Your Opinions Please.........

Gofirstclass

Gofirstclass

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,695
Tri Cities, WA
Boat Info
Boatless in WA
Engines
No motor
Now that we have a dinghy on a trailer we're considering getting a small vehicle to tow it with. GW's car would work but it would cost almost $800 to put a hitch on it, and she has already said she wouldn't like the looks of a hitch on her car. I can't blame her.

So we're looking at some small SUV type vehicles with AWD or 4WD. A 4cylinder engine would work because the boat and trailer are going to be around 1500 pounds. I towed it yesterday with a 1981 Toyota pickup with a 2.2L 4-popper in it and the truck did fine.

So we're considering a used (naturally!!!) SUV of the size and type of these:
Ford Escape
Subaru Outback
Honda CRV
etc.

Any thoughts or opinions on these? Have any of you owned any of them or a similar size vehicle? What did you think of it?

Any suggestions on other vehicles I should consider?
 
Brother has a CRV and loves it, but he doesn't tow anything with it so can't comment on that.

My company issues Escapes and Fusions as our standard company cars, I took the Fusion but a colleague had both the new and previous version Escape. Ford products these days are very well designed and attractive rides, I do love the system integration in the Sync system when it comes to dialing phone calls, integrating with an I pod, basically all the stuff young 20 somethings are into, I find works for me too at twice the age.

I don't think my colleague with the Fusion is in love with the new version, he says it is too carlike for him, its also got a somewhat weak 4 banger, not sure what its towing rating is.

Good luck!
 
Steer clear of the Subaru. I bought a 2012 Legacy for my son and it's been the biggest lemon I have ever owned (of ~25 vehicles). I am just in the process of replacing it and swear I will never own another Subaru!

i like the newer CRV's (lot's of room), but find the new Escape styling to be a little on the feminine side...

Paul
 
Can't go wrong with a Honda. I had a first generation honda pilot and it was great! I would pull a utility trailer to the Home Depot for larger items, it's a good vehicle.


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Have you had a quick look at "Lemon Aid"? We've found their recommendations to be reliable if you can back them up with your own research. If you take everything they say at face value you probably won't buy anything though. We are definitely Honda and Toyota fans for the economical rides. Still can't beat a good 3/4 ton Bowtie for gettin' the work done.

100_3549.jpg
 
Bought my daughter a Ford Escape XLT (with the V6) back when she started driving, and she drove it all through high school and college. We used it to launch and retreive the Sea Doo and it worked well with no issues.
 
I have an 08 V6 Escape. Good vehicle but VERY hard on gas.
 
My mom had two Escapes and loved both of them. I liked it too and they were excellent in the snow. We sold one to the neighbor and she's still driving it. I think with the 6 cylinder and 4x4 we were 20-24 on the highway. We didn't have any major problems. Dad's always had a full size pickup so we never towed with either of two we had. I do not have experience with the other two.
 
sfergson727 said:
I had a 2005 Escape for a while....15 to 17 mpg, and went through several anti-skid issues that required replacing the CV joint due to the piece of crap rings they use for the sensors, unless, of course, you knew someone who could replace just the rings. (It's good to have connections....)

I was never happier the day I kissed that POS goodbye.
Click to expand...

:huh: To each his own. We had good luck. Sorry yours wasn't to your liking.
 
Honda or Toyota. Don't look back. My 1985 Prelude is still on the road having survived me, daughter 1, me, daughter 2, me, now former bosses secratary.
 
Jackie J V said:
Steer clear of the Subaru. I bought a 2012 Legacy for my son and it's been the biggest lemon I have ever owned (of ~25 vehicles). I am just in the process of replacing it and swear I will never own another Subaru!

i like the newer CRV's (lot's of room), but find the new Escape styling to be a little on the feminine side...

Paul
Click to expand...

My wife drives a 2011 outback and loves it. Thinks it's the best case she's ever had and we have had several Honda's. We have around 45K on it and so far only regular maintenance. We put a uhaul hitch on it but haven't towed anything, just used the bike rack. We get 25-26 around town and around 30 on the highway.

Mike
 
Are you looking new or used?A chevy equinox would tow it and get decent gas mileage.Not bad for space either.If its just a tow vehicle you probably wont beat a silverado fuel wise or initial cost.
 
