Next Vehicle?

[hayden55]

Alright,

What do you guys think? I'm looking at getting rid of the Prius and the Ranger and consolidating both into one vehicle. For the most part I'm starting to be the owner of too many vehicles (7 right now), plus anybody's vehicles who lives with me next etc...
Looking for an SUV that can pull a trailer and a boat, and maybe a hitch carrier motorcycle carrier (although not a deal breaker) at about 500lb tongue weight total.
Boat: Currently 3000lb maybe a wakeboat in the future at about 6000lb.
Looking to buy after these ridiculous Corona prices drop back to what they were back in April.
Option 1: Lexus GX 470
Option 2: Lexus LX 470

For the most part the Lexus versions are much cheaper than their toyota counterparts. They are reliable. AWD is a plus but I'm not sure its a requirement yet (boat ramps here are all nice and paved now vs how the river was).
Looking for something reliable I don't have to work on 24/7 like how the Prius has been. Its a DD so it'll soak up miles and towing needs.
Really don't care much for trucks when a trailer is so easy to use.

[Ecky]

13mpg and 14mpg city? 25% worse than the pickup truck would be a tough sell for me as a daily.

What year/age range are you looking in?

I believe the RX450h can tow 3500lbs officially, and is rated for 31mpg city. The older RX400h is 27mpg city with the same tow rating. The drivetrain is essentially a scaled up version of what's in the Prius (has an electric motor in the rear so they're both AWD). I'd look closely at forums on any common failures for these specific vehicles, but I'd wager they're pretty solid.

EDIT: I'd get others opinions on towing above its rating. I tow 2000lbs behind my G1 Insight (more than the car weighs) now and then, and while I wouldn't exactly recommend it, it's alright for short distances and lower speeds. I could see it being a non-issue entirely if I had trailer brakes.

[hayden55]

Looking at vehicles around the 7kish range that can tow 6k. 96+
Has to be a Full 4 door as well.

I didn't think that was too far off. A nissan frontier in 2wd that can tow 6k only gets 17 combined.

[Stubby79]

Ahh...err...umm...this hurts my head.

Rather narrow choices...

If I had to have a big old V8, I'd sooner be driving a Chevy. At least then I'd be able to do the work and get ahold of the parts cheap enough, should it require anything major.

There would have to be one heck of a good reason to...not only towing, but I'd need my kids to all be huge football players or something. I don't have that excuse. I might go for a crew cab pickup instead.

Not a fan of SUVs...they come across as the worst of both worlds. At least those hybrids Ecky brought up get as good of gas mileage as a typical car.

If you're looking at older models for the affordability aspect, combined with reliability of a Toyota and as much comfort as possible, for the price, then it makes sense...probably get a lot of car for little money that way.

How much driving you do and where would be a factor...I spend more on insuring a second vehicle than I could ever save in gas, even driving the insight. Realistically, then, I ought to be driving an EV.

I'd get rid of the 3rd gen Prius and find another gen, keep the Ranger...based on a lot of assumptions of what kind of driving you do.

If you're set on only those two vehicles, I'm not sure why you're asking us for opinions...?

Edit...never mind on the last sentence...you just explained what you need.

[Ecky]

I'll dig around this evening and see what I can find. I'm thinking I might end up recommending a crew cab (short bed) truck as well, though. I'm guessing that's where we'll find the towing capacity with better fuel economy than most SUVs.

[Taylor95]

A Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0 would be a great option!

If you keep the tires around stock size you could probably get 25-26 mpg highway with a little bit of work. I can get 22-23 with my heavy steel wheels and 31" tires.

I don't have any experience towing with it but I think it is rated for 5000 lbs.

Edit: You will be hard pressed to find an SUV that can tow 7000 lbs. It will be huge and get terrible mpg. I would recommend something with a diesel if you are open to it.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by Ecky

I believe the RX450h can tow 3500lbs officially, and is rated for 31mpg city. The older RX400h is 27mpg city with the same tow rating.

'h' is for hybrid. Be aware that the rear axle has an external oil cooler option. ...for towing.

Edit:
e*clipse -- This may be of interest to you.
Quote:
32910J COOLER ASSEMBLY, OIL, No.1. COOLER ASSY, OIL; KOREA SPEC; KOREA SPEC&TOWING PACKAGE-3500LBS; TOWING PACKAGE-3500LBS; TOWING PACKAGE-WITH(3500LBS)
http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.co...rimLevel=19115

https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post451419

[Ecky]

Yep, I specifically checked to see which Lexus (and Toyota) SUVs had hybrid options. I think very highly of the HSD, especially in those platforms.

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by Stubby79

Ahh...err...umm...this hurts my head.

Rather narrow choices...

If you're set on only those two vehicles, I'm not sure why you're asking us for opinions...?

Edit...never mind on the last sentence...you just explained what you need.

Nah I just started off the option list. I'm just buying one do it all vehicle but I like to be open to options not "ooo i want the new pretty shiny *insert brand here*. lol

I threw those up there as the Land Cruiser based vehicles seem to be ultra reliable. (Prado and 100 series with Lexus badges). But mpg is somewhat bad. They do say the gas mileage is the reliability tax for them. lol
(The joke is that they are built to go 25 years in a third world country)

My friend was being a smart ass and told me crown vic...

BUT... He isn't far off.

https://trailers.com/tow-capacity/in...emplate=normal

I would imagine the RX450h is a little too small on the towing capacity side. 21' wakeboat package weight is usually around 6500 pounds.

[Isaac Zachary]

You can get a tow hitch with a 3000lb weight rating for an Avalon hybrid that get's 40mpg according to the EPA.

(Although 3,000lbs is admittedly very excessive for a 3,500lb car that Toyota doesn't even want you to tow with. I don't tow more than 1,000lbs in mine.)

Toyotas/Lexus may be more reliable, but not necessarily less expensive in the long run. IIRC Consumer Reports said that Ford truck (maybe also SUV) owners are keeping their vehicles longer than Toyotas because the parts and repairs are cheaper.

Very rarely is AWD/4WD ever necessary. It's just a convenience once every other year so you don't have to get out and put some sand or branches in front of the tires. Just having the right tires is all you need, and unlike AWD better tires also help you brake.

The people that benefit most from AWD/4WD are those who have long driveways where it snows a lot and don't want to have to deal with proper snow removal.