Knobleman – “And I agree with Caymen, if you say you're a 1/2 ton truck…â€
In your attempt to rewrite history, you should at least take a minute to get your facts straight. I DID NOT say the RL is a ½ ton pickup. Tom was the one who was all upset with Honda “misleading†the public by advertising the RL as a ½ ton pickup. I may have gotten a little caught up in the argument, but I did not claim it was a ½ ton pickup.
Besides, if you did compare the RL with some of the ½ ton 4x4 pickups, where would the RL be short compared to a vehicle like the 2006 Ford F-150 (STX 4dr SuperCab 4WD Styleside 5.5 ft. SB) for example? OK, the STX has the RL on towing. I will admit that. Power (Torque + HP – Yep, got it there too…but it should with 2 more cylinders. With that being said, the RL has 15 more HP. Payload – pretty even. Both rated around 1550 lbs. Ground clearance – Again, even (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches). Mileage – The RL wins hands down. Interior space – STX wins. Again, it should, being a full sized pickup. Safety – The RL is the only pickup to get a 5 star rating on frontal and side impacts. Handling/Ride – Again, the RL wins hands down. Standard equipment – Comparing a like priced RL to and STX (Around $30K), standard equipment is pretty equal. Although, from what I read, I don’t think the STX has XM radio available, and no in-bed trunk.
I could go on and on but, the fact of the matter is….the F-150 is gonna excel in some places as will the RL. I know you guys wouldn’t say they would be equal, but they basically are.
Tom – “What type of gas mileage are you getting with the RL. Arent the EPA estimates around 21 MPG highway?â€
I have averaged around 22.5 MPG on the highway. I would probably get better mileage than that, but each time I have gone on a long trip, I have had the truck loaded with people and gear. I could probably get 23 or so.
Tom – “The RL exterior portion of the bed shares the sheet metal with the rest of the bosy. It is a unibody design.â€
OK, once and for all…. It is NOT a unibody design. As stated in the article that gave the RL the Motor Trend Truck the year award to the RL….â€And that structures NO WIMPY UNIBODY, either. The monocoque upper structure is clam-shelled to a….now get this….to a FULLY BOXED TRADITIONAL FRAME….the joint effort offers 2.5 times the bending stiffness of the best body on frame trucksâ€.
Wow, what a crappy design! The design is two and ½ times better than the traditional truck frames out on the market right now.
Tom – “Be it a Ranger, Tacoma, Colorado, Dakota, or Frontier up to a semi truck. They have full frames….â€.
So, since the RL out tows and out hauls some of those trucks you mentioned, that have traditional frames, they must not be trucks either. Hmmm……That would disappoint a lot of Chevy, Toyota, etc., truck owners.
Tom – “If I had a choice between a Ridgeline or a Titan. I would buy the Titan. The Titan stands its ground as a 1/2 ton truckâ€.
I guess you like spending your free time over at your dealerships service department, then, huh? Consumer Reports just reported that the Titan has one of the lowest reliability ratings of trucks on the market right now.
In the same article, they mentioned that one truck (Tied with the ’06 Tacoma) has the highest reliability rating of all the trucks on the market. Can you guess which one it is? I’ll give you a hint….it has been mentioned several times in the posts above, and it is NOT the ST. That’s right. The RL! Wow…. The accolades just keep coming and coming…..