So, I decided to go putz around and test some cars out...

Civic Si: after 3 years I finally got around to driving one. Not terrible.
Very roomy cargo (this is becoming more and more important to me) with the seats flipped down. Decent interior minus the cheap flimsy plastic cover near the base of the console. Comfy seats. Nice design.

Underpowered. Handling was OK. Shifter and postion of it are actually nice.

Bottomline: Could be a fun a little scoot around town. But nothing balls out....all the reviews for this car are pretty much dead on.

Element: I had to drive a LX model cause it was the only one they had with a manual tranny.

Drives: underpowered. Manual tranny is nice, but doesnt help the car feel any more sporty or give the impression of anymore pickup (holding til higher RPM.) Its not really needed for this vehicle, but im glad its an option.

Everything else: This car is the perfect utility vehicle. Rubber floors. Rear seat that fold up OR remove completely. water proof seats. EX adds a huge moonroof in the rear. better sound system and an aux input for an mp3 player.

Very spacious and well designed for putting gear in. More then enough legroom for rear passengers. Suicide doors kinda suck for people to get in and out of. Should have been lengthened.

Bottom: great choice for moving gear (a big reason why im looking) but the noticeable lack of power is sad. Silly that there is no front moonroof on any model.

Finally:

RIDGELINE: I was surprised by this truck...aside from everything i already knew about it still blow me away.

The more I see it in person the more I like the look.

I drove a RT-L non-navi model...aside from navi im told it gives you an au input also.

Design.....this thing has SPACE. open the rear doors and you have plenty of leg room and comfy seats for 3. Get out and flip the bottom of the bench up (60/40) and it locks and viola, tons of interior cargo room. A HUGE space is created.

Go to the outside. As we all know the tailgate opens down and to the side. Very nice, but i dont think it has enough clearance with its sideways opening.

The trunk in the bed is HUGE. Much deeper and spacious then I thought, and it had dividers. The spare is on a tray that slides out if you remove the wingnuts holding it. I was told there is enough room if you wanted to swap it with a full size. There are 4 anchor points located in the bed (designed by honda offroad for transporting dirtbikes and stuff.) It has four work light located in the bed so you can in the trunk or the bed at night.

Front cabin....Much nicer design then in the pics. granted this was non navi. comfy seats. nice feel. You can totally see over the hood (i had reservations with such a huge boxy hood.) the centerconsole expands and then opens up more to reveal a HUGE cargo space. I really liked the two tone leather seats as well. (mine were tan and brown and then there is black/grey)

The truck drives very nicely....just like a car....WAY better then the pilot. Very stiff and firm and controlable. Takes corners like a champ. Its has some oomph...but this is a heavy truck so its no speed demon.

Bottomline: Great truck with TONS of storage room throughout.

My favorite as you can tell was the ridgeline. I would love to have one in driveway. Its also th emost expensive and worst on gas 16/21

 

I had the same impression about the center console at the auto show. Just when you think you've seen it all, you discover another folding/flipping/sliding cover to reveal more storage space underneath. Soon you discover the damn thing goes all the way to the floor! Now that's storage.

 

It makes you think that Sport UTILITY Vehicles aren't worthy of their title anymore. I saw a Ridgeline at the dealer, and I very much liked it for a truck. The seating position was excellent, which is hard for me to find because I'm a short driver. The Chevy trucks seat too tall and upright, and that sucks to drive them.

I appreciated how the interior felt too. In we only have the LX, EX, and EX-L models. I sat in the EX-L. The only two trucks that are close in interior satisfaction are the F-150 with leather and the Toyota Tundra Limited.

 

man, you're all over the place with this car shopping.

 

If and When the time comes I am up in the air of sticking with sporty and cargo vs. straight up cargo.....dont know if i could part with a stick shift.

Thats said. Im not seriously looking to buy, not yet. HAve to see how this freelancing works out this time around.

 

Sidenote on the salesman:

This is the first time in Los Angeles I have encountered a salesman who was knowledgable and willing to take the time, with no pressure and no real profiling (he tried a little, but since I was looking at such a range of vehicles he couldnt pinpoint.)

He took the time to do a full walk around on each of the 3 vehicles, he geared his pitch towards cargo room vs. engine (what I had come in interested in) And then he let me drive each one and answered any questions to the best of his knowledge.

Afterwards, I almost felt obligated to go in for a few minutes, gvie him my home number (never use it) and asked just not to call everyweek. He said he would most likely followup tomorrow, and then once a month after since I said I was about 6 months out from buying ( gotta tell them something.)

After that it was a thank you and a handshake. I even talked him up to his salesmanager regarding how good he was.

Like I said, I havent seen that kind of treatment since I sold in Ohio for a few months.

Contrast...I stopped into a bimmer dealer down the street. No one came up to me. I had to walk up to the chick at the counter and say does anyone work here. She paged, 3 minutes later still no one. There were asshholes at their desks doing paperwork, but no customers. Finally, one dude stood up and said can I help you. They didnt what I wanted to see so I split. That was one dealer that would never get my business.