5 Family Cars With Better Towing Capacity Than A Ford Maverick

There's a lot to like about the Ford Maverick. It's available with either a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine or with a fuel-sipping 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain, and it starts under $30,000 for the 2026 model year. It's also one of the cheapest new vehicles that's got a tow hitch, with a maximum towing capacity of 4,000 lbs.

There are a few restrictions if you want that maximum towing capacity though: you'll need to pick the XL, XLT or Lariat trim, choose all-wheel drive rather than front-wheel drive, and add the 4K Tow package. Otherwise, it's limited to a capacity of 2,000 lbs.

The package and its associated options add a premium to the truck's asking price, but it's still firmly in affordable territory. A 2026 Maverick XLT with the 4K Tow Package starts from $34,725, including an $1,845 destination fee. If you're looking for a truck that can do typical truck stuff but won't break the bank, it's a great option.

It isn't, however, a family hauler. Since the Maverick is the smallest truck in Ford's current range, if you're looking for extra room for passengers and their belongings, you could simply look towards a larger model like the F-150. Alternatively, there are plenty of family-sized SUVs on the market that offer both additional interior space and a greater towing capacity to boot. None of them are quite as cheap as the Maverick, but they're still all available for significantly less than the average new vehicle.

The current generation of the Subaru Ascent can't match its competition in some ways, but for affordable pulling power, it's a solid option. The car's standard 5,000-lb. towing capacity is the highest of any Subaru to date, and its Boxer engine offers 277 lb-ft of torque. A 2027 model year Ascent with the optional trailer hitch starts from $42,290 (including a $1,495 destination fee), and it can seat either seven or eight passengers, depending on the configuration.

After putting the Ascent through its paces in 2025, we found there were a few areas where it was more appealing than others compared to rivals in its class. Its standard all-wheel drive is a signature feature across Subaru's lineup, and it helped make the Ascent more capable across rough terrain than its front-wheel drive competitors. It's not top of the class in that regard though, since Subaru doesn't offer a specific off-road oriented trim, unlike similarly-sized SUVs from the likes of Honda and Kia.

The car's handling also impressed our reviewer, as did its family-friendly spaciousness. That all makes Subaru's largest car a versatile companion, even if other cars in its class are more interesting and refined to drive.

By modern car standards, the Dodge Durango is a bit of a relic. The current generation has been on sale since the 2011 model year, albeit with some refreshes in the intervening time. The latest of those refreshes arrived for the 2026 model year. The 2026 Durango's towing capacity varies based on the engine that's under the hood, but even the base 3.6-liter V6 option is rated for 6,200 lbs. It carries a starting MSRP of $42,185 (including a $1,995 destination fee) after the trailer towing package is added.

Higher up the trim range, a pair of V8 engine options increase the 2026 Durango's towing capacity to either 7,200 lbs or 8,700 lbs. For the upcoming 2027 model year, V8 engines are the only options, as the base-level V6 has been dropped from the lineup. That means even a base 2027 Durango can tow 7,200 lbs, but the price jumps up accordingly. The cheapest 2027 Durango with a tow package costs $47,165, which is significantly more than most of the other family-friendly options here, but is still several thousand dollars cheaper than the average new vehicle price of more than $50,000 at time of writing (via KBB).

Buyers with especially large budgets still have the option of purchasing a Durango SRT Hellcat, which hasn't lost any of its muscle car appeal over the years it's been on sale. Entry-level models have far less power, but they're still just as spacious for people-hauling duty, and they're still brawnier than most other family SUVs.

It's still not quite as affordably priced as the Maverick, but drivers looking for a family car that can tow could consider the Ford Explorer instead. The SUV has been a mainstay in the Blue Oval's lineup for 35 years, and the latest generation can tow 5,000 lbs even in base form. That's on top of all its other talents: It's also roomy, well-equipped, and in Tremor trim, it's arguably better than it needs to be off-road too.

Pricing starts from $40,955 (including a $1,795 destination fee) for the 2027 model year, which is less than $2,000 pricier than a Maverick Lariat with the 4K Tow package. The Explorer not only adds 1,000 lbs of extra towing capacity into the mix but it also adds a third row of seats. Rear-wheel drive is standard on the base Explorer, but all-wheel drive is optionally available. There's plenty of extra practicality, then, for minimal extra up-front cost compared to the pickup.

There's an argument to be made that the current generation Hyundai Santa Fe is the quintessential modern soft-roader, with rugged styling that borrows from SUVs like the Land Rover Defender but a clear bias towards on-road driving. It's certainly not the best SUV for tackling rough trails, but that was never the point. Instead, the Santa Fe's appeal is based on its affordable price, decent drive dynamics, and competitive interior space.

It can tow too, although not quite as much as some of the other cars here. Base models only have a towing capacity of 3,500 lbs, but the XRT trim bumps that figure up to 4,500 lbs. For the 2027 model year, the trim starts from $44,440, including a $2,150 destination fee. The Santa Fe XRT features all-wheel drive as standard, and it's powered by the same 2.5-liter engine as the rest of the model's trim range. It churns out 311 lb-ft of torque, according to Hyundai.

Just like the Dodge Durango, the base 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee has a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine under the hood, and also like the Durango, it can tow up to 6,200 lbs. Pricing is similar too, with the 2026 Grand Cherokee starting from $41,910 (including a $1,995 destination fee). Additionally, unlike some Jeeps that use body-on-frame construction, the Grand Cherokee is a unibody vehicle — placing it much closer to "family car" territory than a more rough-and-tumble Wrangler or Gladiator. 

It's usually the case that a powerplant with more cylinders delivers more power, but the Jeep's engine lineup bucks convention. A pair of engines are available, with the V6 being the less powerful of the two. Jeep rates it for 293 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. 

Further up the trim range, Grand Cherokees come equipped with a Hurricane 4 engine, which is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. Despite the smaller displacement and fewer cylinders, it's actually more powerful, with 324 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque on tap. After testing out this new engine, we were impressed enough to declare that the Grand Cherokee didn't really need a massive engine to get the job done. 

Just like the base variant, the Hurricane 4-powered Grand Cherokee features a maximum towing capacity of 6,200 lbs. Some four-cylinder engine trucks can tow even more, but for an affordable family car, the Grand Cherokee's towing capacity is just about as good as it gets.