Upcoming mid-size SUV's for towing

RinconVTR wrote:
Don't be fooled by the foolish on here, who don't even google current towing specs of current model vehicals.

Look, all the SUV's you are looking at will do the job. I guaranty it. I towed at max with a 2012 Pilot for 2 years, and in state it did really well. But I did chicken out, and bought a larger SUV for national travel which include mountains.

First off the Honda Pilot is one of the worst tow vehicles around. They unibody is so weak that Honda recommends not to use any weight distribution hitch, 2012 Honda Pilot Manual, page 544:

Honda Owner's Manual Page 544 wrote:
A weight distributing hitch is not
recommended for use with your
vehicle, as an improperly adjusted
weight distributing hitch may reduce
handling, stability, and braking
performance.

This lack of handling, stability is obviously a cause of flex in the unibody by the extreme forces introduced by a weight distribution hitch.

Tow ratings on anything but a 3/4 ton vehicle and heavier do not dictate anything about the vehicle's "TRUE" tow rating. This is because low receiver hitch ratings and low payload are the limiting factors way before any tow rating comes into play.

For those thinking the Ford Ecoboost engines don't require premium fuel, the Ford Ecoboost models are recommended to use Premium fuel, 93 octane. It's right on their website for all the 2.0l, 2.7l, and the 3.5l ecoboost vehicles.

The F150 Ecoboost 3.5l, as I'm sure the rest, can use 87 as the engine has electronic control to make up for the lower octane. However for towing, Ford strongly recommends 93 octane with the F150 3.5l Ecoboost.

You are only going to get your best fuel economy with premium fuel as that's what these engines are designed for.

Choosing a vehicle for towing is important for the safety of everyone in your vehicle along for the safety of everyone on the road near you. Sacrificing an adequate tow vehicle for the job based on fuel economy is about as foolish as it comes. If you can't do the job correctly, you shouldn't be doing the job at all.

Here's a great video that discusses tow rating is only a small part of your actual towing capacity. It was from Cummins12V98 here.

It discusses how important the payload (GVWR) and axle ratings are. Since it's a 5er, no mention of receiver hitch rating but that's just as important.