We have a '13 T5 S60 which, according to the manual, has a tow rating of 3307 lb.
My question is this: Is this a real world number?
Can the car (with coolers) tow more? Or is it actually less?
We're looking at hybrid and ultra-lite travel trailers, and I need to get an idea of what we can tow without issues....
Any input would be great!

 

We have a 2015 V60 4 cylinder(Drive-E) and it is also rated above 3000 pounds. I just recently towed our sailboat which with the trailer weighs around 1000 pounds. I kept it at 65mph and our mileage went from mid 30s without the trailer to at best 20. The interesting thing was that the transmission was not in overdrive even going down hills. I'm not sure how the computer made that decision but it was consistent on all the downhills.
I expected lower mileage but certainly not that low.

 

I have a ton of experience towing with my Honda Odyssey and can tell you that I wouldn't even consider towing 3300 lbs with an S60. It has similar HP, but has a much shorter wheelbase, narrower track, and 800 lb lower curb weight. A 3,300 lb trailer would push that little car all over. And since a trailer requires a minimum of 10% tongue weight to avoid dangerous sway issues I can't imagine 330+lbs of weight that far behind the rear axle. To simulate this just put (8) 40lb bags of softener salt in the trunk and see how much sag you get. Also, I wouldn't plan on towing anything that sits higher than the car itself because even more critical than weight is the amount of wind resistance created by anything that is taller than the car. If it were me (and I'm not normally scared to push limits as I pull 500 lbs over my rated gross combined weight) I would stick with a pop up camper or tear drop that weighs no more than 1,500 lbs empty so that you keep it around 2,000 lbs and even then it would be best if you had trailer brakes. And yes, a trans cooler is an absolute necessity. With a proper set up you can tow with your car, but I do seriously question the rating.

Feel free to ask more questions if you like. There are also good camper forums out there so you can find people who have a camper like you are considering and see what they are towing with, though many of them overkill it rather than really do the homework to get a set up that is just barely within the limits. Pop Up Explorer and Hybrid Explorer are two really good ones, but there are others as well.

 

pkrface-
Thanks for the input! The last time we pulled a camper (32 footer) we used a full sized Olds with a 455...yes, it's been a while...
we really want something we can stay in for weeks at a time; It would appear that our choice our tow rigs is very limiting...
I would have to add a weight distributing hitch, a brake controller, an aux trans cooler and an aux oil cooler.
Thanks again