Ford Front Wheel Drive weight towing

BenK wrote:
Back to the OP...a Fusion is the current Taurus and the platform is CD3,

100% absolutely wrong.

Fusion and Taurus are not and have not ever been the same platform.

Some people have increased towing capability of a vehicle by adding a custom hitch receiver (you don't want that thing tearing off at highway speed, right?) and tire/suspension/stabilizer upgrades. And they look at whether the cooling systems need to be supplemented. Trailer brakes are a must, of course. Long story short, you'd want upgrades done by a shop that knows what they're doing.

All to do with longevity, liability and safety...

I've towed a concrete mixer with my 2 seater (~2,400 lbs with me in it). Have no
idea how much that mixer weighed, but it was built on it's own frame with road
wheels (two wheels and almost no tongue weight, as it was centered)

Nor do I know what a 1969 Datsun 240Z is rated to tow with a Class I bumper hitch

Did that because my 1973 Blazer K5 was in the shop for new LS clutch plates.
Because while flushing the diff fluid...found bits of metal that looked like
hardened sheetmetal flakes/bits/dust. Too many airborne adventures out there
in the Idaho Panhandle...

Just that one time, but lead to several other times towing rental garden
stuff like that concrete mixer

The ball was undersized and the safety chains bigger than the Class I hitch
material...

No trailer brakes and 'knew' it was back there...

Longevity wise...the Z's clutch wouldn't have lasted more than a few hundred
miles towing anything...it is a 2 seat sports 'car'...not a truck. Even though
it had a HD Racing clutch...

Back to the OP...a Fusion is the current Taurus and the platform is CD3, which
has these model lines using:

Vehicles currently using this platform include:

2002–2008 Mazda 6 (GG)
2006–present Besturn B70
2006–2012 Ford Fusion (CD338)
2006–2012 Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ (CD378)
2006–2011 Mercury Milan (CD338)
2007–present Mazda CX-9
2007–2014 Ford Edge crossover SUV (U387)
2007–present Lincoln MKX crossover SUV (U388)
2008–2012 Mazda 6 (GH) (Note: modified platform)
2009–present Besturn B50

So this is a mid-sized 'car' with a unibody (monocoque) design and front wheel drive

The 1K weight (max) is okay enough to not ring any warning bells for me, but the
frontal (sail) area would be a concern, as would the terrain the OP plans to tow...

Check out what CR says about the Fiesta - apparently it has trouble towing itself. :)

I pray he is joking about the fiesta towing comment.

gbopp wrote:

carringb wrote:
Put a bigger receiver on it. The platform is capable of much more. I tow 1500+ pounds with my Fiesta and it does a great job!

I always part of the reason for weight limits on passenger cars was the transmission and brakes?

Cooling is most often the issue.

WRT Fiesta... I'm not sure I'd want to tow a pair of roller blades with a Fiesta :)

gbopp wrote:

I always ( thought ) part of the reason for weight limits on passenger cars was the transmission and brakes?

If you're going to talk logically, this conversation is over.

carringb wrote:
Put a bigger receiver on it. The platform is capable of much more. I tow 1500+ pounds with my Fiesta and it does a great job!

I always part of the reason for weight limits on passenger cars was the transmission and brakes?

Put a bigger receiver on it. The platform is capable of much more. I tow 1500+ pounds with my Fiesta and it does a great job!

We push the weight envelope a tad. I'm not gona tell you how as I do not recomend it. It is wat it is. Be safe