We are making a trial move to Portsmouth, and our Passat wagon isn’t too good in snow. Nor is it good for towing a small trailer of our stuff for this trial residence, nor for towing a day-sailer or very small camper if everything works out. Most small SUVs are four-cylinder; is this enough? If so, we’d probably buy a lightly used Forester. (Used, not just because we’re cheap, but because gas mileages are likely to improve greatly in the next few years. We can’t wait for some clean diesels to show up.)
If we need six cylinders, the choices seem limited to the Toyota RAV (2009), a Ford Escape, or a Subaru Outback in a six. We do want FWD or AWD. Any comments?
Thanks,
Rob
Check the recommended towing capacity for each. It should be available on their web site or from the dealers. That is a max so don’t pick something that does not have enough capacity for your intended use. You may need to do some research to determine the towing weight of your intended uses.
Any of those cars as well as the Passat, will benefit noticeably from real winter tyres, not all season tyres. If you want good snow performance (stopping as well as going) get a set of four Winter tyres.
As Joseph mentioned, check the towing rates online for any model that tickles you. I think you’ll find that most 4-cyl models have little to no towing capacity, while 6-cyl models have moderate towing capacity. The reason is horsepower. 4-cyl SUVs basically make just enough power to pull the truck at it’s rated capacity. A lot of 6 cylinder models have more reserve power to allow for towing. Also, the car’s weight has a lot to do with a safe towing capacity. For most to be light enough for a 4-cyl leaves little room for more weight. And a light tow car is limited to a light tow capacity.
Also, if you intend to do towing for any regularity, like distance with a camper or small boat, check for the availability of a towing package. This package usually includes factory versions of an external transmission oil cooler and different final gear set to make towing safer and kep the engine reliablility. I have a tow package on my 2000 Ford Explorer for towing a small utility trailer, usually in the summer and a few times on long trips out of state.
There is no reason a VW Passat should not be a good snow car, FWD and snow tires should make this a very good snow car. As for trailering if your Passat has 4 matic then I think towing is out. If it is front wheel drive it should have similar towing capacity as the small SUV’s. If you need more towing capacity you may need to look at mid sized SUV’s like a Toytoa 4 Runner, or Nissan Extera.
If you buy a small SUV you may not really be doing any better than the car you have now.
How about the Saturn Vue? It is supposed to be excellent for towing.
Saturn? Hmmm. The worst car by a long, long shot that I ever owned was one of the larger wagons. After 27 months and over 8 grand in warranty work GM bought it back from us for full price. I know the VUE is really an Opel, but stull?
Keep in mind that car-based SUVs are usually not designed for towing. I suggest a mid-sized truck-based SUV with a V-6.
think you’ll find that most 4-cyl models have little to no towing capacity, while 6-cyl models have moderate towing capacity.
You’ll be able to find 4-cylinder SUV’s rated as a Class II (3500 lbs)…and MANY 6-cylinder SUV’s rated at Class III (5000 lbs). Class II is PLENTY for most non-commercial towing needs.
I agree. Most car-based SUV’s are FWD. RWD is far superior to FWD for towing.
How well do those 4 cylinders tow a 3500 pound load compared to their 6 cylinder counterparts? I would challenge anyone to get a gasoline powered 4 cylinder, hitch up 3500 pounds and try to maintain highway speed on even a moderate grade.
My Bronco is supposedly capable of towing 7500 pounds. But I would not want to tow more than 5000 with it, other factors come into play when towing, in my case the short wheelbase and mediocre brakes make towing more than 5000 pounds a risky proposition…
How well do those 4 cylinders tow a 3500 pound load compared to their 6 cylinder counterparts? I would challenge anyone to get a gasoline powered 4 cylinder, hitch up 3500 pounds and try to maintain highway speed on even a moderate grade.
OH…I agree…That’s why I have a V6. BUT…if you only tow once or twice a year and very short trips…then it’s not a bad choice. I towed a 2500lb trailer and wife and 3 kids with my 90 Pathifner and a 3.0 V6. I could do it…but on hills I had to shift to 3rd…and I couldn’t maintain highway speeds on hills while in 5th.
Lighten the load by shipping books by fourth class rate and use UPS to the maximum. You might not even need a trailer if you jettison enough stuff.
Well, you have a point there. A small UHaul trailer would cost $300 plus gas and wear and tear. We could probably ship eight or ten boxes for what the trailer would wind up costing. Still, we’d like eventually to have a 4X4 or AWD for the snow in NH, perhaps because we were freaked out by the extremely dangerous snow on the Olympic Peninsula–very wet, just below freezing so that it is easily melted and then refrozen as ice.
I live in the next town over from Portsmouth.
The roads are plowed beyond well and even good in winter conditions all-seasons suffice once the plows go by and treat the roads. It however gets very slippery around as we get lots of winter percipitation in the form of sleet, slush, icy rain vs snow in the other areas due to ocean effects.
You definitely do not need AWD around here but it comes in handy. The better thing to do is consider equipping what you have with a set dedicated winter tires(check tirerack.com for pricing with steel rims, best to buy a few months before winter as supply is up). The benefit of AWD is getting moving and around(going). The benefit of winter tires is absolutely superior stopping and turning ability.
My only other tip for the area is service your VW (if you still have it) at European Auto Service in Rye,NH. They make VW/Audi ownership a pleasure.