My requirements for a toad were to seat at least 4 people and still have room in the back for 2 large dogs. This means probably a small SUV of some sort. Since I already own a 2012 Honda CR-V I set it up for towing. It has AWD, automatic tranny, plenty of room inside, and good fuel economy, so it checks all the boxes for me. It has 100K miles on it and has had zero problems.
If I didn't already own the CRV I might consider something else, like a manual-tranny Forester, but I'd probably still go with a decent used CRV. If I didn't need as much room inside I would consider a Kia Soul or a Jeep.
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