NA: Vehicle recommendations

[mandm]

Starting to ponder the idea of a new car, want something comfortable to drive long distance with good amount of storage for luggage and with good towing capability.

Was thinking about a 4 door pickup, but looking for something nice, similar or better quality as Mercedes interiors. Anyone have any recommendations?

 

[SoonerAviator]

Starting to ponder the idea of a new car, want something comfortable to drive long distance with good amount of storage for luggage and with good towing capability.

Was thinking about a 4 door pickup, but looking for something nice, similar or better quality as Mercedes interiors. Anyone have any recommendations?

What does "good towing capability" mean in your context? TONS of mid-size trucks/SUVs out there, but if you need 6K+ lbs of towing capacity it's going to limit your selections.

 

[mandm]

What does "good towing capability" mean in your context? TONS of mid-size trucks/SUVs out there, but if you need 6K+ lbs of towing capacity it's going to limit your selections.

Looking at least 8,000-10,000lbs of towing. 8 is probably fine.

 

[Mongoose Aviator]

@mandm - How often would you be towing stuff? vs How often driving with no load just from Point A to B.

 

[robin ardoin]

F-150 Platinum has a very comfortable interior, pretty tough, and has a very good ride for a 4x4. I've driven them on multi-day trips and arrive without back pain. After owning 4 consecutively I switched to a Navigator Black and the interior is a little nicer but too many little items are breaking. In addition the 10 speed tranny goes into a 'false neutral' when downshifting in passing mode and damn near causes accidents. I can't trust it and the dealerships claim nothing is wrong...GRRRR. I may dump the POS for another F-150 as I tow a 6,000lb boat on occasion. Frankly considering a BMW X7 as I am preferring the enclosed cargo area I have in the Navigator; gear put in the pickup bed was getting dusty.

 

[mandm]

@mandm - How often would you be towing stuff? vs How often driving with no load just from Point A to B.

I’m looking to make this my primary vehicle, so when I’m out and about, going to the airport, no load. But I’d like to tow from the Midwest to the west coast and that’d be 1-2 trips per year.

 

[Ted]

F-150 was already mentioned, and seems to fit the bill very well.

For your "Mercedes-level interior" requirement, I'd also considering looking at the Land Rover Defender. I was parked next to someone who had one as his daily and said he towed 8-10k with it over long distances just fine. I have no idea if that's the actual tow rating for it or not.

 

[Craig]

Working this backwards.....what's the max weight of towing you think you will ever do with it? Now start looking at vehicles that have that tow rating.

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Lambo LM002??

Ted might even give you style points.

 

[mandm]

Working this backwards.....what's the max weight of towing you think you will ever do with it? Now start looking at vehicles that have that tow rating.

I’d be fine with 8000lbs, 6000lbs wouldn’t be enough.

 

[Grum.Man]

When it comes to ride quality and interior with that towing requirement you will be hard pressed to beat a Ram with the air suspension.

 

[SoonerAviator]

The F-150 Platinum, Limited, or King Ranch are the options from Ford. The GMC Sierra 1500 Denali /Chevy Silverado 1500 High Country are the GM variants. The Ram 1500 Limited/Limited Longhorn are the Mopar variants. The Expedition Platinum/Limited/KR/Navigator with the Max Tow package will work on the SUV front, but I've heard several complaints on Navigator electronic issues. The GMC Yukon Denali/Cadillac Escalade with max tow package will get you there as well. Jeep has the Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer that will also do the towing duty for Mopar. Pretty much any of these options are going to start around $65K and go up from there, with some hitting 6-figures for all the bells-and-whistles.

Pick whichever one you like the most in terms of looks/ride/comfort. They're all fairly even in terms of quality/reliability/capability/features.

 

[Mongoose Aviator]

I’m looking to make this my primary vehicle, so when I’m out and about, going to the airport, no load. But I’d like to tow from the Midwest to the west coast and that’d be 1-2 trips per year.

