Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels

That's a fair point. The BMW X3 I had almost straddled that divide. I could tow with it and put bikes in the back upright with a fork mount (had to take off the rear seat, but I'm tall), but it certainly wouldn't fit 7 people, tow as much, and was definitely a sportier vehicle. So going away from it, I was convinced I wanted a 4Runner to tow the small camper (EDIT: Resale factor and reliability being the two biggest draws after my not fun experience with the BMW). After having doubts, I realized we could use the wife's Highlander for towing duty and that opened up more options. I looked hard at the Rav4 before the X3 and just never liked everything about it, so it never made the short list.

So in my narrow set of needs, once the towing requirement went out the window the 4Runner just became this expensive, oversized behemoth with a hideous interior.

And truthfully, the CX-5 could tow our camper safely and well within the rated capacity, but I'm really glad I decided to put the hitch on the Highlander.