A lot depends on how long you like to keep a car and how many miles you put on it. We're set up with two toads, and both are older than the Escape in your signature. The late model Fords seem to be very good vehicles, so just take your choice. The Edge's towing ritual sounds a lot like the CR-V's according to the MoHoMag writeup.
I guess I'm flying inverted from many others. I don't ask myself "What's he heaviest toad I can tow?" I ask "What's the lightest toad that'll do my job?" My Frontier pickup weighs half a ton more tan my wife's Corolla and we can feel the difference.
