Economical Tow Vehicles?

[mikeschn]

I try to get the figures from fueleconomy.gov when possible. These figures are mostly ballpark and don't include a lot of items that add to the cost of owning a vehicle.

What is interesting about these figures, because they include the cost of the car, they show that buying the highest mpg car is not always the most cost effective way to go. And if you buy used instead of new, you can buy a lot more car for a lot less money, and still be ahead of a Prius for example.

So the chart is a relative comparison. Your results will vary!

Mike...

Drifting a little off-topic, but just exactly how reliable do we assume these mileage figures to be? I just finished a 3500-mile vacation in my '98 Bonneville (no trailer...but I'll be pulling the trigger on that shortly, cause it SUCKS sleeping in the car ) and got nothing less than 28 mph, and as high as 31.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/bymodel/1998_Pontiac_Bonneville.shtml says 25-26 mpg highway, and even in my "normal" driving (I commute 40 miles to work) I usually get 27 or better.

I know you have to have apples to compare to apples, but I really don't see anything on that list that would convince me not to buy another used Bonneville next time around. (only 180k miles on this one, so it's just getting broke in )

David

[Wimperdink]

Mike, the Pontiac Vibe and the Toyota Matrix are the same car. (Vibe is not on your list) My Pontiac Vibe came at a lower price than the Matrix and has a complete toyota drivetrain. I used mine for business and I've got 125000 miles on it and have had absolutly no trouble with it at all. I regularily get 29 mpg (awd model) and have towed up to 15' boats and towed wazat home from PA at up to 85mph w/ no issues.

My trip home at an average of about 78mph w/ wazat gave me avg 26mph with many hills and mountians between. The storage in the back of the vibe and matrix are something you really need to see before you discount them. When the seats are folded down, its a hard plastic perfectly flat storage area. No incline of the seat backs to keep ya from sliding large items inside.

I will drive the wheels off mine and may replace it w/ another vibe before all is said and done.

Just my 2 cents since the discussion is open.

[mikeschn]

I've been using the newer EPA ratings which started in 2008.



Mike...

Mike, you listed the Tacoma 2wd, but mine is 4wd and I get 19 city and 22-23 on the hiway!!!

[mikeschn]

I test drove a Vibe prior to buying my G6. Yes I know they are one and the same. I chose the G6 because it was a quieter riding car on the highway. The Vibe, with all the plastic in the back tended to make it quite noisy.

I don't know if they have addressed the noise issue with the new body style of the Vibe/Matrix. But if they did, it would certainly be in the running.

I'll update the spreadsheet to include the Vibe with the Matrix.

Thanks,

Mike...

Mike, the Pontiac Vibe and the Toyota Matrix are the same car. (Vibe is not on your list) My Pontiac Vibe came at a lower price than the Matrix and has a complete toyota drivetrain. I used mine for business and I've got 125000 miles on it and have had absolutly no trouble with it at all. I regularily get 29 mpg (awd model) and have towed up to 15' boats and towed wazat home from PA at up to 85mph w/ no issues.

My trip home at an average of about 78mph w/ wazat gave me avg 26mph with many hills and mountians between. The storage in the back of the vibe and matrix are something you really need to see before you discount them. When the seats are folded down, its a hard plastic perfectly flat storage area. No incline of the seat backs to keep ya from sliding large items inside.

I will drive the wheels off mine and may replace it w/ another vibe before all is said and done.

Just my 2 cents since the discussion is open.

[mikeschn]

Here's the updated spreadsheet. In addition to adding the Vibe and a Silverado, I threw in a Geo Metro, which you can pick up at the used car lot for $3000 or less. But I wouldn't want a Geo Metro, and I have no clue what it can tow, but just for grins and giggles... here it is...



