You've put yourself in the position of needing a towed vehicle in the 3000 pounds or under range, and your present vehicle inventory doesn't really make the grade. In the U.S., with all the mandatory safety equipment, under 3000 is the sub-compact size category.
I've found towed vehicle happiness with a base model Honda Fit (2012, manual transmission) which is about a half ton lighter than the Ford Ranger I used to tow (also manual transmission, and my limit is 5000 pounds) but not as comfortable to drive on long trips (although the Fit is a blast around town, under 50 mph, it is really buzzy at 70-80 mph).
But really, a towed vehicle is a compromise between what can be towed, and what meets your transportation needs, towing and not towing. If you really think you need to tow a vehicle behind a Fuse (all of my 30,000 miles of travels in a much larger Winnebago have been without towing) then you need to find a towable vehicle much smaller than the Escape. Options under 3000 pounds are limited, unless you are willing to drive manual transmission, with opens up choices for a lot of front wheel drive subcompact cars.