Have you considered two vehicles?
A second vehicle which is smaller, cheaper & fuel efficient to save on overall costs and also reduce the miles driven on your larger more expensive towing vehicle?

 

[Ted]

Have you considered two vehicles?
A second vehicle which is smaller, cheaper & fuel efficient to save on overall costs and also reduce the miles driven on your larger more expensive towing vehicle?

I know a lot of people suggest this, but in my experience I've not seen this truly save money unless you drive a bunch of miles.

 

[mandm]

Any EV trucks with self driving capability recommended? Typically on long haul routes, I’d plan on 8 hours driving per day.

 

[Mongoose Aviator]

I know a lot of people suggest this, but in my experience I've not seen this truly save money unless you drive a bunch of miles.

I am not suggesting that which I do not do. I put a decent amount of low cost miles on my smaller & cheaper but yet still reasonably comfortable vehicle. And I use the larger [much] more expensive vehicle for those times when it is serving the purpose that it was purchased for.

 

[Grum.Man]

Any EV trucks with self driving capability recommended? Typically on long haul routes, I’d plan on 8 hours driving per day.

Not a chance. Pulling that kind of a load you would be lucky to get 100 miles between charges. You may drive 8 hours a day but it will be an hour at a time.

 

[mandm]

Not a chance. Pulling that kind of a load you would be lucky to get 100 miles between charges. You may drive 8 hours a day but it will be an hour at a time.

Yeah I don’t think we are there yet, self driving still requires eyes or hands, and the battery just isn’t enough. We need to be at 500-600miles per charge. No one wants to stop every hour or two for a charge.

 

[Stewartb]

I have an F-150 Ecotek as a work truck in TX. Couldn’t be more impressed. Drives great, comfortable (XL trim so not fancy), has great gas mileage, pulls trailers just fine, and when you romp on it? It goes. I’ll probably buy one for my personal truck but I want the bigger touch screen, so it’ll be an XLT trim or better. The only thing that may derail it is the 2024 Toyota Tacoma, which is all new. They’re going to a smaller turbo engine like Ecotec but they’re also offering a hybrid. The straight gas engine is enhanced for power by an electric motor in the transmission. When you need torque, it provides it. Wife has a ‘23 hybrid Highlander and that’s a VERY nice car, and gets >42 mpg city and highway. It isn’t a hotrod but it makes up for it when passing the gas station!

 

[mandm]

I have an F-150 Ecotek as a work truck in TX. Couldn’t be more impressed. Drives great, comfortable (XL trim so not fancy), has great gas mileage, pulls trailers just fine, and when you romp on it? It goes. I’ll probably buy one for my personal truck but I want the bigger touch screen, so it’ll be an XLT trim or better. The only thing that may derail it is the 2024 Toyota Tacoma, which is all new. They’re going to a smaller turbo engine like Ecotec but they’re also offering a hybrid. Wife has a ‘23 hybrid Highlander and that’s a VERY nice car, and gets >42 mpg city and highway. It isn’t a hotrod but it makes up for it when passing the gas station!

I really like the larger screens and the seats and details on the Mercedes vehicles are nice. I looked at some Chevys last year, too basic, the GMC was almost passable, but I did feel like they were lacking even at the Denali level.

I do like performance vehicles too. I’m not hugely concerned with fuel consumption but it seems reasonable to expect 20mpg on the highway which I’m fine with. (Less when towing)

 

[Stewartb]

Go drive a high trim level Ford like a Platinum or King Ranch. Very nice. I’ve always considered vented leather a requirement. I’m not sure it’s worth $25K, and that’s pretty close to what it’ll cost me to go that way. I like big touch screens and Car Play. If my Forerunner had them I wouldn’t be looking at another truck!

 

[Albany Tom]

8000 lbs? Mercedes? Unimog 4000. That'll handle the weight just fine, but it probably won't have a video player built in, and I think you have to import them yourself, unless you get a US surplus one. I think they're about a 5 ton rating.

