Need your opinion. 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder?

[COGENT]

I hit a deer on the hi way last weekend and the damage is so great that the insurance company has decided to write off my 2007 Ford Escape (I loved this car).

My wife and I love camping and we have been tenters up to this point. We had our first baby 8 months ago and haven't tried camping with him yet. Now that I'm in the process of looking for a new vehicle I keep finding that SUV/cross overs have 4 cylinder engines. We think that in the future we may want to get a tent trailer to make our lives a little easier and wondered if a 4 cylinder SUV (Kia Sportage, Nissan Rouge, mitsubishi outlander, Subaru Forester) could pull a small tent trailer.

Does anyone have any experience? Any recommendations on small AWD SUV's?

[Hockeyguy15]

Go with a 6, you MIGHT be able to get away with a 4 but that doesn't mean you should.

Honestly I would probably want something bigger if I am towing.

We have a 2010 Rav4 and it's a good little SUV. I think it can tow up to 3,500 but I don't know if I would use it for towing.

[CaptainCrunch]

The more important question, did you keep the deer?

Nothing like a road kill stew.

[Lt.Spears]

6.

Even if you got a turbo 4 with comparable torque/hp you are still running the engine at boost in order to keep it towing.

You need a 6Cyl man.

[CaptainCrunch]

I would stay away from the 4 cylinder jobs if I'm hauling anything.

[ken0042]

When we were SUV shopping we found that the ones that had a 4 were rated for 1000 pounds towing, and the ones with a 6 were the only ones rated for 2000-3500 pounds.

[DownhillGoat]

I've owned/driven both. 6 all the way, especially with towing or driving in the mountains. Or towing in the mountains.

[Dion]

Upgrade to the new 2013 Ford Escape

[Brotato]

depends on the tow rating. a 2L turbo in a capable chassis will likely have

1) comparable tow ratings

2) better fuel economy

3) more torque than a V6 at lower revs (better for towing)

But there are few cars that have a turbo-4 available in a small SUV. Th enew 2013 Escape that was just posted above will, and that'd be a fantastic option. I know the Sportage does, but I don't know what the tow rating on t eh chassis is.



Look at tow ratings, that's the important part. engine is one factor, but the chassis and brakes are equally important.

[Lt.Spears]

Originally Posted by Brotato

depends on the tow rating. a 2L turbo in a capable chassis will likely have

1) comparable tow ratings

2) better fuel economy

3) more torque than a V6 at lower revs (better for towing)

But there are few cars that have a turbo-4 available in a small SUV. Th enew 2013 Escape that was just posted above will, and that'd be a fantastic option. I know the Sportage does, but I don't know what the tow rating on t eh chassis is.



Look at tow ratings, that's the important part. engine is one factor, but the chassis and brakes are equally important.

Problem is that the torque rating is at WOT, under partial load the V6 is going to be more efficient because it will provide more torque than the i4 will without boost.

[Byrns]

V6, you'll never regret it.

[COGENT]

Originally Posted by Dion

Upgrade to the new 2013 Ford Escape

I actually like the look of these but they only come in 4 cylinder option (for now).

[3 Justin 3]

Wow, the new Escape looks really good. Would be perfect with a V6.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Wow, the new Escape looks really good. Would be perfect with a V6.

I suspect there will be a V6 version in 2014 on the basis of consumer demands. Besides one should never buy a first year model.

[Hevishot]

We have a 2010 Escape Awd with the V6 it came with a mini hitch on the rear. It might be good for towing a very small tent trailer you might be better off with a colorado 4 door or something like that if you plan on pulling any more.

[Nammer403]

V6 is the way to go if your gonna haul something

[Locke]

V6. The 4 might do it, but you'd be spinning the hell out of it regularly and it would lose any fuel economy you were going for.

The 6 will give you the better low-end torque that you're going for.

[Berger_4_]

There's no replacement for displacement!

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Wow, the new Escape looks really good. Would be perfect with a V6.

4 cylinders have come a long way. Most people these days don't need a v6 in their Escape as they will be doing none of the hauling Cogent will be (unless you count hauling grocery bags). These days 4 cylinders get you the v6 performance of old, while being more efficient.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Table 5

4 cylinders have come a long way. Most people these days don't need a v6 in their Escape as they will be doing none of the hauling Cogent will be (unless you count hauling grocery bags). These days 4 cylinders get you the v6 performance of old, while being more efficient.

I don't know what engines they're looking at putting in the new escapes, but just take a look at the F-150 ecoboost V6 engines. V8 power and torque, but much better fuel economy.