Tow vehicle advice
Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2020 3:50 pm
Hi all,
I’ve been driving my Lotus Elise to the track for years. I’m thinking of towing it instead. Two reasons, the A/C isn’t working (the repair estimate for taking apart the front of the car and replacing the evaporator is ~$3K). Also, I’m in the market for a daily driver, and I’m thinking that could serve as my tow vehicle. Of course there are all the other reasons, such as, I don’t have to drive four hours to Summit Point in a tiny car with all my stuff jammed into it; if the Elise breaks I can tow it home; I could bring extra tires, and so on.
I’ve never towed anything. The Elise weighs about 2,000 lbs. 16’ foot open aluminum trailers seem to be about 1600 lbs. An X3 (2018 or newer) can tow 4400 lbs. That sounds like a comfortable margin, but I wonder how it would feel to tow the Elise and trailer with an X3. An X5 (2019 or newer) can tow 6603 lbs. The X5 is about 800 lbs heavier than the X3, and has a five-inch longer wheelbase. For purposes other than towing, I’d prefer the X3. But maybe the X5 would be better for towing.
Do you think either the X3 or X5 is appropriate for this purpose? My mechanic is selling a gorgeous Ford F-150 Raptor with all kinds of upgrades, including bigger brakes. That seems like huge overkill, though tempting. The price of the Raptor and a CPO 2019 X5 are similar.
Any thoughts welcome.
Matthew
I’ve been driving my Lotus Elise to the track for years. I’m thinking of towing it instead. Two reasons, the A/C isn’t working (the repair estimate for taking apart the front of the car and replacing the evaporator is ~$3K). Also, I’m in the market for a daily driver, and I’m thinking that could serve as my tow vehicle. Of course there are all the other reasons, such as, I don’t have to drive four hours to Summit Point in a tiny car with all my stuff jammed into it; if the Elise breaks I can tow it home; I could bring extra tires, and so on.
I’ve never towed anything. The Elise weighs about 2,000 lbs. 16’ foot open aluminum trailers seem to be about 1600 lbs. An X3 (2018 or newer) can tow 4400 lbs. That sounds like a comfortable margin, but I wonder how it would feel to tow the Elise and trailer with an X3. An X5 (2019 or newer) can tow 6603 lbs. The X5 is about 800 lbs heavier than the X3, and has a five-inch longer wheelbase. For purposes other than towing, I’d prefer the X3. But maybe the X5 would be better for towing.
Do you think either the X3 or X5 is appropriate for this purpose? My mechanic is selling a gorgeous Ford F-150 Raptor with all kinds of upgrades, including bigger brakes. That seems like huge overkill, though tempting. The price of the Raptor and a CPO 2019 X5 are similar.
Any thoughts welcome.
Matthew