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2025 Subaru Impreza ReviewCritics’ Choice: Haul this Christmas Tree for $15,000
In the spirit of the season, we challenge our writers to find the perfect Christmas tree transportation for under $15,000.
‘Tis the Season
O Tannenbaum, ye symbol of Christmas. Without doubt, your average Christmas tree is the festive center of the holiday. The Christmas tree, bedecked with mementos and hung with lights, safeguards our presents beneath its fragrant boughs, casting a comforting glow on even the most forlorn of dark winter evenings. That Christmas magic does, however, require some doing, mostly involving getting the tree to and from your living room. So, in the spirit of the season, we chose this Critics’ Choice to challenge our writers to find the best vehicle for hauling a Christmas tree (approximately eight feet tall) for $15,000 or less.
Jesse McGraw
2019 Dodge Grand Caravan
Short list:
2008 Subaru Outback
2001 Land Rover Range Rover
2002 Dodge Ram Van
I haven’t had to pick out a live Christmas tree since I was a kid, but I think I can ditch the plastic one I have in storage for this challenge. With a $15,000 budget I’ve got to find a vehicle that can bring an eight-foot tree to haul home in one piece. I looked at stuff like a cargo van that’s got enough room in the back to probably start a tree hauling business. Then there were the all-wheel drive choices like a Subaru Outback or an old Land Rover that I looked at since winter can be a mess, especially while venturing off-road. In the end, I took a step back and went with a simple choice that really hits why we’re picking out a tree in the first place.
While you’ll want the room to haul that perfect Balsam Fir back home, part of the experience is going out and picking that Christmas tree with your family. The main reason you go out and get a big Christmas tree is because you have a family to decorate it with, so they’re along for this ride. That’s why I ended up picking this nice 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan GT minivan for $14,995. Not only is it a practical vehicle given our challenge, but it’s a good choice for a large family vehicle on a budget.
This Grand Caravan has enough seating to fit a family of seven and features middle-row captain’s chairs for easy access to the back row. On the entertainment front, a 9-speaker audio system is ready to blast all the holiday jingles you could want and there’s a DVD player for the passengers in the rear to watch their favorite Christmas movies. Then for the parents up front, this Dodge features a 6.5-inch infotainment touchscreen with Garmin navigation built in, so no worries about getting lost on the way to that Christmas tree.
All that is well and good for a family hauler, but we’ve got an eight-foot-tall tree to bring home with this minivan. There is only front-wheel drive, so we won’t be venturing too far off the road to collect our tree, but nobody is really going out to the forest to find a Christmas tree anymore. A minivan should have no trouble working its way to the local tree farm where the biggest hurdle to overcome are some gravel roads and finding parking. Once the family settles on a tree, lifting it onto the roof should be an easy enough job. The Grand Caravan comes in at a height of just over five and a half feet, so getting the tree hoisted up top shouldn’t be an issue. If you need a little boost though, simply slide open the rear passenger doors and step on up for couple more inches of reach.
This 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan already comes installed with crossbars mounted to the roof rails. That means the hassle of strapping it up top should be manageable while keeping the needles lifted away from the paint. You could invest in a roof mounted cargo basket and tarp to make things even more secure and less of a mess up there too. After the straps are tightened down, it’s a cheerful ride home with a new Christmas tree and minivan full of jolly people.
Chris Kaiser
2005 Subaru Baja
Short list:
1974 F-100
1966 Cadillac Fleetwood Limo
1953 FIAT 500
The Christmas season is about spending time with family, making new memories and evoking old ones, and thereby bridging the continuum between generations. Picking up the family Christmas tree is just such a moment: kids picking out the biggest, best, and most expensive tree on the lot, Mom and Dad hastily lashing said tree to the roof of the car, getting pulled over for an improperly secured load, Dad calling the cop a Scrooge and getting tazed … ah, Christmas memories.
Wait, what was I writing about? Oh, yes, the best vehicle under $15,000 for transporting a Christmas tree. For truly cinematic Christmas tree retrieval, I considered a 1953 FIAT 500C Topolino with a festive two-tone green-on-green paint scheme and rollback cloth top. Just open up the top and plunk the Christmas tree trunk right there on the passenger seat. Is this a terrible idea? Sure. But it would be memorable.
For a more practical option, I looked at a Santa-colored red and white Ford F-100 from 1974. The big bed means tree transport would be a breeze, but the regular cab limits your options for bringing the family with you on the trip. A clear alternative was a 1966 Cadillac Fleetwood limo which features a row of trundle seats in the backseat floor for all the grandkids to come with Grandpa when he gets the tree. Obviously, the Fleetwood would require roping the Christmas tree to the roof and trunk of the car, something I’m sure Grandad did with his own pe-paw back in the day.
