Cheap / Light TOAD shopping?

[Isaac-1]

I have decided to shop for a small, cheap, light TOAD to drag around on selected trip, and would like your help on making a list of potential models. We already have my wife's 2017 Jeep Cherokee set up for TOAD duty, however about half of the time I either travel on solo trips, or my wife flies one or both ways due to her work schedule. She also does not like driving my daily driver car as it has a manual transmission. The TOAD would be used as a general run about vehicle, doing tourist stuff, grocery shopping, etc. It would need to be something I could fit into, I am 6'0" and about 200 pounds, I tried sitting in a 10 or so year old Miata at a local used car dealership last year, unfortunately my head would hit the cross brace with the top up.


Important features,



1, Weigh under about 2750 pounds, preferably under 2,500 (this is an arbitrary cut off weight, coach has 5,000 towing capacity)


2, Be reasonably cheap to insure, if it is going to cost too much to insure we would be better off renting at the destination.


3, Be reasonably reliable, cheap to repair, and with good parts availability, since it would get little use chances are we would keep it for a long time, and I don't want something that is a known ticking time bomb, or where parts are unobtainable, I am mostly a DIY'er when it comes to repair, though will pay others if it is hard to work on, tight quarters, etc.



4, Fairly simple to setup for TOAD duty, ideally put it in neutral, drop in the braking system and go. I would prefer not to have to deal with starting it and running through the gears every couple of hundred miles, also it should be towable at speeds of 65 mph or higher.


5, priced under $7,500, preferably under $5,000, I don't mind taking time to find a deal, as it will probably be 6+ months before I / we take another

trip where we need a TOAD and can't use my wife's Cherokee.


6, Less than 20 years old, preferably less than 10



So far a few contenders are a Mini-Cooper, Fiat 500, Smart ForTwo (concerned about repair cost, also may be too small), Chevy Spark (55 mph max tow speed?), Honda Fit, Chevy Sonic (getting up there in weight).


Any others you might suggest, perhaps ones that are known to be towable even if not officially flat towable as whatever we buy will likely be long out of warranty.

[RS505]

We have a Chevy Spark. Lightweight, easy to tow good gas mileage, no speed or distance restrictions that I can think of. You might find a cheap used one.

The downside is the manual transmission

[Arch Hoagland]

Too bad you didn't fit in the Miata...I pulled a 1991 Miata all around the country. 2400 pounds and just put it in neutral.

Never had a problem with that car and it was a blast to drive.

[Snokid]

you have the mini cooper listed. just a note it takes premium fuel(91 or better). Parts are not the cheapest either.

They are low to the ground, But if you get newer than 2006 you don't have the super charger to service.

Im not the most fit person on the face of the planet and 5'11" and I fit nicely in a mini. fold the back seat down it has quite a bit of grocery room in it.

They are a blast to drive surprises many people leaving a light.. basically a go cart with 200 hp...

Bob

[theroc]

I may not be understanding. You mentioned your wife not liking a manual transmission. So is a manual acceptable or not? I ask because some of those you mention as contenders are flat towable only with a manual ...such as the Mini and the Fiat ...and I think even the Miata has to be a manual unless you disconnect the driveshaft if it's an automatic (?).

The only other I can think of off the top of my head that comes very close to meeting your requirements with an automatic would be the Ford Fiesta from 2011 to 2019. It's just a bit over 2,500 lbs, has 70 MPH speed restriction, no mileage restrictions, and apparently no requirement to start engine at any intervals.

See page 171 and 172 from the owner's manual for a 2013 Fiesta is attached where on page 172 it gives instructions on how to tow one with an automatic transmission.

I don't know where you got the reference that the speed restriction for a Sonic is 55 MPH as everywhere I've looked, it's 65 MPH. However, a Sonic is heavier than a Fiesta (Sonic at about 2,700-2,800 lbs.) and the engine has to be run for 5 minutes at the beginning of each day of towing.

If a manual transmission is acceptable, there may be a few additional other than the ones you mentioned so let us know.



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[ransil]

Ford Focus check the classifieds on this website saw one there, I will be selling mine next march/April already setup and ready to go.

[Isaac-1]

Thanks for all the replies, a manual transmission would be acceptable, but not preferable in this case, as part of what my wife does not like about driving my car is the combination of a manual transmission and over 400 HP.


Looking online there is a used 2017 low mileage Chevy Spark with manual transmission on a small used car lot I drive by each day near here, I may go by and see about taking it for a test drive, though I really doubt I will buy it given the reputation of the used car lot in question.

[PanJH]

We towed a geo Tracker for several years. Great little car and pretty much bullet proof

[OlYeller]

I tow a 2007 VW New Beetle, manual trans. It weighs in around 2,800#, tows great. I am 6’ and fit very comfortably. No worry about 400 HP!

[mike625]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

So far a few contenders are a Mini-Cooper, Fiat 500, Smart ForTwo (concerned about repair cost, also may be too small), Chevy Spark (55 mph max tow speed?), Honda Fit, Chevy Sonic (getting up there in weight).

