This 2011 Honda Ridgeline Owner Has Ignited The Ongoing Debate About Which Generation Vehicle To Buy

This time it started with a Facebook post. The debate doesn’t appear to be dramatic, but rather it’s a civil discussion. The original poster is asking about the Honda Ridgeline specifically – is the first-generation or second-generation better? Is the second-gen better just because it’s newer, or is the first-gen better due to styling and fewer of today’s technology features? Or is it a matter of what best fits the buyer?

How It Started

Here’s the Facebook post that started it all, lightly edited for clarity and grammar:

Hopefully this question sparks a healthy debate and not a troll session or anything unproductive. I have a 2011 Gen 1 that I couldn't like more. It has been a good truck. Just turned over 300K miles. I have test driven Gen 2 Ridgelines twice and as much as I wanted and was willing to buy one, I preferred my Gen 1 more. I believe the reasons for this are: I like the Gen 1 look more, Gen 2 electronics (i.e. the driver assist, push button gear shift, display and a couple others), and I didn't feel for the money I'd spend there was no ROI. If I had to buy a new truck right now, it would be a used (new to me) Gen 1.

Do any Gen 1 users feel the same way and are there any Gen 2 users that can sway me? Remember, we're all family here.

This poster clearly has reasons to prefer the first-gen Honda Ridgeline. The different shifter, fewer driver-assist features, a different gauge cluster. Plus the different styling, which he thinks looks better.

Even as an industry observer, I can understand preferring the older generation of a model over the newer one. Sometimes, the older one looks better, at least to your eye. Sometimes, there are features added that you don’t want, or a feature removed that you wish was kept.

What Others Said

In the case of the Honda Ridgeline, most of the commenters, at least on this particular post, were in agreement that the first-generation Ridgeline was preferable. Your author begs to differ - I think the current-gen truck looks better - but I’ve never owned a unit from either generation. Let’s see what one of the commenters had to say:

My 2 cents. The 1st gen was designed as a singular vehicle from the ground up. It shares no common body stampings with any other vehicle except for 2. The 2nd gen is part of Honda’s global light truck unibody platform and as such is not purpose built but is a compromise within the platform.

A person with basic automotive knowledge can work on a gen 1. The 2 seems to be less user friendly. IMO they seem to be problematic given that some of the model years have transmission and other issues that I see mentioned frequently in forums.

I personally think that the 2nd gen is not very attractive. I’ll keep my gen 1. The only issue I’ve had with it is the brakes which have been upgraded to better than OEM. It should last another 15 years given that it only has 150k miles on it.

That’s not just about personal preference towards styling - this person points out other reasons behind their thought process.

Newer isn’t always better. Ask any car enthusiast, car collector, automotive journalist, technician, OEM employee - pretty much anyone in the industry. And sometimes, newer is better, objectively, but buyers still prefer the previous-gen model. Or the generation before that.

Here’s one more from someone who has owned both generation Ridgelines:

I had a 2007 that I bought new. It was in a crash this spring that ended the 19 years I had been driving it. I had planned to drive it for many more years. I had compared it to Gen2’s a couple of times and came away preferring the Gen1 for its more “truck like” interior.

However, I ended up getting a new 2025 Sport vs a used Gen1 simply to avoid getting a potential problem ridden used vehicle. I’ve put about 2k miles on the Gen2 and have gotten used to the differences and am quite happy with it. The pro’s are: Gen2 is quieter, more fuel efficient, better electronics, quicker acceleration…

The Con’s are: VCM, Auto Stop/Start, slightly less rear seat leg room, front feels smaller due to dash layout, looks less truck like.

I installed the SVCM to disable the VCM and also the device to disable the Auto Stop/ Start.

I miss my Gen1 but am very happy with my Gen2..

What say you? What vehicle out there is one that you prefer an older generation to the current one?

Images: Honda

About The Author

Tim Healey is an experienced automotive writer and editor from Chicago. He has covered automotive news at Consumer Guide Automotive, Web2Carz, AutoGuide, and was the managing editor at The Truth About Cars. Tim is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. You can find him on Facebook, X/Twitter, and on LinkedIn.