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Three Row Seating Tow Vehicle / Durango


jjackkrash

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My wife's '05 Sequoia that we bought almost new is still going strong, but I think she's wanting a more modern interior.  She also wants three seats and maybe a slightly more nimble driving experience.  We could go with a newer Sequoia, but I have also been looking at other options.  I have a Duramax to pull my bigger toys, but I'd like her SUV to be able to comfortably pull a 20' ski boat.   

All that said, anyone tow with a newer Durango with a Hemi?  My buddy has one and I thought it ticked a lot of boxes and the interior and electronics were pretty nice.  I have my concerns about reliability, but I am not sure how much of my concerns are just unfounded bias against Chrysler.  

Any thoughts on the Durango or other three seaters is welcome.   I am looking at recent models but probably not brand new, maybe off lease etc.  

 

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My brother has had two Durangos. The first one went to 300,000 miles. He just gave his 2nd to his son. It has 260,000 miles on the clock. 

 

His next suv will be a Durango.  We used his old one once (Hemi powered) to tow my 21' Crownline and it did fine. 

 

I considered a durango when we bought our last car. My wife really likes their styling. But I was looking used, and I couldn't find anything that I liked in the price range I was considering. I ended up increasing my price range and found that a Yukon XL was similarily priced and suited our needs better. 

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jack, 

yukon denali w the 6.2 tows very very well from a power perspective.  If I had to do it over again though for my wife, I'd a gotten a 1-2-3 year old GL 350 or 450.  resale falls off a cliff at first but they're really quite nice.

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We have a 2014 Durango R/T with a hemi and it tows great.  Of course, our boats are not big either.  Previous truck was Suburban and it is much smaller in the garage but still very comfortable inside too.  We love it.  Bought a lifetime warranty from Dodge.  Not exactly sure what that is, but hopefully we can keep it for a long time without major repair bills.

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A new Hemi Durango/Grand may tick several boxes, but be prepared for it to actually tick. The "Hemi tick" is a real thing and can be rather obnoxious on some rigs. That said, I had a Hemi powered Jeep Grand Cherokee that had little trouble pulling a load. Being unibody construction, the doors/hatch did creak and pop when pulling a load down a rough road, not to mention a lot of trailer noise made it into the cabin. We sold the Grand a few years back after electrical gremlins set in....and I am a self proclaimed Jeep fanatic.

Replaced the Grand with a 100 series Toyota (98-07 Land Cruiser/LX470). While technically a three seater, the 3rd row would be useless for anybody but small children. You are familiar with the 4.7L since it is in the Sequoia. The 100 pulls a load comfortably and quietly with no complaints, but it is certainly no rocket. It is also somewhat smaller than the Sequoia. I'd also consider the Lexus GX470 since it still has the 4.7L, but it's backseat is even tighter than the 100 series.

If your budget allows, the early 200 series (2008+ Land Cruiser/LX570) would be worth checking out. It has an extra 100 horsepower and more refinement over the 100 series. I've never driven one, let alone towed with one, but imagine it would be worth considering.

 

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2 minutes ago, 85 Barefoot said:

jack, 

yukon denali w the 6.2 tows very very well from a power perspective.  If I had to do it over again though for my wife, I'd a gotten a 1-2-3 year old GL 350 or 450.  resale falls off a cliff at first but they're really quite nice.

I don't think I want a Denali; its just a bit much for the wife I think.  I was looking at GL's on the net last night.  If I could find a good deal on a slightly used one that might be an option, although out-of-warrenty German turbos make me a little nervous.   

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Audi Q7 TDI.  Should tow very well.  I want that to be the wife's next vehicle but she doesn't want an SUV that big...she will probably end up with a Q5 (or SQ5 if one can be had cheap enough).  Buy a CPO one and you get a couple extra years of warranty out of it.  

BMW X5 35i or 35D should tow well too.  Between the two, I'd still probably go with the Audi (we have an Audi and BMW at home, so no brand bias here).  I tow with my Escalade EXT, but that's a truck which is why I'd like to have a SUV tow vehicle for long trips.  If I was going for an SUV for myself, it would be a Cayenne Turbo, but no 3rd seat option in those.