Eventually, practicality overcame my desire for nostalgia (well, almost). Rather than go for the more obvious choice of a Subaru Outback, I looked to Subaru’s too-short-lived ute, the Baja. Though the bed on this mini-truckster is small, just 41-inches, with the tailgate down and the passthrough open the Baja can accommodate items up to 90-inches in length. Angle the crown of the Christmas tree toward the back and you’ve got more than enough room for an eight-foot tree.
The example I found on Carsforsale.com isn’t just any Subaru Baja either. This 2005 model comes is one of the rare-ish turbocharged Bajas, sporting a 210 horsepower 2.5L flat-four under the hood. With standard all-wheel drive, those dirt roads at the tree farm will pose no difficulty. The tasteful maroon pant job and rakish hood scoop round out the Baja’s eye-catching package. To top it all off is an asking price of just $9,750. That should leave plenty of money for the most expensive Fraiser at the tree lot and for a load of gifts to pack underneath it.
Jesse Batson
2016 Chevy Traverse
Short list:
2013 Jeep Wrangler
2017 Ford F-150
2017 Dodge Journey
Alright, confession time here: I’ve never actually gone to get a real Christmas tree. Nope, my family is all about the fake trees and some forest-scented Febreze. We had a real tree once or twice when I was young, but it wasn’t a massive eight-foot tree. It was a smaller four-and-a-half-foot tree that fit into a hatchback. The mess from the pine needles in both the car and the house settled it, though: no more real trees for us. The most frustrating experience I’ve had with a Christmas tree is trying to fit that boxed evergreen into a sedan. After folding the rear seat down and utilizing some precise angling, I got the job done.
When it comes to transporting an actual tree, I know I’m going to want a roof rack for that. It would certainly fit into the bed of a pickup truck, too. I’ve hauled all kinds of things in a truck, from ladders to mattresses to dressers and bookcases. A tree can’t be much worse than those items.
That being said, I’m going with an SUV for this challenge. The specific SUV I chose is the 2016 Chevy Traverse. It’s probably not the first vehicle that comes to mind when you think, ‘Christmas tree hauler,’ but it actually checks a lot of my boxes. This is a LT, so it’s not at the top of the trim ladder, but not at the bottom either.
Chevrolet offers up a lot of features on the LT, including a rearview camera, keyless entry, Bluetooth, and a 6.5-inch touchscreen. The 2016 Chevy Traverse received good reviews for its AWD, quiet cabin, generous cargo space, and surprising handling. Fuel economy could be better, there are 112,647 miles on it, and it’s right near the allotted budget at $14,995. That’s not enough to turn me off this SUV entirely, so let’s explore it a little more.
I like the idea of really experiencing the Christmas tree selection, so some family would likely be joining me for this adventure. The third-row split bench in the 2016 Traverse could come in handy for fitting everyone inside. There’s enough room for eight people in this SUV. Plus, all the Christmas favorites can be played ad nauseam on six speakers with SiriusXM, a CD player, an MP3 player, or on the radio. This Christmas tree hunt could even be a little weekend vacation, so there’d need to be room for luggage. The 2016 Traverse has decent space for cargo in the back.
The trip will hopefully end with a triumphant return home, a tree strapped to the top of the SUV. I’ll definitely want a good roof rack for that. The 2016 Chevy Traverse has that. That’s probably the most important thing when looking for a vehicle to transport a tree with. It can be done without the roof rack, but having it already in place will make things much easier.
The 2016 Traverse also has AWD. I like that. If you’re going a few blocks away to pick up your Christmas tree in the city, AWD isn’t needed, but, as I said earlier, I’d like the full experience. I want to drive at least a little way out of town and either cut the tree down or choose one at a tree farm in the mountains off the side of a country road.
For safely getting to and from the tree farm, there are features like front fog lights, heated door mirrors, rear parking assist, and rear parking sensors. Under the hood of every 2016 Traverse is a 281-horsepower 3.6 L V6 that mates with a six-speed automatic transmission. The LT delivers 266 lb-ft of torque. While it does have power, it sometimes takes a few seconds to get going, but I’m not in a hurry here. It’ll tow up to 5,200 lbs when properly equipped, so I guess a small trailer could also haul that Christmas tree. This particular 2016 Traverse doesn’t have a hitch, so that would have to be added first.
The biggest factor when loading up a tree may not even be the car at all. Certain body styles may make it a little easier, but, from watching others load their trees up, I think the biggest factor in transporting a tree, especially over a longer distance, is to be prepared. That means having straps and tie-downs ready. There’s also a bit of a science when it comes to wrapping or tarping the tree and loading it (with the tree trunk facing the front of the car) on top of the roof.
Whether it’s a car, a truck, a van, a wagon, or a crossover you’re using, the tree has to be secure and some tools for the job are required. This 2016 Chevy Traverse already has a lot of features to accomplish the task. There’s the roof rack, engine power, and cargo space for straps, tarps, saws, and other belongings. Of course, the amenities in the cabin should also make the trip more enjoyable from start to finish.
