4-cyl towing thoughts?

Ok, folks. I took all of your comments to heart and decided to see what sort of ~3yr old 6-cylinder tow vehicle we could get for under $15,000. Turns out, quite a few. Not everything holds their value like the Outbacks. I’ve looked at a few Ford Escapes, Jeeps, Ford Flex, etc. None of them strikes me as a particularly great car (a Consumer Report comment on the Jeep model year I was looking at referred to it as the “last of the Chrysler bad old days“), but it would be a third car, strictly a towing car, not something to replace my husband’s beloved Outback. As long as it doesn’t look like it will leave us stranded in the middle of nowhere, has a few basic creature comforts, Bluetooth, recent vintage safety features and a back up camera, unloaded hwy MPG of mid-20s, I’m considering it. And I’m perfectly open to a private party car with a few dings on it. If anyone has a favorite SUV (no pickups) within these parameters, I’d love to know about it. (Ben Herman once mentioned a VW Routon, and they appear to be a rebadged Chrysler Town and Country van. That might be a good used choice.)

But having said that, the R-Pod 173 I’ve had my eye on for months had been going through some price drops on the dealer website. I was concerned that at a certain price point, someone else would swoop in and buy it, So I decided to make an offer, tow vehicle or not. We are in the Bay Area, it was in Phoenix, and it was enough under the max tow limit of our vehicle that I decided that would be OK bringing it back with the Outback. The highest point was probably the Tehachapi Mtns at around 4000 feet. 

We did surprisingly well – after we dumped 300 pounds of water - the RV lot had sent us out with a full tank of water!  It was driving like a slug when I realize what the problem was and did some quick math - 36 gal x 8.3 = “ackk!!”.  I do think the Outback is marginal, but I never thought that it was unsafe. We had a reasonable amount of pickup – not noticeably less then when we pull the pop-up.  We didn’t have to deal with big grades and we didn’t have any heavy winds, so I can see that those would perhaps make the Outback less than desirable. But for this trip, it went just fine. 

So it’s currently parked right outside our condo and I’m hard at work redoing the interior. But that’s for a different thread. This one is about towing and I’m still looking for a good solid vehicle... 

But I wanted to let you know that we are now the owners of a 2009 R-Pod 173 and I wanted to thank you for all of your insights and info for the uneducated.