And another car you might want to consider that is approved to be flat-towed is the 2023 Nissan Versa with manual transmission if you desire something really simple and cheap. The Versa's price is even below the KIA with the base trim at slightly below $16k (manual transmission only available with the base trim). It's curb weight is listed at 2,599 pounds so I believe is even lighter than the KIA too.
The Versa's performance is rather anemic but it gets better MPG than the KIA. It is also not quite as fancy as the KIA so again, if you're looking for just basic transportation and nothing fancy, the Versa is a good choice for economy and reliability.
The Versa is approved by Nissan to be flat towed with a manual transmission and is front-wheel-drive. Page 10-19 of the 2023 owner's manual gives approval and partial instructions. The drawback is that they do require an engine re-start at every 500 miles and to be idled for 2 minutes ...but 500 miles is still a lot of time and most would probably stop for fuel or want to take a quick break from driving at that point anyway.
However, I'd be almost certain that hamsters would not approve of the Versa at all ...not cutting edge or hip at all.
I agree with Mighty J, as I also really like the Crosstrek and have flat towed several Subarus. However, the Crosstrek is quite a bit more expensive than the Versa and also much heavier ...I believe the MSRP at base is around $26k (so $10,000 more than the Versa) and its curb weight is over 3,100 pounds with lower MPG. Plus, as noted, Subaru no longer approves any of their cars for flat towing but there is nothing mechanical that prevents it so you still see some newer Crosstreks (with a manual transmission) being towed. However, you still get AWD and a lot of safety features.
|