 

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Just now, Nitrousbird said:

Audi Q7 TDI.  Should tow very well.  I want that to be the wife's next vehicle but she doesn't want an SUV that big...she will probably end up with a Q5 (or SQ5 if one can be had cheap enough).  Buy a CPO one and you get a couple extra years of warranty out of it.  

BMW X5 35i or 35D should tow well too.  Between the two, I'd still probably go with the Audi (we have an Audi and BMW at home, so no brand bias here).  I tow with my Escalade EXT, but that's a truck which is why I'd like to have a SUV tow vehicle for long trips.  If I was going for an SUV for myself, it would be a Cayenne Turbo, but no 3rd seat option in those.

 

Audi Q7 TDI's are tough to find right now.  Apparently there are thousands sitting in lots waiting for settlement approval with the EPA and a federal court on whether Audi will be allowed to fix the emissions issue, or whether Audi will need to destroy thousands of fantastic cars.  

I'd love an X5, but the third row is pretty cramped.  I am not sure I could sell it.  

http://jalopnik.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-volkswagens-3-0-liter-1791924703

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19 minutes ago, jjackkrash said:

I don't think I want a Denali; its just a bit much for the wife I think.  I was looking at GL's on the net last night.  If I could find a good deal on a slightly used one that might be an option, although out-of-warrenty German turbos make me a little nervous.   

then get the 450...everyone in europe drives their benzes to 300000!  German stereotype of being expensive, while I'm sure true in some cases, hasn't been for me.  Heck our 2 hondas and 2 toyotas had more problems than our 2 bmws, by far.  And way more miles went on the bimmers.  

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14 minutes ago, Nitrousbird said:

Audi Q7 TDI.  Should tow very well.  I want that to be the wife's next vehicle but she doesn't want an SUV that big...she will probably end up with a Q5 (or SQ5 if one can be had cheap enough).  Buy a CPO one and you get a couple extra years of warranty out of it.  

BMW X5 35i or 35D should tow well too.  Between the two, I'd still probably go with the Audi (we have an Audi and BMW at home, so no brand bias here).  I tow with my Escalade EXT, but that's a truck which is why I'd like to have a SUV tow vehicle for long trips.  If I was going for an SUV for myself, it would be a Cayenne Turbo, but no 3rd seat option in those.

 

benz a much bigger vehicle than a q7.  And much more towing.  And air suspension.  No comparison if this thing is actually going to be called upon to tow.

 

 

Edited by 85 Barefoot
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2 hours ago, 85 Barefoot said:

jack, 

yukon denali w the 6.2 tows very very well from a power perspective.  If I had to do it over again though for my wife, I'd a gotten a 1-2-3 year old GL 350 or 450.  resale falls off a cliff at first but they're really quite nice.

c'mon @85 Barefoot gotta go with the 550 if you go GL.

Yeah last year I'd'a thunk a Q7 would be a good choice but this year... seems like the buyback speculators are starting to move in.  Not that many deals on used ones at all.

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2 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

Yeah last year I'd'a thunk a Q7 would be a good choice but this year... seems like the buyback speculators are starting to move in.  Not that many deals on used ones at all.

I like the Q7, but the market is really skewed right now and there is no guarantee the federal judge will even approve the settlement.  If the settlement does get approved and Audi has a fix, there may be a flood of Q7s coming off Audi lots and maybe that's the time to buy.  But its a crap shoot right now and there are very few TDIs on the market.  

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1 hour ago, Nitrousbird said:

BMW X5 35i or 35D should tow well too.  Between the two, I'd still probably go with the Audi (we have an Audi and BMW at home, so no brand bias here).  I tow with my Escalade EXT, but that's a truck which is why I'd like to have a SUV tow vehicle for long trips.  If I was going for an SUV for myself, it would be a Cayenne Turbo, but no 3rd seat option in those.

