually scores very well in most reviews.) Maybe drive it on the beach some day. I don't think many ownerss will make some of the overland trips with it like you see on this forum (which are very impressive).

Did I mention you can only get a Ridgline 2021 with one interior color? Black. That is another automatic no buy decision for me.

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[Firestarter]

I like the Rangers torque numbers, but one can't get a sun-roof in a Ranger, not in any trim level, that is automatically disqualifying for me...

You can't get a sunroof in any trim for the gladiator as well

 

[Casique]

Jeeps are like Harleys, if you have to ask you don't understand! And I don't want to explain..

The Ridgeline may be superior in all categories to the JT, but I would NOT be caught in one driving down the street... And don't care.

 

[Jeep-A-Kneez]

YEAH, WHAT HE SAID!!!

 

[centra28]

I couldn't imagine being hollered at by cute girls at a stop light in a Honda Ridgeline. But what @Casique said.

Also, a lot of these comparison articles are a little bit of stat comparisons mixed in with a whole lot of opinions. Some of the auto groups do better than others IMO, I personally always favored the Edmonds pieces. I feel that they are very thorough and thoughtful of both sides of the fence.

 

[InvertedAerialX]

Car And Driver - If there is a Honda or a Toyota or a Lexus in the test, it will win. TFL if it's a jeep, or a ram, it will win. I cannot remember what year it was but they compared the ram, the f-150 and the chev. the ford had the best fuel econ., the best time up the hill and had 2 more brake applications, but somehow lost the towing test.

TFL also has it out for Subaru. No idea what happened there, but they make sure the Subaru loses. At least from what i can see.

 

[Challenger85]

Honda ridge line

They could team up with Ferrari and put a V8 in that ugly little truck and I still wouldn’t buy it. That is one of the ugliest vehicles I have ever seen, like everything else Honda makes. I wouldn’t drive that truck if I was stuck at 10K feet in a broken down gladiator and someone tried to give it to me to drive home so I didn’t freeze to death in the middle of winter. I’d rather die.

 

[Firestarter]

That’s weird since Subaru has black listed them and they don’t get press vehicles from Subaru to test. They’ve gotten a couple Subarus from others over the years and even bought one.

I think overall they are pretty fair albeit buy into marketing hype and brand names too much. There aren’t any studies or empirical evidence I’m aware of that proves Toyota is the most reliable anything, yet they push that narrative quite often. They also think that a locker splits torque evenly, which makes no sense since a tire cannot impart much force into the air when lifted off ground meaning the wheel on the ground gets all the torque. It’s actually open diffs that split torque evenly so when you lift a wheel and it cannot generate any torque the opposite wheel will get an equal amount of nothing.

Car And Driver - If there is a Honda or a Toyota or a Lexus in the test, it will win. TFL if it's a jeep, or a ram, it will win. I cannot remember what year it was but they compared the ram, the f-150 and the chev. the ford had the best fuel econ., the best time up the hill and had 2 more brake applications, but somehow lost the towing test.

TFL also has it out for Subaru. No idea what happened there, but they make sure the Subaru loses. At least from what i can see.

 

[rich!]

The Ridge line is a nice car if you want your "truck" to drive like a car (and that is why it usually scores very well in most reviews.) Maybe drive it on the beach some day. I don't think many ownerss will make some of the overland trips with it like you see on this forum (which are very impressive).

Did I mention you can only get a Ridgline 2021 with one interior color? Black. That is another automatic no buy decision for me.

Funny. I’m just a lurker for years as I’d love to get back into jeeps from owning a TJ for long time ( gladiator 4xe would be great and kinda what I’m waiting on to replace it ) but I own a ridgeline for 4+ years/20k miles. And the nickname is CarTruck. made in America, can’t beat that. It’s great for suburbia and Home Depot runs ( sliding a 4x8 sheet in flat by yourself but I do a lot home remodeling, pallets of tile/flooring, rock, trees, etc). I don’t exactly have masculinity issues being caught in one and it helps my other vehicle is a durango hellcat. ;-) but as a tool. It does one job great, would I take it off-road even in sand? Hell no. No tow hooks. Is it great on ice and snow? Sure. Would I throw a motorcycle in the back. Get 28-30mpg on a 2k mile road trip. Of course but it is Apple to oranges as you can’t compare it to a gladiator. Cabin is huge with kids in the back and the brunk is great for keeping golf clubs stored for a moment notice. Extremely comfy and You can take high speed turns like no other. It is the truck that 75% actually need but 90% don’t want. ( you couldn’t pay me to make it an overlanding vehicle ) just my 2cents from an owner who is a jeep guy. Same folks who laugh at having a 700hp+ suv, gladiator can’t do truck/towing things, or ppl who buy angry eye jeeps to goto the mall. Whatever floats the boat.

