What are my tow vehicle options?

[Bailey]

My wife wants to get rid of the minivan and get an SUV finally. She doesn't want one of the big SUVs unfortunately as I do so that I can tow my 930, probably with an open trailer, although I'd love enclosed. She sort of likes the Honda Pilot, VW Toureag, maybe a BMW X5 or MB. I like the Land Rover Discovery but she says it's too boxy and truck like. I think we need one with a third row seat for kids, dogs and friends. Given the experience of all of you, is there any SUV out there that might satisfy both us us - midsize SUV, ideally third seat, that can tow well?

Thanks,

Bailey

[Jim Smolka]

For towing, a Ford Excursion Diesel is hard to beat.

[rfuerst911sc]

I'm not up to speed on SUV's but here is food for thought based on years of being involved with the RV industry,most "experts" say you should have about a 20% safety factor when towing,this means you take the maximum the vehicle is rated to tow and subtract 20%,this is the maximum you should tow but there is more to the story,you also have to figure how much "load" the vehicle is going to carry,you have to figure how many people,gas and "stuff" you pack into a vehicle for a weekend jaunt,it all adds up.I believe many people under estimate how much everything weighs and those are the folks that you see at the side of the road with overheated vehicles,blown tires,dead automatic transmissions etc.,towing is hard on a vehicle,also have to consider stopping all this weight,that's another story.Not trying to scare you but there is more to towing than hitching the trailer to the back of the vehicle.

[911boost]

You can't beat displacement when it comes to towing. I am not sure about the towing capacities, but I know the VW and the BMW do no have very much room (no third seat I don't think) and the Honda while it is nice and has a back seat, only has a V-6, ala Acura MDX. Have you thought about a Tahoe or Yukon? They have a third row (although its desinged for people with either no legs or torsos) and you can get a 5.3 liter V-8.

Bill

[GeorgeM]

I love my 2000 Durango 4.7L. It has no problem pulling my '89 Carrera on a 1500# steel open trailer. It has enough space for all my track stuff including tires and my EZ-UP 10x10 tent. Best of all, I can lock it all up at night. The 3rd row seats are very handy as well if I end up driving the gang to after track dinner.

The size is just right too. It's smaller than the Expedition category SUVs, but bigger than the previous model Explorer types.

I'd love to have a BMW or even a Toureg (my neighbor has the VW and, although I'm not familiar with the towing specs, it's a VERY nice ride), you can't beat the price of a domestic SUV, especially nowadays. I paid $24K for mine in 2001. It was only 9 months old and had 9000 miles on it. The sticker was $36K. Nothing like letting the previous owner suck up some depreciation.

And if you want more CCs, you can find one with the 5.9L.

[svandamme]

get the touareg, and buy a bunch of Porsche crests fron Pelican parts
remove VW , replace with Pcrest

make sure nobody finds out

[89911]

Bailey, I understand your dilemma. I've never been one to drive a minivan and have owned SUV's even before they where hip. I have two SUV's that can tow, a 2002 GMC Envoy XL and an BMW X5 4.6is. My wife drives the GMC and I use the X5. They are two very different cars. The GMC can haul 7 adults because it has a 3rd row seat. The ride is adequate at best. Too soft for my likes. The X5 cargo space is very small and can handle 5 adults, although there is more room in the first two rows then the GMC. It is basically my sports car when not driving the 911 that I can still tow with. I tow a Trailex trailer with it and it handles superbly. The biggest question you need to ask yourself is, "do you need a 3rd row seat?" You can't have everything and I haven't seen a car that seats 7 and is fun to drive and park. (Did you ever notice how many Suburbans have rear quarter panel damage from parking?) If you don't need the 3rd seat, the X5, Toureg, Cayenne, Volvo (don't know the name), are all nice cars. I thing the Volvo has a 3rd seat? Once your into the 3rd seat cars, you giving up comfort and drivability for space. You might want to have your wife drive these for a bit of time to make sure she is comfortable with the size.

[slakjaw]

what about a toyota land crusier?

[svandamme]

hard ride, bad handling, noisy
but very durable, used to perform all sorts of misbehaviour in that one

[vash]

you gotta consider wheelbase on the tow vehicle. some of the shorter wheel base vehicles you listed would get sketchy on extended towing excursions. as far as SUV's for towing, my choices would be the toyota sequoia or the new nissan, titan? or is the titan the pickup? that is the offerings from japan. and any of the V8's from detroit would work from the explorer or durango on up. i almost got hurt towing with a 80's full sized bronco, so i just go with the overkill philosophy. DIESEL! i read that FORD is going to put a 4point something diesel into the expedition and a four banger diesel into the explorer!

