Seemed fine to me but of course that was a test drive. It was a 23 RTL..seemed at least as good as the ones in the Forester..but i guess thats a thing you'd have to have a long term drive on.

 

Actually that is a good question, we had a Subaru cross at one point, the car was great in all respects except the seats were hard to deal with even on short 2 hour drives.

 

In 2019 I bought a new Ridgeline RTLE (AWD), keeping my trusty and long paid-off 2005 F150 as my backup transportation (I live alone in a rural area so must always have a second vehicle available). The RL intended for daily driving to extend the life of the 2005 F150.

I LOVED my RL, 'not a real truck' be damned. It served 99.9% of my needs with extortionary comfort, ease, convenience, and reliability. A truly great vehicle IMO, the 2-way tailgate and in-bed trunk are still among the best features of any truck IMO. The RL's AWD system is just superb.

The ONLY reason I sadly let the RL go was desire for a more modern feature-laden vehicle to tow my new 5th wheel RV, a capability the RL lacks. In my particular situation, though I really hated to lose the RL, that made more economic sense for me than ditching the 2005 F150 as my 'keeper rarely used backup transportation'.

When I sold the RL (to a Chevy dealer advertising "we beat any CarMax offer by $500") I actually realized more than what I paid for it including TT&L, a first for me!

I'm a hugely satisfied owner of BOTH F150's AND Honda Ridgelines. I wouldn't hesitate to buy or recommend a Ridgeline to meet (exceed) most pickup owner needs.

 

https://www.ford.com/used/about-cert...lue-advantage/

Gold is the best.

Put in your Zip and look.

 

I love the not a real truck comments. They make me smile.

In threads here, I've also read that F150s with 2.7L, 5.5', boxes, without tow mirrors, or missing max tow are not real trucks. The comments make me smile some.

 

Not a max tow only an 5.5' bed and a not so good 2.7EB payload package truck

Gas station price sign clearly shows the truck is not at the pump.

 

Ridgelines must have better headroom than a Pilot then. When we went to test drove a Pilot a couple years ago when we were looking for an SUV for the wife I couldn't adjust the seat to get my head off the ceiling! I'm only 6' 2". It had no height adjustment at all. We ended up not even test driving it when I didn't fit.

 

I don't know the real world MPG numbers on a Ridgeline but my 2018 2.7 4x4 XLT constantly got 18mpg's of combined driving (hand calculated) which is in my opinion really good for a full size truck. Based on your criteria the ridgeline sounds like the better option. I think with it being smaller it would make daily driving a little easier. If your not use to a full size truck parking lots can get tricky. I will say the Super Crewcab of the F150 and be beat in terms of room.

When you take the F150 out for the test ride make sure you put it in sport mode and hammer the throttle. The little kid in you will come out and that might be all it takes make your decision.

 

Some points of notation that probably don't matter to you. The least capable F150 will have towing that will match the most capable RL. But the payload will certainly be higher in the F150.

The RL's AWD system blows away the F150's for on street driving. The only way to get comparable there is to step up to a Lariat F150 for the auto 4wd which will shoot the cost way beyond the cost of a RL.
So sticking with a 2.7 F150, if having AWD is a concern to you then there is only one choice....the Ridgeline.
The 4wd in the F150 is a traditional type of system that should not be operated on dry pavement. It is intended for off road or snow covered road conditions.

Now that said, the capabilities of an F150 only go up from there. There's nothing wrong with a RL. It "identifies" as a truck. But as many know its not built like a traditional truck, its a Pilot with a bed overall design derived from a minivan.
Due mostly to the design differences, the F150 will leave room for any future hauling/towing needs beyond what a RL can do. The Ridgeline's engine is pretty comparable to my 3.3L but the RL's engine is a bit more rev happy.. And even within the rated capability of the RL, the F150 will pull far stronger due to its 2.7 Ecoboost engine. The RL has a 9 speed and the F150 has a 10 speed which is pretty much a wash there.

For your needs it will probably boil down to which one you like driving better. You said you need the seat room, and the F150's Supercrew cab is second to none in that regard. Ride quality is probably similar but maybe slightly better in the RL due to its more minivan-ish design and suspension.

The 2.7 in the F150 will pull considerable stronger at lower rpms and seem to be much easier to drive as far as power is concerned.

The F150 is a full size, and the RL falls into the mid size catagory. So as mentioned, the F150's Supercrew cab is second to none. It will have more room.

 

I bought an f150 coming from over 250K in a 2005 Pilot. I fell out of love with Honda engineering and the issues so many were having with the J35 engine, and the 9 speed gearbox. I loved the elbow room of the Pilot which the F150 gives you in spades and much more. As a 6ft2 240lb guy, I need space.
Two years and 26k miles later, having a pick up has been fantastically useful. It's length and height aren't helpful in towns or multi storey parking lots. It's mpg equals and beats the Pilot. I've done many 960 mile drives in a day runs in both and would chose the Ford over the Pilot for that.
It sounds like the Ridgeline would satisfy your needs. But check in with the forums on Pilot and Ridgeline to see how the engine and box are doing. If you buy the Ridgeline, make sure the extended warranty is Hondasure, not some third party rip off. Granger is the real deal for Ford extended warranty.