I also considered various mid-size utility vehicles before I bought my tow
vehicle. And I also didn't want something as huge as a Suburban or
Expedition for driving around town, and I wanted 4WD for ski trips, bad
weather, etc. Here are my thoughts:
1. Astro van: Can get AWD. Questionable reliability. Hard to picture
myself driving a minivan. Can find used ones at a good price. Make sure
you get the tow package.
2. Grand Cherokee V8: Sportiest of the bunch. Accelerated and handled
very well for an SUV. Not enough room inside for me.
3. Blazer: Good power for a V6. Not enough room inside for me.
4. Durango: Nice size, a bit bigger than an Explorer. Good power for
towing. Nice features. I like the styling. However, I personally think
Ford quality is better than Chrysler, and the Durango/Dakota trucks did very
poorly in crash tests.
5. Explorer: Can find old V6 Explorers for cheap, but they seem to eat
transmissions when used for towing. The brakes were also very poor until
they were upgraded around '95.
6: Explorer V8: This is what I got. Perfect compromise size for towing,
commuting, ski trips, etc. The cargo area is 6 feet long with the seats
folded, so I can sleep back there if I want to. Very nice interior and
features. V8 comes with tow package including heavy duty cooling, trans
cooler, 3.78 gear ratio. I tow an ITS RX7 (2500 lbs.) plus 8 extra
wheels/tires and other spares on a heavy old 2-axle trailer, and it does
fine. The '98 has an improved rear hatch design and 2nd gen. (depowered)
airbags. 4-wheel antilock disk brakes are quite good for this type of
vehicle. Gas mileage is abysmal (EPA estimates are 14/18 and that's about
what it gets). Unfortunately, the V8 just came out in late '95 and the
first V8 AWDs came in '96 so you can't find cheap used ones. I broke down
and bought a new one.
Brad Burns
'91 MR2T, A-stock
'87 RX7, ITS
'98 V8 Explorer
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