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Hello boys,

I'm a photographer and I need to carry large pictures around, plus my gear and sometimes tow a trailer for shows.

There are lots of small cars and small SUVs offering good mileage, but none of them have a 3,500-pound towing capacity (1,588 kilograms), or enough space to carry my stuff.

What do I do? - Tim

Cato: Tim, get a Chevrolet HHR panel truck.

It carries loads and loads of stuff, has a fuel-efficient, four-cylinder engine — 149 horsepower — the big, flat sides …

Vaughan: Cato, stop right there.

You're blathering on about a retro-wagon. This thing looks like a 1948 Suburban.

Maybe that's when you developed your automotive taste, but this little knock-off couldn't tow a 1940s pin-up girl, let alone the photographer and all the gear.

Cato: The HHR panel van has a tow rating of 454 kilos or 1,000 pounds. That may be short — 1,134 kg — of what Tim says he needs, but my bet is he is overestimating his trailer weight here. Many people do.

He's a photographer. What's he hauling about that weighs 1,588 kg? Thirty-five supermodels?

Vaughan: Get your mind off the supermodels and back to the cars.

Cato: Look, I talked to a plumber yesterday who uses an HHR panel van every day. A plumber!

He has pipes and fittings and appliances and torches and tools and all sorts of other stuff in his panel van. Works fine for him.

How is it that a photographer carries a heavier load than a plumber? The HHR has 1,614 litres of pure cargo room.

Vaughan: Alright, alright. Can we get 1948 prices on your HHR?

Cato: According to the pricing service www.carcostcanada.com, General Motors Canada is spicing up the HHR deal with a few goodies — $1,000 in a gas-card promotion and it can be combined with a whole list of other cash incentives worth up to $750.

The cash can be combined with 0.0 per cent financing for up to six years or a lease deal at 1.9 per cent for up to four years.

Vaughan: Terrific, but that doesn't change the tow rating.

Cato: You are a fussbudget and it's getting worse with age.

Vaughan: Well, just suppose Tim isn't caught up in 1948.

Cato: It has nothing to do with that, but Tim could consider the Dodge Grand Caravan cargo van. The towing capacity is 1,633 kg. Happy?

Vaughan: I'm happy about the price. The official base price is $26,845, but there is a $5,500 consumer cash incentive on this van. That brings down the final price to a number close to the HHR.

Cato: Sure, but fuel economy is an issue. Overall, the HHR uses about 20 per cent less fuel than the Grand Caravan — the Dodge has a V-6, the Chevy a four-banger. The Chevy is smaller and lighter and far more fun to drive than a minivan, any minivan.

Vaughan: Tim, don't listen to Cato. For about $21,000, the Grand Caravan fits your bill perfectly.

You can carry twice as much stuff in the Dodge as the HHR.

Cato: I like the HHR. More fuel-efficient, easier to park, and it looks like a panel truck, a real panel truck, not some converted mom-mobile.

Vaughan: Now before you slag moms, how about imports? Any imports for Tim?

Cato: The Kia Sedona.

Vaughan: Another minivan, of course, and one of the most practical vehicle designs you'll ever see.

Cato: Most boring, too. Like you.

But I'll tell you this: the Kia Sedona is an incredible buy. Not only is it one of the very safest vehicles you can buy at any price — check out tests done by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — but look at what Kia Canada is doing to juice sales.

There are various incentives out there approaching $10,000 if you pay cash. So the real price for the base model, not including taxes and freight, comes in around $20,000-$21,000, depending on how effective you are negotiating with the dealer.

Vaughan: The Sedona, I see, has a tow rating of 1,588 kg. Tim, got that? Just the number you're looking for.

Cato: Quality looks acceptable and the ride manners are very good, too.

Vaughan: The Kia has the best warranty of the three — five years or 100,000 km.

Tim, unless you, too, are stuck in 1948, you should take the Sedona. My second choice is the Grand Caravan. Both will do everything you want and at a very good price.

Cato: My first choice is the HHR. It looks cool and is cheaper to operate.

Tim, do you really tow such a heavy trailer? If you must pull a heavy load, it's a flip of the coin between the Sedona and Grand Caravan. Personally, I'd probably lean towards the Dodge, simply because it's built in Canada.

What Car? features are archived on globeauto.com

Jeremy Cato and Michael Vaughan are co-hosts of Car/Business, which appears Fridays at 8 p.m. on Business News Network and Saturdays at 2 p.m. on CTV.