We have been towing a 2016 Smart ForTwo "the auto trans can be towed 4 wheels down" - Only have had normal service costs. The car's inside is very roomy for it's size "about 2000 lb".

My take on it -
1. No spare tire - I kept a tire repair kit with me at all times.
2. Work well for local running around / under 50 miles - have had to drive it "over 250 - 350 miles - it does get moved around on the interstate by the trucks but it's just what it is with something that small"
3. Size - great for the shorter camp sites - can fit it where another car would stick out.
4. We are able to fit a whole Costco cart in the back hatch.

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

I have decided to shop for a small, cheap, light TOAD to drag around on selected trip, and would like your help on making a list of potential models. We already have my wife's 2017 Jeep Cherokee set up for TOAD duty, however about half of the time I either travel on solo trips, or my wife flies one or both ways due to her work schedule. She also does not like driving my daily driver car as it has a manual transmission. The TOAD would be used as a general run about vehicle, doing tourist stuff, grocery shopping, etc. It would need to be something I could fit into, I am 6'0" and about 200 pounds, I tried sitting in a 10 or so year old Miata at a local used car dealership last year, unfortunately my head would hit the cross brace with the top up.


Important features,



1, Weigh under about 2750 pounds, preferably under 2,500 (this is an arbitrary cut off weight, coach has 5,000 towing capacity)


2, Be reasonably cheap to insure, if it is going to cost too much to insure we would be better off renting at the destination.


3, Be reasonably reliable, cheap to repair, and with good parts availability, since it would get little use chances are we would keep it for a long time, and I don't want something that is a known ticking time bomb, or where parts are unobtainable, I am mostly a DIY'er when it comes to repair, though will pay others if it is hard to work on, tight quarters, etc.



4, Fairly simple to setup for TOAD duty, ideally put it in neutral, drop in the braking system and go. I would prefer not to have to deal with starting it and running through the gears every couple of hundred miles, also it should be towable at speeds of 65 mph or higher.


5, priced under $7,500, preferably under $5,000, I don't mind taking time to find a deal, as it will probably be 6+ months before I / we take another

trip where we need a TOAD and can't use my wife's Cherokee.


6, Less than 20 years old, preferably less than 10



So far a few contenders are a Mini-Cooper, Fiat 500, Smart ForTwo (concerned about repair cost, also may be too small), Chevy Spark (55 mph max tow speed?), Honda Fit, Chevy Sonic (getting up there in weight).


Any others you might suggest, perhaps ones that are known to be towable even if not officially flat towable as whatever we buy will likely be long out of warranty.

Only you will make you happy - try this - https://www.irv2.com/rvclassifieds/s...?cat=22&page=2

Best of luck,

[D20]

I have a 2013 Honda Fit with 135,000 miles. It has never needed any repairs, only routine maintenance. Very reliable. That being said, we do not tow it. We flat tow our Honda CRV instead.

[swduns]

I have a 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara
Geo Tracker & Chevy Tracker are same platform
bought 2019, paid $2200 had 78,000 miles on it
Since Suzuki pulled out of US, resell very low, so can be found cheaper

good points:
- cheap
- light
- very reliable
- 4WD

Bad points:
- some parts for Suzuki takes a few days
- no dealers
- supposed to crank at 300 miles
- tow with transfer case in neutral & key on - not foolproof

There is an inverse relationship between simple/easy/reliable and cheap

[theroc]

Well, if a manual transmission is acceptable, here are a few others but none seem to meet as many of your requirements as the 2011-2019 Ford Fiesta but that was assuming you required an automatic transmission.

A Scion Xd FWD manual transmission can be flat-towed and is authorized by Toyota for recreational towing and weighs about 2,625 lbs. ...see attachment below from page 171 of the 2012 owners manual for instructions. No speed restrictions or idle requirements.

The older Toyota Corollas or Yaris FWD manuals are lightweight with no speed restrictions but do require engine to be idled for 3 minutes after towing and before driving. They were also factory approved for recreational towing back then. Corolla at 2,867 lbs. and Yaris at 2,295 lbs. ...see attachment below from page 202 of the 2012 Corolla owner's manual for recreational towing instructions.

As you probably know Toyota/Scions are reliable and are easy to maintain.

Other older light vehicles under 2,800 lbs that were factory approved for flat-towing with a manual transmission but I'm not really a big fan of are the Nissan Versa, Hyundai Accent and Elantra GLS, and some KIA models.

And like the MINI, older VWs with manual transmission and FWD are towable but are NOT approved by their manufacturer ...New Beetle, Golf, etc. but VWs tend to be slightly heavier than comparable vehicles.

Suzukis used to be a popular toad but from what I can remember, many Suzuki models do have a speed restriction of 55 MPH from the factory (and stated in the owner's manual?).




But yeah, A Chevy Spark with a manual is going to meet just about all your requirements. I just looked at the owner's manual and it seems overly simple to prepare for towing --essentially, put it in neutral, key in acc and GO ...and no idle requirements, no fuses to pull, no special procedures, plus a 70 MPH speed restriction. Manual HERE (page 270)





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