Looking to buy a small suv or something similar. Must be able to tow a small 6x10 utility trailer with two motorcycles (under 1500lbs) I would like to be over 25mpg on the highway. Can be manual or automatic, diesel, gas or hybrid. Used budget is 15-20k want under 70k miles. Looking for suggestions. Was originally looking at tdi Touareg’s but read of questionable reliability.
Methinks you may be chasing a unicorn.
Generally you have to choose between increased fuel economy or trailer/load carrying ability.
If it were me, I’d be looking at a small pickup truck like a Toyota Tacoma, perhaps with a camper shell on the back. The advantage there is a truck is generally body on frame, and therefore is able to safely tow/haul more weight, though at the expense of MPG. Most (though not all) of the smaller SUVs nowadays have no frame and cannot safely tow/haul much weight.
Good luck in your seach.
Are you needing it for towing all the time? If not how frequent?
I think to get what you want you will need 2 vehicles. Fuel efficient car for daily driving and truck or SUV for towing the few times you need it.
I pull a single motorcycle behind my toyota camry. If I need to move more weight then I take my truck.
The Honda CRV will do it. It has a tow rating of 1500 pounds, and 28/34mpg. For your budget, you can just about get a 2 year old off-lease one with under 40k on the clock.
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I know with the trailer I won’t be getting 25 mpg with it but I will only be putting the trailer on the car on Sundays, I would look into small trucks but they won’t get over 20 mpg really and everyone wants an arm and a leg for one. I previously had a Nissan frontier
I suggest you look at new vehicles of a lesser status.
Pick up a Consumer Reports New car Preview at the local bookstore. It’ll give you lots more information than can fit in my post, it’s objective (more than I), and if you decide to go used anyway it’ll be a good profile of the comparative reliability of the different vehicles.
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Take a look at the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. It is rated to tow 3500# and gets 28 combined EPA mileage.
You won’t be able to find any compact crossover from the past 5 years that does NOT get 25 MPG Highway. They will all do that. The Subaru Forester, just as one example, gets 27-32 MPG highway depending upon which engine and trans you opt for. Every common car can tow 1500 pounds, so a Mazda3 5-door (hatchback) would also suffice and will get near 40 MPG highway. I assume you are not asking to get that mileage WHILE towing, but you very well might. The world is your oyster! Personally, I’d skip any used Subaru based on the oil consumption issues, but there are many similar models like the Rogue and CRV that can do the same. They all fit in your budget too after 3+ years. Typical depreciation after 3 years is about 50% to 60%.
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Really that’s about what I was looking to hear/read. I know that darn near any car can pull 1500. Really the reason I was asking was for any cars that stood out above the rest. I looked at the newer crv’s but they are pretty mom car-ish. And I have two friends trying to talk me into a forester. Personally I would love to have something that had a v6 or diesel for the little extra oopmf for when the trailer was present. I’m currently driving a ford e-350 and get about 16mpg combined
A decent trailer that can haul 2 motorcycles is going to weigh 800lbs+. I hope the bikes weigh less then 700lbs combined.
If the weight truly is under 1500lbs then the Toyota Rav-4 can easily handle it. The Highlander is considered a mid-size SUV.
Stick with an automatic. Not even sure you can find a manual in that category of vehicles.
You know, the Forester with the turbocharged engine would be very good for that extra ooomph, particularly because turbos have low-end torque. Plus, the 2.0T engine is NOT the one that suffers from the oil consumption. It’s the 2.5 normally-aspirated engine that does.
I disagree that any common car can pull 1500 pounds. Sure they can no problem, but most cars now are rated for no towing. My little G6 with a V6 can do 1500 pounds but our old Acura with a V6 had a zero towing capacity. Same drive train in our RDX allows 1500 pounds. I think trucks like Rangers also were not allowed towing. This is one of my rants. All I want is to pull a little trailer and I don’t want a huge truck to have to do it.
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Stay away from small front drive SUVs to tow a trailer. The transmissions will not be up to it.
As others suggested, a small truck would be a better choice.
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