Published: July 2, 2015, 1:50 PM
Updated: November 23, 2021, 11:59 AM
Eight great tow vehicles for family use
You don’t have to drive a full-size pickup to haul a substantial trailer.
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Tow vehicles for family use
We winter-weary Canucks enjoy taking our toys out of storage to revel in the short-lived summer, be it from behind the handlebars of a motocross bike, ATV or personal watercraft – all of which fit on a light-duty trailer that can be towed with ease. The really big toys, such as a camper trailer or speedboat, require a stout rig rated for at least 3,000 kg (6,600 pounds) of towing capacity, taking into account the weight of fuel and extra cargo your boat or camper is likely laden with, too.
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Tow vehicles for family use
Despite the trend towards more fuel-efficient powertrains, there’s still plenty of choice when it comes to finding a capable tow vehicle. Maximum ratings are usually contingent upon ordering the optional tow package and optimized equipment, such as the recommended axle ratio. However, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to drive a full-size pickup to haul a substantial trailer. Here are eight 2015 models that can tow with the best of them.
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Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon
Not all pickups are full-size. For truck fans who prefer something smaller, the resurrection of the all-new Colorado/Canyon twins is welcome news. Available either as a four-door extended cab with a six-foot bed or a proper crew cab with a five-foot bed, these body-on-frame trucks are big where it counts: under the hood. The optional, direct-injected 3.6-litre V-6 engine makes 305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque (a 200-hp 2.5-litre DOHC four-cylinder is standard). The engines work through an Eaton six-speed manual or Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic transmission.
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Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon
The new trucks deliver segment-leading levels of comfort and refinement that rival their big brothers, yet can manage to return exceptional fuel economy on the highway. The interiors are plush and feature-laden, leaving little to pine for. Best of all, the pair boasts the highest available tow rating in their class: 3,175 kg (7,000 pounds) with the V-6 engine and heavy-duty towing package, beating out the only other “small” pickups on the market, the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma.
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Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator
The Ford Expedition and its high-zoot cousin, the Lincoln Navigator, continue to roll on seemingly unaltered since 2007, but in fact the pair has benefited from numerous equipment changes over the years, not least of which occurred in 2015. Ford’s eight-seater truck has been updated with a new engine, improved suspension bits, welcome styling changes and enhanced interiors. Most surprisingly, the long-running V-8 has been dropped in favour of a turbocharged 3.5-litre V-6 that provides 365 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque – better numbers than the previous V-8 could muster.
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Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator
The torquey EcoBoost engine bestows these full-size sport utes with a tow rating of up to 4,173 kg (9,200 pounds). Other mechanical updates include a six-speed automatic transmission with manual mode, driver-selectable suspension settings and electric power-assisted steering. Inside, the cabin has been thoroughly contemporized while retaining its cavernous seating and cargo capacities. There’s virtually no task these trucks – and they are bona fide trucks – can’t handle, beyond taking up a compact-car parking spot at the mall.
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Volkswagen Touareg
As Volkswagen’s mid-size sport utility of record, the Touareg boasts a generous towing capacity of 3500 kg (7,716 lb), whether it comes equipped with the 3.6-litre V-6 gasoline engine making 280 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque, or the 3.0-litre V-6 turbodiesel, good for 240 hp and a lofty 406 lb-ft of torque. That’s pretty impressive towing talent for a unibody vehicle; that is, one where the body and chassis components are integrated into a single unit, rather than the body-on-frame construction that trucks have traditionally relied on.
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Volkswagen Touareg
Both engines come standard with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Because the Touareg uses the same platform architecture as the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, the refinement and equipment levels are above reproach. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, the Touareg is limited to seats for five, while competing models such as the Acura MDX offer third-row seating. Maybe so, but the Touareg – named after a nomadic North African tribe – is equipped to pull big loads without breaking a sweat.
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Ford Transit
Talk about long in the tooth: the Ford Econoline full-size van has been working the North American market largely unchanged (at least visually) since its 1975 introduction. It’s finally been pushed into retirement by the Transit, Ford’s Euro-design utility van that’s been the segment's best-seller overseas for 40 years. Available in short, medium and long wheelbase configurations, as well as a bunch of cargo and seating capacities, the box-on-wheels Transit also offers a very substantial tow rating of up to 3,400 kg (7,500 pounds).
