Our Honda Ridgeline worked pretty much as we anticipated, with the advantages I cited in my first post.
Capacity for all our stuff, some hidden storage and greater ground clearance proved their worth. Gas mileage was indeed worse, adding 10-15% to our fuel bills. Clearly there are better choices if long distance interstate travelling are part of your plans. There is no such thing as the perfect vehicle, but the Ridge, as we use it and intend to use it, works well for us.
We found it comfortable, spacious, easy to drive, and able to safely carry us on to unpaved forest roads in Colorado and Arizona. Creature comforts are on par with the Sienna Van, with the only negative in that department being "primitive" electronics. I was shocked to find that there is no provision for plugging in my Ipod.. Six disc CD changers are so old school when all your music is on your Ipod. l also was accustomed to listening to Pandora using our phone. With no bluetooth, that option is no longer available either.
Other than complaints about the audio components, all I can say is, "It's a Honda!" Implicit in that is my faith that the Ridge is bomb proof and dead reliable for thousands of miles to come.