Aveo $12170 Max tow(unbraked): ? lbs, 27/37 annual fuel: $1824, 5 year total: $21290
Ford Fiesta (UK) $17700 Max tow(unbraked): 1650 lbs, 50/61.9 annual fuel: $1208, 5 year total: $23740
Cobalt XFE $15070 Max tow(unbraked): 1000 lbs, 27/36 annual fuel: $1844, 5 year total: $24290
Ford Focus $14395 Max tow(unbraked): ? lbs, 24/35 annual fuel: $2000, 5 year total: $24395
Matrix/Vibe $16190 Max tow(unbraked): 1500 lbs, 26/32 annual fuel: $1976, 5 year total: $26070
Corolla $17550 Max tow(unbraked): 1102 lbs, 26/35 annual fuel: $1908, 5 year total: $27090
Scion XB $15650 Max tow(unbraked): not rec'd lbs, 22/28 annual fuel: $2305, 5 year total: $27175
Prius $21500 Max tow(unbraked): 1000 lbs, 48/45 annual fuel: $1177, 5 year total: $27385
Ranger 2wd 4cyl auto $14330 Max tow(unbraked): 1000 lbs, 19/24 annual fuel: $2677, 5 year total: $27715
HHR $16730 Max tow(unbraked): ? lbs, 22/30 annual fuel: $2243, 5 year total: $27945
Tacoma 2wd 4cyl auto $14965 Max tow(unbraked): ? lbs, 19/25 annual fuel: $2634, 5 year total: $28135
PT Cruiser $15955 Max tow(unbraked): ? lbs, 21/26 annual fuel: $2441, 5 year total: $28160
Camry 4cyl $18570 Max tow(unbraked): 1000 lbs, 21/31 annual fuel: $2273, 5 year total: $29935
Jetta TDI $23000 Max tow(unbraked): 1560 lbs, 30/43 annual fuel: $1899, 5 year total: $32495
Silverado 2wd 6cyl auto $18515 Max tow(unbraked): ? lbs, 15/20 annual fuel: $3320, 5 year total: $35115
Fusion Hybrid $28000 Max tow(unbraked): 1000 lbs, 33/34 annual fuel: $1660, 5 year total: $36300
Fusion $25000 Max tow(unbraked): 1000 lbs, 20/28 annual fuel: $2441, 5 year total: $37205
Forester $25000 Max tow(unbraked): 2400 lbs, 20/26 annual fuel: $2515, 5 year total: $37575
Forester Diesel $28000 Max tow(unbraked): 2400 lbs, 26/33.8 annual fuel: $2279, 5 year total: $39395
Honda Odyssey $25860 Max tow(unbraked): ? lbs, 16/23 annual fuel: $3018, 5 year total: $40950
Volt $40000 Max tow(unbraked): ? lbs, 150/150 annual fuel: $368, 5 year total: $41840
Mike...

[looped]

How does your car do so much better than the EPA rating?

Looped's Camry $18570 Towing: 1000 lbs, annual fuel: $2024, 5 year total: $28690

Mike...

Edit: Is this what you are talking about? http://www.hypermiling.com/

just looked up the epa thing and honestly i am stumped, mother has a 2000 camry wih the 4cyl (same car) and my v6 gets better mileage than hers. having never looked up the numbers (17/25? wow) i just thought it was due to the amount of work the engine was doing to push the car. i think the worst fuel mileage i have seen with this was after a weekend of playing freeway tag with my friends mustang (lots of full pedal time there) and it was like 19mpg overall.


the 45 and 53 result was when i was doing the hyper milling thing. basically i was in cruise control tailgating (about 15-25 feet behind) large trucks. (these times it was a truck pulling a 28 foot enclosed trailer with a IMCa modified in it) it was alot of work getting it synced up but in the end it was worth it. being right in the suck zone the car worked very little. (note these were people i knew. i draft others with more room)


Oh yeah,, i will be having my camera in the car for the next few days as i am very close to the 100,000 mile mark. for that milestone i think i will take it to a full service car wash and give it the full package (not the detailing one though)

[Wimperdink]

The Vibe, with all the plastic in the back tended to make it quite noisy.

