SUVs Towing More Than 3500 Pounds - 2012 Best In Class

Winner: Jeep Grand Cherokee
Runner-Up: Toyota Highlander

The Grand Cherokee combines off-road capability in an easy-to-use four-wheel-drive system with a luxury interior and up to 7400 pounds of towing capacity. While the 5.7-liter engine is excellent in this SUV, the 3.6-liter V-6 is very good as well, and you can get the Grand Cherokee for less than $30K. If you need space for seven people and aren't as interested in off-roading, runner-up Toyota Highlander is another good option.

Mainstream SUV (Towing More Than 3500 Pounds)
Vehicle	Chevrolet Traverse/ GMC Acadia	Dodge Durango	Ford Explorer	Ford Flex
Base price	$30,335/$33,510	$29,945	$29,105	$30,290
Wheelbase	118.9 in	119.8 in	112.6 in	117.9 in
Engine	3.6L DOHC V-6	3.6L DOHC V-6	3.5L DOHC V-6	3.5L DOHC V-6
Opt engine	None	5.7L V-8 $6395	2.0L T I-4 $995	3.5L T V-6 $12,435
Power, SAE	281-288 hp	290 hp (360)	290 hp (240)	262 hp (355)
Torque, SAE	266-270 lb-ft	260 lb-ft (390)	255 lb-ft (270)	248 lb-ft (350)
Airbags	Fr, f side, f/r curt	Fr, side, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt
Brakes, f/r	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS
Tires	245/70R17	265/60R18	245/65R17	235/60R17
Fuel cap	22.0 gal	24.6 gal	18.6 gal	18.6 gal
EPA fuel econ, city/hwy	16-17/23-24 mpg	16-17/23-25 mpg	17-18/23-25 mpg	16-17/22-24 mpg
Opt engine	--	(13/20)	(20/28)	(16/22)
Seating cap	8	7	7	7
Curb weight	4720 lb	4756 lb	4503 lb	4448 lb
Max GVWR	6459 lb	7100 lb	6100 lb	5500 lb (est)
Cargo cap	116.4 cu ft	84.5 cu ft	80.7 cu ft	83.2 cu ft
Towing cap	5200 lb	7400 lb	5000 lb	4500 lb
Vehicle	Honda Pilot	Jeep Grand Cherokee	Jeep Liberty	Nissan Pathfinder
Base price	$29,280	$29,920	$24,255	$29,765
Wheelbase	109.2 in	114.8 in	106.1 in	112.2 in
Engine	3.5L SOHC V-6	3.6L DOHC V-6	3.7L SOHC V-6	4.0L DOHC V-6
Opt engine	None	5.7L V-8 $1695, 6.4L V-8	None	5.6L V-8 $14,680
Power, SAE	250 hp	290 hp (360, 470)	210 hp	266 hp (310)
Torque, SAE	253 lb-ft	260 lb-ft (390, 465)	235 lb-ft	288 lb-ft (388)
Airbags	Fr, f side, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt	Fr, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt
Brakes, f/r	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS
Tires	235/65R17	245/70R17	225/75R16	245/75R16
Fuel cap	21.0 gal	24.6 gal	19.5 gal	21.1 gal
EPA fuel econ, city/hwy	17-18/24-25 mpg	16-17/23 mpg	15-16/21-22 mpg	14-15/20-22 mpg
Opt engine	--	(13-14/20, 12/18)	--	(13/18)
Seating cap	8	5	5	7
Curb weight	4295 lb	4470 lb	4076 lb	4428 lb
Max GVWR	5500 lb	6800 lb	5400 lb	6499 lb
Cargo cap	87.0 cu ft	68.7 cu ft	62.4 cu ft	79.2 cu ft
Towing cap	4500 lb	7400 lb	5000 lb	7000 lb
Vehicle	Nissan Xterra	Toyota 4Runner	Toyota FJ Cruiser	Highlander
Base price	$25,715	$31,900	$26,925	$29,050
Wheelbase	106.3 in	109.8 in	105.9 in	109.8 in
Engine	4.0L DOHC V-6	4.0L DOHC V-6	4.0L DOHC V-6	2.7L DOHC I-4
Opt engine	None	None	None	3.5L V-6 $1155, 3.3L H $10,300
Power, SAE	261 hp	270 hp	260 hp	187 hp (270, 280)
Torque, SAE	281 lb-ft	278 lb-ft	271 lb-ft	186 lb-ft (248, 215)
Airbags	Fr, f side, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt, f knee	Fr, f side, f/r curt	Fr, f side, f/r curt, knee
Brakes, f/r	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS	Disc/disc, ABS
Tires	265/70R16	265/70R17	265/70R17	245/65R17
Fuel cap	21.1 gal	23.0 gal	19.0 gal	19.2 gal (17.2)
EPA fuel econ, city/hwy	15-16/20-22 mpg	17/22-23 mpg	15-17/18-20 mpg	17/22 mpg
Opt engine	--	--	--	(28/28)
Seating cap	5	7	5	7
Curb weight	4143 lb	4400 lb	4050 lb	3946 lb
Max GVWR	5399 lb	6300 lb	5570 lb	6000 lb
Cargo cap	65.7 cu ft	89.7 cu ft	66.8 cu ft	95.4 cu ft
Towing cap	5201 lb	5000 lb	5000 lb	5000 lb

PHOTO GALLERY (7)

Truck Trend's 2012 Best In Class: Mainstream SUV - Towing More Than 3500 Pounds

SUVs that can tow more than 3500 pounds

More Photos View Slideshow

0 Comments

POPULAR TRUCKS

MOST POPULAR