What car would Santa Claus drive?

Let us imagine—in the spirit of the holiday season—that Santa Claus let his eight reindeer go on vacation leave a week before Christmas Eve.

With his trusty sleigh in the garage, what would Santa drive instead?

A sky cruiser like Santa’s magical sleigh is not yet available. Terrafugia, the American flying car company, is still in the process of developing one under the aegis of China’s Zheijang Geely Holding Group, which acquired Terrafugia this year.

So Santa will have to come down to earth and choose a motor vehicle for his Christmas Eve task of delivering toys to children who have not been naughty but nice.

Remember that Santa isn’t alone in delivering toys. He will be assisted by the six elves whom he initially employed to make toys in his workshop.

This means that the vehicle Santa will drive with his six original elves aboard must have enough room for all the toys, a big, comfy driver’s seat for jolly fat Santa, and enough seats for six hyperactive elves.

TONS OF TOYS. A seven-seater SUV would qualify except for the fact that with the second and third row seats in place, not enough cargo room at the back is left for tons of toys.

This also holds true for minivans and passenger vans that usually have more seats than cargo room except for the 2019 Maxus V80 Flex variant, which has a ton of empty space at the back for cargo, but only three seats including the driver’s.

Crew cab pickup trucks may do, considering that elves are small fellas. One could sit in front with Santa while five could squeeze into the bench seat at the rear.

But five squeezed into a back seat designed for only three would be stressful even for elves on long trips like Santa’s delivery route.

The solution? A seven-seater SUV or crossover that can pull a trailer containing at least a ton (2,000 lbs) of toys.

Driving an SUV or crossover, Santa would be comfortable in the driver’s bucket seat that can be ventilated or heated, power-adjusted many ways with memory function and has lumbar support while the elves can relax, one in the front bucket seat, three in the second row seat, and two in the third row seat—all seats upholstered with plush leather.

Cutting-edge infotainment technology including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto would be within Santa’s reach and all seven occupants can listen to the multi-speaker audio system in automatic dual climate control, air-conditioned comfort.

Learning about Santa going shopping for a new ride, car dealers representing several brands offered seven-seater SUVs and crossovers with good tow ratings for his consideration.

TOYOTA MOTOR COMPANY presented to Santa the 2019 Toyota Land Cruiser 4×4 SUV whose maximum trailing capacity is 8,100 lbs (4.05 US tons). Its 5.7 liter V8 engine produces 381 hp and 401 lb-ft of torque via an 8-speed automatic transmission (A/T), plus a traditional 2-speed transfer case. The Land Cruiser has a luxurious interior outdone only by its Lexus LX equivalent. But the Lexus LX’s towing capacity is less at 7,000 lbs.

FORD MOTOR COMPANY offered Santa the 2019 Ford Expedition rear wheel drive (RWD) SUV with a tow rating of 9,300 lbs or the all-wheel-drive (AWD) variant with a tow rating of 9,200 lbs. Santa can choose either the 375 hp version or the 400 hp version of Ford’s EcoBoost V6 backed by a 10-speed A/T.

At the same time, Ford informed Santa that the forthcoming 2020 Ford Explorer is equipped with standard RWD that helps to boost its max towing capacity by 600 lbs more or 10 percent over the 2019 Explorer. The new version can manage 5,600 lbs of trailer with its 3.0-liter EcoBoost engine.

When fitted with the entry-level 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine, the 2020 Explorer’s tow rating jumps from the comparable 2019 edition’s 3,000 lbs, to a healthy 5,300 lbs.

LAND ROVER JAGUAR asked Santa to look at the 2019 Range Rover Sport that can tow as much as 7,716 lbs (5,300 kg). The TD 6 version delivers 254 hp and 443 lb-ft max torque via an 8-speed A/T. The Range Rover’s tow rating is barely 0.2 percent over that of the Mercedes-Benz GLS and Audi Q8. But no other vehicle combines agile off-road reflexes and incredible in-cabin luxuries like the Range Rover.

GENERAL MOTORS offered Santa its Chevrolet Suburban and the Cadillac Escalade, each of which can tow as much as 8,300 lbs. In the Escalade, leather seats are standard and the seating can be increased to eight, with a second-row bench rather than the captain’s chairs.

HONDA MOTOR CO. LTD. has a potential choice for Santa in the 3.5-liter, V6 Honda Pilot SUV with its towing capacity of 3,500 lbs. There are three rows of seats in the Pilot and most models seat eight, but the top-level Elite models have heated second-row captain’s chairs that decrease capacity to seven.

The Pilot’s third row seats are adult-friendly, a rarity for a 3-row SUV that is not a behemoth.

KIA MOTORS CORP. showed Santa the 2019 Kia Sorento midsize crossover which seats seven, and can tow up to 5,000 lbs. The Sorento is powered by a 2.2-liter, in-line 4-cylinder DOHC gasoline engine mated to an 8-speed A/T and is available with front-wheel drive or AWD.

HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY presented to Santa its all-new Hyundai Palisade with standard three-row seating and a tow rating of 5,000 lbs. A load-leveling suspension is standard on the top-of-the-line Limited variant whose luxurious, high-tech interior elevates it to a class above other midsize crossovers. A front-wheel-drive crossover, the Palisade is equipped with a 3.8-liter V6 engine that delivers 291 hp and 262 lb-ft max torque through an 8-speed A/T. AWD is an expensive option.

BOTTOM LINE. Santa and his elves learned that they don’t need a truck-like SUV to have three rows of seating and a multi-ton trailer rating. They could get a smoother, more comfortable ride from large crossovers in the process of towing at least two tons of toys for delivery on Christmas Eve.

Since crossovers are built with car-like unibody construction instead of being weighed down by heavy frames like traditional SUVs, they are more fuel-efficient and can provide more cabin space than SUVs with the same footprint, especially in the third row.

As to what vehicle Santa finally selected for his delivery route on Christmas Eve, the elves are happy with his choice but aren’t talking. And your guess, in the spirit of Christmas, is as good as mine.