 

[Slojo]

I've driven all kinds of cars and trucks and they are ignored. My CJs, JKU, and Gladiator get questions or thumbs up from people. Taking the doors and top off, off roading, priceless.

 

[Lateralus]

I feel a disconnect in what I want in a truck vs. what the industry puts out. We seem to be in an era that the 80's were to fashion. Bigger and more outlandish is better. The Gladiator suites me the best but I wish it was at least extended cab. They did a great job with the jt and jl though and my only real gripes are the the windshield angle. Ford has to get credit as well for the redesign of the Bronco.

Maybe modern trucks that seem to overcompensate are a red herring in a world that seems hell bent on punishing masculinity. Maybe most of us really aren't all on board.

 

[seven30]

I like the Rangers torque numbers, but one can't get a sun-roof in a Ranger, not in any trim level, that is automatically disqualifying for me...

 

[Geoarch]

Some surprising data on this comparison test.

1 - Despite Jeep claiming "class-leading" payload and towing, the Gladiator tested had by far the worst payload.

Only 988 lbs for the Gladiator vs 1,476, 1,479, 1,493 for the others. Even the minivan-based Ridgeline had ˜500lbs more actual payload.

2 - It had the worst performance off road - much worse than even Ridgeline mini-van.

"the Jeep was even less comfortable on Hollister Hills' slippery trails than the Honda, which senior editor Tony Quiroga dubbed a "dachshund." A dachshund might scrape its belly here and there, but even with 10.0 inches of ground clearance, the most in the test, the Gladiator would belly-flop into the mud with a wet thwap and noisily drag its frame rails over crests and bumps that the drivers of the Colorado and Ranger didn't notice."

3 - Even with the longest wheelbase (9-12 inches longer than the others - why?!?), it had poor ride on road, with same nasty remarks from the reviewers. Ford didn't too well on that either.


Unsurprisingly, it was the most fun (we knew that) and had the most stratospheric price (even though it was not even close to being top of the line it was $15K+ more expensive than the others.). All in all it finished third out of four.


https://www.caranddriver.com/review...gladiator-chevrolet-colorado-honda-ridgeline/

The Ridgeline is an AWD without low range. I'd be happy to run up against a Honda on the Rubicon trail.

 

[Geoarch]

Yep. That is clear.

The question is, will it be sustainable after the novelty wears off?

I think this market segment will be too competitive to have a $15K premium, even with all the "fun factor", after the first year or two.

But isn't this the third year the Gladiator has been available, and each year sells more?

 

[Geoarch]

Some surprising data on this comparison test.

1 - Despite Jeep claiming "class-leading" payload and towing, the Gladiator tested had by far the worst payload.

Only 988 lbs for the Gladiator vs 1,476, 1,479, 1,493 for the others. Even the minivan-based Ridgeline had ˜500lbs more actual payload.

2 - It had the worst performance off road - much worse than even Ridgeline mini-van.

"the Jeep was even less comfortable on Hollister Hills' slippery trails than the Honda, which senior editor Tony Quiroga dubbed a "dachshund." A dachshund might scrape its belly here and there, but even with 10.0 inches of ground clearance, the most in the test, the Gladiator would belly-flop into the mud with a wet thwap and noisily drag its frame rails over crests and bumps that the drivers of the Colorado and Ranger didn't notice."

3 - Even with the longest wheelbase (9-12 inches longer than the others - why?!?), it had poor ride on road, with same nasty remarks from the reviewers. Ford didn't too well on that either.


Unsurprisingly, it was the most fun (we knew that) and had the most stratospheric price (even though it was not even close to being top of the line it was $15K+ more expensive than the others.). All in all it finished third out of four.


https://www.caranddriver.com/review...gladiator-chevrolet-colorado-honda-ridgeline/

Usually they include a base Tacoma (5" shorter than Gladiator). Before Gladiator, Tacoma was the truck to hate against Honda because it rode more like a truck rather than a car. I guess Tacomas aren't up for comparison anymore. Gladiator is the new Car and Driver/Consumer Reports truck to trash in comparison the the Honda car-truck. The Ridgeline is not a truck. It's a car with AWD and not really ready for prime time off-roading. It rides like my wife's Subaru Forester, that is a great car for what it's made for.

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