Next Vehicle?

[freebeard]

One vehicle, two sets of wheels and tires?

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by freebeard

One vehicle, two sets of wheels and tires?

I got two sets of wheels for my:

• 1972 Super Beetle,
• 1985 VW Golf diesel,
• 1993 Mazda 323,
• and now my 2013 Toyota Avalon.
• (And I'll be looking for a set of wheels for the 2006 Prius as soon as I'm 100% I'm going to keep it.)

If you live where it snows a lot during the winter and not so much during the summer then two sets of wheels are the way to go IMO.

[Fat Charlie]

My wife's wish list for our camper put us in an obscene weight range, so I had her test drive a Durango. Depending on options, it's rated between 6,200 and 8,700 pounds. She didn't like it and we got a camper that a minivan can handle.

[hayden55]

Alright adding to the mix:

These are in no particular order

Option 1: Lexus GX 470 (6500lb); 13mpg combined; 7 seat $$$
Option 2: Lexus LX 470 (6500lb); 15mpg combined; 7 seat $$$
Option 3: Ford Crown Victoria (5000lb); 18mpg combined; 6 seat $
Option 4: Cheep Cherokee 4.0 (5000lb); 18mpg combined; 5 seat $
Option 5: Nissan Frontier 4.0 (6500lb); 17mpg combined; 5 seat $$$
Option 6: Chevrolet Tahoe 4.8 (6900lb); 15mpg combined; 5 seat $
Option 7: Chevrolet Silverado (7000lb); 15mpg combined; 5 seat $$
Option 8: Nissan Armada (9100lb); 14mpg combined; 8 seat $$$
Option 9: Toyota Sequoia (6500lb); 15mpg combined; 8 seat $$
Option 10: Toyota Tundra (7100lb); 15mpg combined; 5 seat $$$+

Looking for more options as well

[Isaac Zachary]

How sure are you you'll get the wake boat in the near future to justify the 6,000lb towing capacity?

If you're going to be towing just 3,000lbs for the foreseeable future another suggestion would be a Chevy Colorado or GMC Canyon, maybe even a Ford Ranger. Then you'd be able to shoot for over 20mpg. I understand that some of these can tow up to 4,000lbs, but you'd have to look around at each one and their options since I guess some aren't rated even for 2,000lbs.

[Fat Charlie]

The minivan we're getting has 3600# towing capacity and is EPA rated 19/28. And folding the seats down gives you an absolutely ridiculous amount of cargo capacity before you even start towing.

[redpoint5]

I'm surprised you're having issues with the Prius. If you weren't, I'd recommend keeping both the Prius and Ranger.

Most of the vehicles on the list will require more maintenance and repairs than would typically be required on a Prius (or any sedan).

I'd add the 4Runner to the list. I'm inclined toward Toyota products due to better reliability, though I don't have direct experience.

[Hersbird]

I think you will find in the real world getting a traditional, naturally aspirated 6 cylinder will get the same mileage as a similar V8 especially say the 5.3 GM especially if it's doing something. That and the Toyota 4.7 are the most reliable V8s out there. The rest of the Toyota is going to be better than a GM but the GM with similar mileage and condition will be 1/2 the price. I just picked up a 4x4 Jeep Commander that is rated 7200 pounds of towing and has the 5.7 Hemi, a reasonably reliable motor, for $7500 but my first 2 weeks of daily driving it in the city has yielded a 12.2 mpg average on the first tank. That was a little worse than I imagined but it is Dec in Montana, and hardly get it warm on my 3.5 mile drive. I got this to build into an off-road capable rig so I'm not too worried as it will not take too much more of a hit with big tires, a lift, and a big roof rack. It's stock now. I also have a TDI Touareg that will tow 7700 pounds and gets 25 mpg on the same commute but it was more than twice the price. I would question how reliable it is but it's under warranty still so I'll keep it for now.
Another vehicle that is pretty capable with good mpg and tow rating would be the more modern 2014 up Jeep Cherokee with the 3.2 v6 and the 9 speed auto. It is probably too expensive too but has one of the higher tow ratings of the small SUVs and that pentstar v6 is solid.

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I'm surprised you're having issues with the Prius. If you weren't, I'd recommend keeping both the Prius and Ranger.

Most of the vehicles on the list will require more maintenance and repairs than would typically be required on a Prius (or any sedan).

I'd add the 4Runner to the list. I'm inclined toward Toyota products due to better reliability, though I don't have direct experience.

Nah I just wrote that funny. I haven't had to do anything to the Prius after 180k. Still has the original battery too (Lv&Hv)

The GX is cheaper than the 4runner so that's why I originally was attracted to it. Lol

[Isaac Zachary]

Of course everyone's experience will be different, but I once tired to consolidate down to one car. But then my insurance actually went up. It's cheaper (for me) to insure another car than the multicar discount. So the overall cost to insure two cars is cheaper as a result. So I went and got a second car again...

Things to thing about:

1. Are you actually planning on towing 6,000lbs soon? If not, my suggestion is to wait. What if you buy a bigger vehicle and end up not getting the 6,000lb wake thing-a-ma-jig? Or what if I do by a bigger vehicle now and by the time you get that 6,000lb thing-a-mic-bob now you have better options (e.g. used Tesla Truck maybe).
2. How often do you tow? Sometimes we go to such great lengths to get that all-in-one vehicle that we forget that some of that we hardly every use all the vehicle's multi-capableness. For an example, if this is something you do once a year, it may actually be cheaper to just rent a truck that one day of the year.
3. Now add to the aforementioned question what do you use your other vehicles for? If you hardly commute, then you could go with just one big do-it-all vehicle (unless the other vehicle makes your insurance cheaper like in my case). But what if you mostly commute and don't hardly tow. Well maybe just one vehicle would do that's great on fuel mileage, but can barely tow. You'd have to take it real easy (of course there may be legal and safety reasons not to), but if it's just a couple times a year it's kind of overkill to get another dedicated vehicle just for that.