I can't see towing an 8000lb trailer with any current unibody SUV from any manufacturer, just not heavy enough, and I don't think they have the rating. Both Chevy and Ford make SUV's on light truck chassis, as listed by various folks above, and that should work well. I towed a 7000lb or so trailer with both a full size late 70's Blazer, and mid 80's Bronco, both built on 1/4 ton pickup frames, and they both worked fine...but were right on the edge of what was reasonable. 1/2 ton would be better, and you want a weight distributing hitch and trailer brakes.

 

[SoonerAviator]

8000 lbs? Mercedes? Unimog 4000. That'll handle the weight just fine, but it probably won't have a video player built in, and I think you have to import them yourself, unless you get a US surplus one. I think they're about a 5 ton rating.

I can't see towing an 8000lb trailer with any current unibody SUV from any manufacturer, just not heavy enough, and I don't think they have the rating. Both Chevy and Ford make SUV's on light truck chassis, as listed by various folks above, and that should work well. I towed a 7000lb or so trailer with both a full size late 70's Blazer, and mid 80's Bronco, both built on 1/4 ton pickup frames, and they both worked fine...but were right on the edge of what was reasonable. 1/2 ton would be better, and you want a weight distributing hitch and trailer brakes.

All of the full size SUVs have max tow packages that will get 8K+ in rated towing capacity. As far as whether it would be a pleasant tow, I can't say. No one really makes a 3/4 or one ton SUV anymore, and even when they did, the interior wouldn't be comparable with any Mercedes lol. Custom Autos By Tim (CABT) in Oklahoma will convert a new or used Ford Super Duty of your choice into an Excursion or AlumaDuty (half Super Duty, Half Expedition) with all the towing capacity you'd need. Gonna drop $100K for that one though.

 

[mandm]

Looked at the Ram 1500, nice huge trucks with quite a big jump up to get in, back seats were large too, the info screen was on the smaller end.

Ford F150 Lightning was nice but felt considerably smaller than the Ram, I did like the screen in the middle, and of course electric for towing isn’t practical.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Looked at the Ram 1500, nice huge trucks with quite a big jump up to get in, back seats were large too, the info screen was on the smaller end.

Ford F150 Lightning was nice but felt considerably smaller than the Ram, I did like the screen in the middle, and of course electric for towing isn’t practical.

Did the Ram not have side steps? The Lightning is cool, but it is primarily designed to be a street truck so it's ride height will be lower like a 2WD truck. If the RAM was a 4WD model it will naturally sit up higher, same goes for the Ford/GM trucks that are 4WD.

 

[mandm]

Did the Ram not have side steps? The Lightning is cool, but it is primarily designed to be a street truck so it's ride height will be lower like a 2WD truck. If the RAM was a 4WD model it will naturally sit up higher, same goes for the Ford/GM trucks that are 4WD.

The Ram did have the side step that came out. I was a bit put off by the Ram dealer adding 15k on top of msrp. My social media is advertising Ram at 10% off msrp and in person they are doing the opposite. Ford was offering their Lightning demo for under msrp. It won’t fit in my city garage otherwise I would have bought it already.

 

[kmacht]

GMC Yukon Denali. Towing capacity of a truck but tons of interior room and features. It’s a great alternative if you don’t actually need the bed portion of a pickup for a 5th wheel trailer. They aren’t cheap though.

 

[Grum.Man]

Looked at the Ram 1500, nice huge trucks with quite a big jump up to get in, back seats were large too, the info screen was on the smaller end.

Ford F150 Lightning was nice but felt considerably smaller than the Ram, I did like the screen in the middle, and of course electric for towing isn’t practical.

Was the Ram a high trim level? I can’t imagine it was due to the info screen comment as they are huge on the upper trim and pretty much take up the entire center dash. A con in my mind but some like it. I also think the air suspension Ram has an entry mode that lowers it when parked.

