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fuel efficient tow vehicle


ama146

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I get about 30 MPG when towing with my Jetta TDI.

I was pricing used Jetta TDI's DAMN they aren't cheap. I need something more fuel efficient next year.

What kind of Highway MPG do you get?

How many miles do you have on it?

How has it been in the maintence department?

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A Taurus is an awful idea. Very weak transmission.

that occurred to me after I posted.

with regard to space, a small SUV has never given me problems. i did create a "coffin" box that rides on my trailer next to my bike though. That keeps a ton of stuff that I used to have to put inside the vehicle.

To put things in perspective, without the box, I had all the passenger seats folded down in the SUV to fit everything.

With the box, I was able to bring my wife and dog to the track. And that includes a bunch of extra "camping" stuff to accommodate her. We're talking a huge pillow, makeup bags, blow dryer, a lounge chair so she can tan, and our bigger tent and bigger cooler on top of that. Granted, I didn't ahve the generator back then, but I'm sure I could pull of the same trip and fit it all.

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I was pricing used Jetta TDI's DAMN they aren't cheap. I need something more fuel efficient next year.

What kind of Highway MPG do you get?

How many miles do you have on it?

How has it been in the maintence department?

Got about 45MPG on my last road trip to Nashville.

Will have 120k after this weekend.

So far just filters and a timing belt. It's a 2006.

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looking around for the last few days leaves me to believe a ford ranger might be my best bet. small, decent mpg, and has plenty of towing capacity for my trailer. plus it has a bed so i can put my generator and all the gear back there easily.

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Not sure about the 2.7L I4's but I worked with a guy back in the late 90's that bought an '81 toyota pickup new and when I'd met him it had over 350k on it. Never even had the valvecovers off. had to put 2 clutches in it and typical maintanence items over the course of almost 20 years.

It was the trusty old 2.2L ( 22R ) with manual 4speed 2wd shortbed std cab. Ugly little sumbitch but still ran like a top. I had an '86 22R same as above, and it got PUNISHED in my teens. Also had a '90 4x4 w/22RE and it was treated pretty rough too. Both of them took it all in stride and kept on goin'. I'm on my 5th Toyota truck now ( '08 Tacoma ) and love the durability, reliability, power, and comfort - I tried 1 Tundra w/4.7L but it was the 1st year model ( 2000 ) and drank fuel like a fish, so I ended up trading it shortly after fuel hit $4/gal the first time.

All we have in our garage are Toyota's and Kawi's

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Subaru Impreza (& WRX) are rated at 2000 lbs towing capacity & they don't make bad daily drivers either.

What years? I know the new ones are not recommended for towing at all in the US (I believe the European version is rated at 1000lbs but don't quote me on that).

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Taco's suck on gas. Suuuuuckkkkkk.

Yes sir they sure do, my 4.0 gets on avg in the low 20's mpg - its not as hateful as the Tundra I had which would eat a gallon every 16-18 miles. The new gen Tundra can get comparable mileage ( IF you can keep your foot out of it ) vs my Taco - BUT its almost $20k more than I paid for my new DC 4x4 TRD, and parts will send your empty wallet shooting right through your ass for Tundras too. Its all relative, if you can swing $42k on a loaded 4x Tundra, gas mileage isnt an obvious concern. $24k on a loaded Taco is easier to manage financially, and still has decent tow grunt for its size.

For decent mileage, good tow capacity, and some payload space......Tacomas, Rangers, and Dakotas would be MY first choices - cant elaborate on the Canyons/Colorados with their I5's and power/capacities but they may be worth a look too. I am a truck guy though, so I'll NEVER recommend a car/wagon to drag loaded trailers - just appears odd to me to see :dunno:

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older rangers are garbage because mazda is responsible for them

older f150s and bigger are tanks....unlesss by "older" you mean those horrible mod motor years of the 2v 4.6/5.4 ....that motor setup was an embarassment for Ford...i think 97-05 or something like that, forget the cutoff of the 2v motor in f150s...it was 04 for mustangs, but wanna say 05 for trucks...dont remember

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thats way to much for that truck with that mileage. High mileage doesn't scare me. Both our vehicles have over 175k and tow occasionally. 2wd 95 dakota with a 318 and an 04 4wd explorer with the v6 4.0l. It all depends on how you take care of them. I have owned toyotas and hondas and they are great vehicles but anything will last a while if taken care of. The difference is i paid 1k for my dakota and 3k for her explorer. 7k for something with that high mileage is insane in my book. I know they hold there value but damn.

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What years? I know the new ones are not recommended for towing at all in the US (I believe the European version is rated at 1000lbs but don't quote me on that).

Up to 07 only. Didn't realize the specs had changed.

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