 

I tow my Bu with a BMW X5.  Rated for 6,000 lbs.  I don't tow often but I've never had any scary moments when I thought the boat was driving the car.  All that said, if I was a weekender towing often, and filling the tow vehicle with people and stuff then, I would probably go with a Yukon or Yukon XL.  Used to have a 3/4 ton Chevy and it did tow better but not enough better to knock the X5 out of occasional towing.

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3 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

c'mon @85 Barefoot gotta go with the 550 if you go GL.

Yeah last year I'd'a thunk a Q7 would be a good choice but this year... seems like the buyback speculators are starting to move in.  Not that many deals on used ones at all.

well, obviously the 63 AMG is what he NEEDS but he was showing restraint for his wife, obviously, haha

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I've had 2 hemi Durango's. A 2004 and now a 2008. Engine is solid and hefty so I don't even really notice my 'bu behind me.

my sister has a 2014 and the fit-finish and electonics have been significantly upgraded.

id buy a Durango hemi again.

Edited by braindamage
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We have a 2011 Durango with the V-8 Hemi.  Tows fine for me.  To be honest, it is not the primary tow vehicle as we also have a 6.2 Yukon XL.  We bought the Durango as the family kid mover, great third row, loved the safety features, electronics on the Citadel model, etc.  We did buy the extended warranty after market since hoping to hang on to it for a long time and I am glad we did as we have used it for covering several smaller repair items so far (sun roof stopped working, stuff like that).  Overall we are at 120k miles and no big issues.  My wife has enjoyed it, still likes it, and does not want to give it up.  For some reason, I was biased against Chrylser when we started the search, but now I am glad we got it.

Back to your question, it does tow my 06 23 LSV well.  We only got the 2WD which works OK as a backup tow vehicle for my launch, but I'd get 4WD if it was your primary.  It seems a little thirsty when she tows, but I have never done the math, that does not bother me too much.  Overall no complaints.  Good luck.

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Haven't noticed any mention of the Suburban. We have an old reliable '93 5.7l with 340k and our "new" '05 5.3l with 220k. Both pulled the Sanger back and forth over Snoqualmie pass fine and fits the three seat criteria. The 5.3l is quicker/peppier and the 93 has more room. Just had to send out a little chevy love as they have been good for our family.

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2 hours ago, Pnwrider said:

Ford Explorer sport with an ecoboost? 

Seems like a nice car, but 5k tow capacity does not leave much margin for error once you load the car down with crew and gear.  Same with Pilot and MDX; nice, but cutting it a bit close on tow capacity.  I figure my boat and trailer are around 4k dry, that does not leave much room for gas in the boat and passengers in the car, and gear.   

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1 hour ago, Rednucleus said:

Haven't noticed any mention of the Suburban. We have an old reliable '93 5.7l with 340k and our "new" '05 5.3l with 220k. Both pulled the Sanger back and forth over Snoqualmie pass fine and fits the three seat criteria. The 5.3l is quicker/peppier and the 93 has more room. Just had to send out a little chevy love as they have been good for our family.

Suburban is solid, no doubt, but I am thinking something a bit more nimble that can still tow.  

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We are in the same "boat" right now.  Looking for an upgrade for the wives 4runner.  I have a 16 Superduty so the towing is covered, but I would like to have something a bit more comfortable to load all 3 kids in and still drag the boat some.  We are looking at Expedition ELs, Suburban/Yukon XLs, and may look at the Armadas.  We almost bough a 16 Yukon XL Denali Demo this weekend with the 6.2.  We absolutely loved it, but not so much the price, even with all the discounts it was still way up there.  We are leaning toward the Expedition, just seems like you get more for the money.  I was skeptical at first about the EcoBoost, but I'm starting to get over that.   

I thought boats were expensive until I started looking at these full sized SUV's.  It's freaking crazy!

Also, as far at the X5 goes.  I've had two different ones as rentals for six month periods in Germany.  Absolutely the nicest vehicle I have ever driven.  Easily run North of 110 MPH on the Autobahn and not feel sketchy at all.  I almost bought one over there, but just not big enough for us.   

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