 

[FancyG]

8000 lbs? Mercedes? Unimog 4000. That'll handle the weight just fine, but it probably won't have a video player built in, and I think you have to import them yourself, unless you get a US surplus one. I think they're about a 5 ton rating.

I can't see towing an 8000lb trailer with any current unibody SUV from any manufacturer, just not heavy enough, and I don't think they have the rating. Both Chevy and Ford make SUV's on light truck chassis, as listed by various folks above, and that should work well. I towed a 7000lb or so trailer with both a full size late 70's Blazer, and mid 80's Bronco, both built on 1/4 ton pickup frames, and they both worked fine...but were right on the edge of what was reasonable. 1/2 ton would be better, and you want a weight distributing hitch and trailer brakes.

The largest SUVs are now all IRS, which is a shame.
I'm in the 3/4 ton pickup for towing duties camp and daily something else. Every time I pull a loaded trailer with a 1/2 ton or Tahoe I kick myself for not using the Powerstroke. They're literally giant Ford Effin' Rangers and imo the perfect truck for work.

 

[SoonerAviator]

The largest SUVs are now all IRS, which is a shame.
I'm in the 3/4 ton pickup for towing duties camp and daily something else. Every time I pull a loaded trailer with a 1/2 ton or Tahoe I kick myself for not using the Powerstroke. They're literally giant Ford Effin' Rangers and imo the perfect truck for work.

Why not both? lol.

 

[FancyG]

Why not both? lol.

Fuel economy.

Just finished a TDI Jetta ute kit, 0/10 would not recommend the manufacturer of it but does 90% of my errands at 38 mpg.

 

[schmookeeg]

I have the same wishlist, but not the towing, and would prefer some decent mpg. The new grand highlander looks nice, but toyota seats are as comfortable as church pews, so I'm hoping they do better this round.

Maybe one of those capstone sequoias can offer you the towing and the comfort OP, and still get a reasonable 22-24mpg.

 

[Chrisgoesflying]

The Mercedes G-Class, GLS and even GLE I think can tow 7,700 lbs. That’s just 300 lbs below your minimum requirement. Maybe still okay? That way you wouldn’t have a “Mercedes like” interior but an actual Mercedes interior.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Fuel economy.

Just finished a TDI Jetta ute kit, 0/10 would not recommend the manufacturer of it but does 90% of my errands at 38 mpg.

Lol I was mainly poking at being able to have the largest SUV, with a solid rear axle, and a Powerstroke. It does a lot of things, but 38 mpg isn't one of them unless it's at idle and coasting down a mountain.

 

[Craig]

Lol I was mainly poking at being able to have the largest SUV, with a solid rear axle, and a Powerstroke. It does a lot of things, but 38 mpg isn't one of them unless it's at idle and coasting down a mountain.

Toss it out the back of a C-17 cruising along at 40,0000’ and it would come closer. Only problem is that you’d only get it once....

 

[SoonerAviator]

Toss it out the back of a C-17 cruising along at 40,0000’ and it would come closer. Only problem is that you’d only get it once....

Sounds like a RedBull stunt waiting to happen! Zero emissions at that point as well so it would be a "green" initiative.

 

[Craig]

Sounds like a RedBull stunt waiting to happen! Zero emissions at that point as well so it would be a "green" initiative.

Sorta been done before:

 

[Brad W]

The largest SUVs are now all IRS, which is a shame......

IRS? what does that mean?

too bad they no longer make the 3/4 ton suburban type SUV's.... those as I understand it were great tow vehicles, with a little more mass than a pickum up truck

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Sorta been done before:

Don't forget this all time winner:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo...royed-airdropped-humvees-found-guilty-dischar

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

IRS? what does that mean?

too bad they no longer make the 3/4 ton suburban type SUV's.... those as I understand it were great tow vehicles, with a little more mass than a pickum up truck

Independent Rear Suspension

Gives a lower floor in the back for pax and cargo.