What is the best small (Ford Escape size or less) SUV to tow, not trailer?

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1PlasticMan1

1PlasticMan1

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I have a Land Rover LR2, and according to manufacturer, it should not be towed over 50 miles.  Want to tow small SUV behind a pusher.  Any suggestions?
 
We tow a Honda CRV.  We see more CRVs being towed than anything else but lately we've seen  a few Ford Escape Hybrids, Mini-Coopers and Fiat 500s in tow.  The latter two were standard transmissions.

I like Jeeps but the dogs & the DW thought they were harder to get in and out of than the Honda.  And the Honda was the color she wanted.  You know, red.  ;)
 
I'll have to second John's suggestion of a Jeep - the Cherokee, as well as the Wrangler, is towable, at least in some versions. A few recently have been made not towable four down.
 
I have a 2014 CR-V and love it. The bad news 2014 is the last year you can tow 4 down the 2015 has a different transmission.
I would look at all the towing guides and find one you like. I see a lot of jeeps.
Bill
 
I tow a Jeep Wrangler.  All 4X4 Wranglers can be towed four down.  As for the rest of the Jeep line up it depends on the transfer case.  A good place to look is Motor Home Magazines Tow-able guide that comes out every year.
 
I'll toss in the Chevy Captiva and Equinox. The Captive is a GM fleet-only car, so you have to buy it used, but there are plenty of them out there and the price is right. It is the old Saturn Vue with some updates to the drivetrain. The Equinox is the new version of the Captiva/Vue, but I believe the drivetrain is the same. We have the Captiva and are very happy with it.
 
Rstrahan said:
We use a tow dolly, tow our mini-van.  If you have a front-wheel drive vehicle, a tow dolly is the best solution.
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Yes it is a solution if you don't have anything that can be towed 4 down. If you have a all wheel drive be absolutely clear about the towing instructions. Most can't be towed on a dolly. My CR-V all wheal drive can be towed 4 down but not on a dolly.
Bill
 
Several choices and the "best" one depends on your vehicle preferences more than mechanical considerations. Here are some small SUVs (with automatic transmissions) that are towable without modifications:

Honda CRV Before (2015)
Honda Fit (before 2015)
Chevy Equinox
GMC Terrain
Jeep Wrangler 4WD
Ford Escape (2012 & earlier)
 
really happy with our Escape- both towing and not towing. we have the FWD 4CYL and get good gas mileage around town.
 
If you want to buy used and can find them, the Honda Element works really well too. I know they're ugly, but we got over it pretty quick when DESPITE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS (sorry about caps, but it's my disclaimer I really wanted you to see), we found we could flat tow it.

It's basically the same as the older Honda CRV's which is what we set out to buy until the dealer showed us an Element. The dealer never told us we could flat tow it, we came up with that ourselves. We've been towing it at least every month for 4 years and have never had a problem.

You have to go through a certain procedure each time you tow and if you screw it up, the new transmission's on you, so if you're prone to forgetfulness, skip this car.

What we love about it:
The front seats will lie down flat if you need them to. The back seats, can either lie down flat as well, or each can be folded up and secured flat against each side, or they can be totally removed.

Also, you can purchase a curtain that covers all the windows and if you want, even a pop-up top can be added, thus making a great guest room or a place to live if you're a full-timer and ever need one...lol  Or maybe if one of you is in the doghouse?

I'm upset they quit making these cars, because when ours goes, I'd really like to purchase another one.

Hope you find something that works well for you. We started with a Ford Escape and a tow dolly, and are so glad to be done with that!!!!

-Roni

 
As a long time Element owner I take exception to that ugly remark!  ;)  Boxes is beautiful!  Never find a more dog friendly car.

I'm curious about what year you have and where you found the tow plate for it.  Or did you use one designed for a CRV? 

We traded in an Escape because the build quality was very bad.  It went back to the shop several times for things Ford couldn't or wouldn't fix.
 
The Chevrolet equinox is a great solution. It is towable 4 down in all versions. We have towed ours for 4 years with 0 problems.
The AWD version also goes just about anywhere.
The GMC sister Terrain is gives different appearance.
 
We are looking at a Jeep Liberty 4x4. We have 2 large dogs and wanted a little more luxury than a Wrangler. We prefer the body style from 2007 down and they weigh in at only 3800 lbs.
 
As a long time Element owner I take exception to that ugly remark!
Click to expand...
Well, they do kind of grow on you, don't they?

I'm curious about what year you have and where you found the tow plate for it.  Or did you use one designed for a CRV?
Click to expand...

It's a 2011. Got the tow plate from RoadMaster. DH installed it himself.
 
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