I know what you mean. I ended up covering the whole back with about a 3/8" heavy duty hard foam mat cut to cover the whole cargo area. You can crawl around on it without killing your knees and it killed a huge amount of road noise in the car. I've had everything from semi luxury cars with leather and loaded to full size trucks and I like the gocart feel of these small wagons. I have a Vibe and a Forester. Cant beat AWD too if thats a consideration.

[H@nk]

I drive a Opel Omega 2.6 ltr 6 cylinder, the same car as the Vauxhall Omega and probebly the same as a 6 cylinder Holden. Just came back of a trip to Le Mans in France. Consuming 1 ltr on 13 Km's towing nothing.
Like Angib/Andrew said before, in most European countries the driving speed when towing a trailer is lower then without. Most of the times when towing its about 80 km / hour, however in some countries like Belgium (120) France (130) and Rumenia (120) and Austria (120) the towing speed with trailers is higher.The tow capacity will go up about 3 times when the trailer has brakes. For mine this is 600 KG without and 1600 KG with brakes. Some all wheel drive cars like SUBARU's and Land Rovers will go up to 3500 KG or even 3500 KG with brakesystems.

[Jason and Amanda]

My vehicle has no back seat but since other 6 cyl. trucks were being considered I thought I would toss this out so you can at least consider the idea.

I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado with the W/T package. Basically a regular cab, long bed 6 cyl. (3.4L i believe) with a 5 spd manual trans. They estimate something like 16-26 city/highway mileage. I actually get closer to 20 towing my boat and I average a hair under 30 MPG under a mix of city and highway conditions.

I drive very carefully though, I don't go over 50 to 55 when towing, I don't go over the speed limit ever, and I accellerate usually too slow for impatient people (nearly everyone) and most people whiz around me giving me dirty looks.

But at 1/3 to 1/2 the MGP of a motorcycle I can carry like 15x as much stuff lol. Most people just drive their MPG into the toilet. I got 44MPG average highway with a 1996 honda civic with 180,000 miles on it. Then again even semi rigs pass me

[mikeschn]

Looking at the new 2008 Silverado's, I don't see the manual trans any more.
And the new EPA ratings are lower than what you get. But I've added the new 2wd 6cyl auto for comparison.

Mike...

[Muggnz]

Mike,

Your Corolla Max tow: 1000 lbs seems about one half of what it should be.

I have an imported 3 door 1992 Corolla FXGT, which was sold new in Japan.

It is rated for 500kgs unbraked & either 1,000 or 1,1100 kgs braked.

FWIW
There was a similar model sold new here. The body and/or chassis must have had some slight differences. As when fitting a towbar to mine the installers mentioned that becuse it wasn't NZ new they'd have to install special mounting plates.

david

[07rascal]

Mike,

You may want to add the Ford Focus to your list for comparison. We tow with a 2006 SE 2.0L Auto. Rated to tow around 1000-1300 lbs in the owners Manual. We average 33 city/40 hwy by itself. Towing we have gotten right at 30-32 hwy.

We drive it conservatively, 62-65 hwy and 55 or so on the secondary roads. We prefer to tow at 55 and thus try to avoid the super slabs with the normal gas conserving commuters running 75-80! On a typical 100 mile hwy non towing run at 62 the computer and the fillup calculations at the pump will return me 40-42mpg.



Terry & Lisa

[Jason and Amanda]

Looking at the new 2008 Silverado's, I don't see the manual trans any more.
And the new EPA ratings are lower than what you get. But I've added the new 2wd 6cyl auto for comparison.

Mike...

Wow I just looked for myself... GM did away with a manual tranny in the silverado. Hmm, I dunno if that is good or bad for my maintenance. At least the rest of the motor is cheap to repair.

At any rate, relavent to the thread. ANY automatic full size pickup is going to be a huge gas guzzler.

[mikeschn]

Okay, I updated the Corolla, and added the Focus.

Any other thoughts?

Mike...

[Galen]

Probably not great towing vehicles, but the Toyota Yaris and older Echo get some pretty great gas mileage. The Echo was actually the American version of the European Yaris. Now the Yaris is the American version of the Yaris.

I have also heard that the Suzuki Esteem gets amazing gas mileage.