[jstgermaine]

My '97 TLC tows just fine. Handling and noise aren't an issue either.

[Grady Clay]

Bailey,

Get your wife a car/SUV/minivan that SHE likes and then get yourself a tow truck. The bigger, HD the better.

Look to the future. What do YOU want to do?

For the past 8 years I've taken my kid kart racing in one of my old Porsche tow vehicles; a 9800#GVW E350, 460 and all the bells and whistles. With some rehab it can tow the Formula Mazda. (I won't let him drive the Porsches yet.)

The point of this discussion is that there isn't one single - do everything vehicle. Some try and are only disappointed. A friend just bought a new Chevy something 4-door convertable pick-up for big$. I had to congratulate him and smile since it was a done deal. I don't look forward to the crying a year or two from now.

Yesterday I had the opportunity? to drive a friends F350 HD doolly crewcab diesel LWB 4wd on an errand. I'm sure it's a great tow vehicle but it is NOT for daily driving.

Get a HD truck for towing.
Get a nice street car for daily driving.
You will benefit because neither is used for unintended purposes.

Best,
Grady

[s2per]

Even though I love my 8.1 powered Avalanche, I realize most people have more sense than me. Before you buy a mid-sized SUV, at least drive an Explorer/Mountaineer/Aviator with a 4.6. The irs in those vehicles gives them remarkable ride and handling and if you buy one a year old (current body style) the value per $ is best in class.
Toureg is great, but what about resale?

[David]

Mass of the towing vehicle and power are obviously the two biggies when picking a tow vehicle. Just because the tow rating shows a vehicle can tow a certain amount, if the vehicle is too light it will feel like the trailer has all the control. I'll second the Ford Excursion vote. It's hard to beat an 8,000 lb vehicle with a diesel. I'm just glad my racing buddy has one so I don't have to have that monstrosity in my garage.

[SCOTITUDE]

had a 2000 durango, with the 360 (5.9L) in it. had all the bells and whistles including the third row seat which folded flat into the floor for the wife and clan. The thing pulled my SC on a 2500# trailer with no problems. I mean accelerating uphill in the poconos like there was nothing on the hitch (70-80 mph). Satisfied the wifes request for "Mid size" and third row and my need for pulling power. Pulls better than my suburban. Worth a look.

[cstreit]

We have a Toyota 4-runner that towed our car and a large cache of equipment on an open trailer with no problems. No third row though...

[Kevin Stewart]

The problem with the big vehicles is gas mileage if you care, if she drives a lot she will, My friend just bought his wife one of the new explorer 4 doors, has a v8 fair gas mileage i think third seat rides ok, and this thing is bigger the the explorer from a couple years ago, I had a simular problem, I bought a 1990 high top conversion chevy with the 3 speed auto tow package cheap nice van, and I can put all my track stuff in it out of the weatherm, cheap insurance, what ever you do beware of the chevy 3 speed over drive tranys, if you have any hills to or from the track you will blow it up, ask me how I know, last tow vehicle, Kevin

[75'930cab]

I love my Lexus LX470. I tow all of the time with it. I even used it today to tow. You can get the Land Cruiser for a little cheaper and they run forever also.

[OSC911]

In my opinion there is only one vehicle that stands up to everything that is put in front of it. My tow vehicle is a Toyota Landcruiser. They are extremly reliable and even more sturdy. I work in the Australian desert in the oil and gas indusry where the roads are car killers and the temps reach 50 C and these are the only 4X4 that we use. The are the only ones that can handle the abuse.


Todd

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally posted by s2per
Toureg is great, but what about resale?

Compared to a Ford? Toureg V8 would get you what you want, but no third row, at least I don't think. My wife drives a 4Runner 4wd Sport V6, good firm ride (hydralic cross linked shocks like the Audi RS6) without being harsh, great quality, sweet V6 with 20+ mpg to boot, and ours is rated to tow 7000lbs, enough for a 911 with a small trailer, and for '04 they are avaliable with a third row. Also avaliable in a V8 if you want to tow more. Aviator I think is avaliable with a third row seat, 300HP V8 would tow well, but I'd be concerned about a Ford product for depreciation, plus they've sold so few Aviators they're discontinuing them. Caddy SRX is another, I think you can get a third row in them, and they have plenty of power, so I would think they'd tow OK. They've been getting rave reviews in all the magazines.