We've owned lots of Hondas.........maybe 16 or 17. They have all been great cars. Honda builds excellent engines and transmissions.
 
My wife drives a 2011 CRV on which I installed a hitch just so she could carry a bike rack on back. The hitch cost less than $200, and I think it took me about an hour to install. The CRV has been totally trouble free and my wife loves it. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is not a quiet car. The engine is not that noisy, but there is a good bit of road and wind noise. Honda does not do a great job of sound proofing/insulating the passenger compartment. Its not that bad around town, but on longer trips, it annoys the heck out of me.
 
knoteasy, that's a good question. My guess it is would be used several times a year to tow the dinghy down to the slip (about 8 miles). My Galley Wench says she wants to take it to some distant lakes (3-4 hours away), rent a cabin for a few days and explore the lakes. I'm find with that, but I guess the bottom line is this vehicle probably won't get 3,500 miles a year. With that in mind, gas mileage isn't a HUGE thing. Comfort and convenience items like power seats, A/C, cruise and other niceties are a must. I won't enjoy a stripped down model after driving what we drive.

After looking at this issue for a couple of days I'm thinking the physical size of the vehicle is among the top items. I want to be able to park it in front of my car and a long vehicle won't work for that. In winter it may become my go-to vehicle so my BMW would be parked in front, but either way they both have to be fairly short.

I have looked on Craigslist the past couple of days and I've decided that my original $$$ limit of $7,500 is way too low. For that I get a 2005-2006 with a bazillion miles on it. I stopped by a Ford dealer today to look. They have a 2011 with 59K for $17,500. So I guess I'm going to have to open the wallet a little wider to get a rig that's reliable and doesn't have a bazillion miles.

The Escape is probably still in front on my short list, but the Subu's aren't too far behind. I haven't looked at the CRV's yet but will before I buy anything.
 
Gofirstclass said:
Now that we have a dinghy on a trailer we're considering getting a small vehicle to tow it with. GW's car would work but it would cost almost $800 to put a hitch on it, and she has already said she wouldn't like the looks of a hitch on her car. I can't blame her.

So we're looking at some small SUV type vehicles with AWD or 4WD.
Click to expand...
This is a third vehicle? Maybe I'm missing something but your going to buy another vehicle to pull a dink around occasionally because the "looks" of a hitch on the car is objectionable? The purchase price, insurance, maintenance, extra repairs needed on a vehicle that sits (yes they do suffer from sitting too long) etc. The math doesn't add up to me, but that's just me I guess.
 
Gfc,
I just ended a 24 month lease on a 2012 Ford Escape. I have to agree with Scott. I was glad the lease wasn't longer & a actually got out a month early when Dodge paid my last payment when I leased my new 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 Crew Cab.
The pros of my escape:
The car had some pep when I hammered the gas- most times.....
I got the loaded model so it had some nice little bells and whistles for what it was.
The car had built in garage door opener buttons in the visor!
The negatives:
16.6 mpg with gas, 15% less with E-85.
The car hesitated and stalled WHILE I WAS DRIVING!!! It crapped out a few times when I changed lanes, almost causing an accident. Of course service dept found nothing wrong but it did this the whole 2 years I had it.
The rear window seal leaked, even after it was recalled for this & the seal was replaced. Also did this until the day I turned it in.
Blew a stereo speaker first 3 months. Stereo had no power either but, nice options such as on board hard drive to store music
The car noise seemed louder than my wife's Sienna.

My model was the last year of the old body style. I did get a loaner of the 2013, newer body style once. That car was quieter and had a better motor ( the ecoboost motor) which ran well without the noted hesitation that I was experiencing. Maybe they improved the car when they went to the newer style. All that I know is that I would NOT buy a 2012 model Ford Escape. I would at least consider a newer one though. Good luck in the hunt!


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Todd
 
I have a 2013 Honda CRV and just love it! My husband's only complaint is it has a small gas tank and he says we're always filling it up:) We had a hitch installed for a small trailer we have and when we're not towing we have a propeller hitch cover that lights up when you brake. Always being asked where we got it from: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/propeller-hitch-cover. IMHO, I think you have difficulty in beating a Honda.
 
We have a Ford edge and it gets an average of over 20MPG and can tow very well. The base model tows up to 5,000 lbs I believe but my Limited is rated at only 3,500 which is plenty for us.
 
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