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Ford Transit
In an effort to duplicate European levels of fuel economy and operating expenses, the 2015 Transit can be ordered with the standard 275-hp 3.7-litre V-6, an optional 320-hp 3.5-litre EcoBoost turbocharged gasoline engine, or the 180-hp 3.2-litre “Duratorq” inline five-cylinder turbodiesel engine that makes a robust 350 lb-ft of torque. All North American versions of the Transit come fitted with a six-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive, and are sourced from the Kansas City assembly plant in Missouri.
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Jeep Grand Cherokee
One doesn’t normally picture a Jeep shackled to an Airstream; instead, it’s portrayed as a civilized trail rider that will climb over hill and dale to get to its destination unhindered. Yet Chrysler imbued the unibody Grand Cherokee with the ability to pull a big load, too, though it would have to be on pavement rather than a rocky goat path. Jeep’s premium mid-size ute experienced a big leap in interior furnishings, build quality and styling when it was redesigned four years ago; it also earned a healthy injection of muscle that helped its towing capacity.
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Jeep Grand Cherokee
Whether equipped with its standard 290-hp 3.6-litre V-6 engine, the famed 5.7-litre “Hemi” V-8 (360 hp) or the 3.0-litre V-6 turbodiesel (240 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque), the Grand Cherokee can pull 3,265 kg (7,200 lb) when equipped with four-wheel drive, or 90 kg more in the lighter rear-wheel-drive configuration. Uniquely, the GC offers three distinct 4WD traction systems: light-duty Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II with a two-speed transfer case, and Quadra-Drive II with a rear electronic limited-slip differential – all working through Chrysler’s eight-speed automatic transmission.
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Infiniti QX80
Starting in 2011, the second generation of the humungous sport utility formerly known as the Infiniti QX56 used a truck frame pinched from the international-market Nissan Patrol (sharp-eyed TV news viewers can spot it in United Nations livery policing war zones), supplanting the one borrowed from the previous U.S.-built Titan pickup. This year, Infiniti’s top-rung ute was recast as the QX80 with some styling tweaks and interior enhancements to take the big ute even further upmarket.
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Infiniti QX80
The truck’s aluminum 5.6-litre V-8 engine, replete with direct injection, variable valve timing and intake-valve lift, makes 400 hp and 413 lb-ft of grunt – enough to overcome its considerable curb weight and motivate it from a standstill to 97 km/h in a mere 6.5 seconds. Needless to say, it also tows with gusto, handling up to 3,855 kg (8,500 lb) without a whimper. And all while coddling up to seven passengers inside its wood-and-leather cabin. One Infiniti executive unapologetically characterized it as a mobile man cave. Enough said.
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Toyota Highlander
The Toyota Highlander’s towing capacity isn’t particularly stellar when compared to the others on our list, but at 2,268 kg (5,000 lb) when equipped with the optional towing package, it represents the upper limit for an affordable crossover ute built on a front-drive unibody platform (the VW Touareg is the noted exception). To get that, you’ll need to specify the optional 3.5-L V-6 that’s rated at 270 hp and 248 lb-ft of torque. The transmission is a six-speed automatic working in tandem with either front- or all-wheel drive.
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Toyota Highlander
Thoroughly redesigned last year, the Highlander remains unchanged for 2015, but it still offers buyers with lots of choice, including seven- or eight-passenger seating in three rows, plenty of trim levels and a cornucopia of roadgoing technology. For many families, the Highlander represents the happy compromise between ungainly minivans and the V8-powered behemoths used by many to tow their trailers. Toyota’s towing package prudently includes a standard heavy-duty radiator, alternator and supplemental oil cooler on the V-6 engine.
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Ram 2500
Despite our pledge to highlight tow vehicles that aren’t big pickups, there are those for whom only a genuine truck will do. For them, we recommend the Ram 2500, Chrysler’s heavy-duty pickup. Ram HD trucks are offered with the base 383-hp 5.7-litre Hemi V-8, an optional 410-hp 6.4-litre Hemi and, most notably, the 6.7-litre Cummins turbodiesel, which produces 385 hp and an astounding 865 lb-ft of stump-pulling torque. Like those in the big 18-wheelers plying North America’s highways, this Cummins is an inline six-cylinder diesel, a straight-ahead design favoured for its durability.
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Ram 2500
There are other aspects that set the Ram apart from its Ford and General Motors rivals. The engines can be ordered with a manual gearbox – a rarity these days – in addition to an automatic transmission. In addition, the Ram 2500 now offers a segment-exclusive choice between a five-link rear coil suspension or an air suspension system (the others stridently stick to leaf springs). Equipped with the right stuff, a Ram 2500 can tow up to 7,942 kg (17,510 pounds) with awe-inspiring confidence.
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