12 Best Tailgating Vehicles for 2015 Football Season

1. 2015 Ford F-150

Starting price: $26,030

The best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for more than three decades running is the tailgate wagon of choice for a whole lot of the nation's fans. After a big upgrade for 2015, however, it just got a lot better.

Throw a spray-in bed liner in the back and a cap on any F-150, and you get a fairly ideal tailgate vehicle. Throw in electric outlets, under-seat storage in the cab, LED spotlights and tailgate step in the back and you have yourself a better seat in the parking lot than you will anywhere beyond the club seats and luxury boxes in the stadium itself.

2. 2015 Ram 1500

Starting price: $25,660

Ever wonder what's going on in the space between your pickup's cargo bed and its rear wheel fenders? Not much, which is why Ram fitted them with RamBox locking compartments with drain plugs that are advertised as mini trunks or toolboxes, but are clearly meant to be coolers.

Don't believe us? Ask Ram, which not only made RamBoxes waterproof and drainable, but says “both sides fit up to 240 cans of your favorite beverage in a 5'7 bed or 280 cans in a 6'4 bed configuration.” Combine that with 74.7 cubic feet cargo capacity and 1,300 to 1,600 pounds of payload capacity, and you've got yourself a party machine.

Oh, and the Ram 1500's available Uconnect WiFi — $10 for single-day access — allows your tailgate buddies to set their fantasy football lineups through a private internet network accessible within 150 radius of the truck.

3. 2016 Honda Odyssey

Starting price: $29,275

The Toyota Sienna and Odyssey have been slugging it out for families' affections for years, but the key difference for tailgaters is the Odyssey's slight space advantage. The Odyssey can carry up to eight fans with enough room behind them for a small grill. More importantly, it can carry five fans; collapse the third row and have 93.1 cubic feet for more storage. Those same fans get all the same perks, too, as the Honda's optional 16.2-inch split screen entertainment system still offers them something to stare at before kickoff.

Best of all, this family minivan comes with a whole lot of options basically built for a day at the game. The Odyssey's removable center console offers a useful flip-up trash-bag holder, and there's also a "cool box" beverage cooler to accommodate chilled refreshments. Meanwhile, an in-cabin vacuum is an available option for fans who just know that a healthy percentage of their tailgate's snacks are going to end up on the floor.

4. 2016 Toyota 4Runner

Starting price: $33,510

Another holdover from the SUV era, the 4Runner's sales have slumped steadily from more than 114,000 in 2004 to fewer than 76,900 last year. However, Toyota's been reversing a slide that bottomed out at fewer than 20,000 in 2011 playing to you key tailgating demographic.

The 4Runner's stadium-friendly options include power outlets in the cargo space for hooking up a television or other electronic devices, nearly 90 square feet of cargo room and an optional sliding cargo deck. That last feature basically takes out the need for a folding table by providing counter space strong enough to hold 400 pounds of food and beverages. Go ahead, spring for the six-foot sub. The 4Runner has you covered and is just happy you haven't left it for a crossover.

5. 2016 Subaru Forester

Starting price: $22,395

It's a great investment all around, but its high roof, hidden storage beneath the rear floor and upgraded tech features make the Forester a score for tailgating buyers.

A ten-year-old Forester still has more than 25% of its original value. The newer models have ever reverted to the boxy wagon look of their predecessors, while retaining the standard all-wheel-drive for Bohemian Bourgeois parents trying to balance shuttle runs to lacrosse practice with trips to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

The Forester's combined 28 miles per gallon aren't are a vast improvement over the 2013 model's 24 mpg, but its interior is bigger than both the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape and includes 34 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats up. Subaru's added Bluetooth connectivity to all its models made rearview cameras standard, added its Starlink touchscreen information and entertainment system and threw in options including a power liftgate and voice-activated GPS. It's a school shuttle, but all that space and storage comes in handy in the stadium parking lot on a Sunday.

6. 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander

Starting price: $22,995

Mitsubishi doesn't sell many cars in the U.S. compared to its competitors -- and, after this year, won't produce any either -- but it sells a whole bunch of this one.

The Outlander Sport is just a step above the base model and comes with dual-zone climate control, a rearview camera with 6-inch screen, keyless entry, push-button start, three rows of seating, 34 cubic feet of storage behind the second row and 63 behind the first. Combined with the multi-information display, heated front seats, HD Radio, Bluetooth and leather steering wheel -- and combined 27 miles per gallon -- the Outlander is Mitsubishi at its best. Sadly, however, the Outlander's latest overhaul ripped out one of its most attractive features: one of the last of the actually SUV tailgates. Liftgate, you're no help.

7. 2016 Mercedes-Benz E450 4Matic Wagon

Starting price: $59,000

That 3.5-liter engine and 302 horsepower make this wagon a lot brawnier than your standard grocery-getter, but that's what you'd expect from this brand at this price.

German automakers don't skimp on their wagons and have embraced it as a luxurious means of shuttling the family. The COMAND touchscreen navigation and audio system, stereo cameras, radar sensors, collision prevention, attention assist, the mBrace vehicle-controlling smartphone app, rear video and DVD entertainment system and dual-zone climate control are all great hooks. However, that rear-facing row of seats makes it a great tailgate vehicle for anyone looking to bring something a little swankier to the party.

8. 2016 Mazda CX-5

Starting price: $21,795

You don't see a whole lot of tiny SUVs that look this sporty, but don't let that exterior fool you. Under the hood is a 4-cylinder, 155-horsepower engine that is every bit befitting a lightweight compact.

When the engine's job is getting you from here to there without a whole lot of excitement, that's where the in-car features have to do the heavy lifting. Fortunately, the CX-5 is teeming with wheel-mounted controls, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming, HD radio, Pandora Internet radio and navigation system, pushbutton starter and three power outlets. The ample rear seating and up to 65.4 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats down aren't exactly throwaways, either, nor is the combined 30.5 miles per gallon.

9. 2015 Ford Flex

Starting price: $29,100

All of the little cube-shaped party boxes that were released a few years ago to entice young people into the road trips of yesteryear all failed spectacularly for one big reason: they didn't have enough room to appeal to families, older buyers and other folks who actually spend money on new cars.

The Flex has no such issue. Basically a minivan in a crossover's body, the Flex has room for seven, 44 inches of legroom in the second row and a power folding mechanism for getting into the third row. A surprising amount of headroom makes it easy to transport a large crew or throw some gear in the back and take a long trip all while giving them enough room to maneuver regardless of height.

Options such as sliding second-row captain's seats, Microsoft Sync phone, entertainment and navigation systems in its MyFord Touch screen, DVD entertainment center for the back, a multipanel sunroof, a third-row seat that flips into a rear-facing tailgate bench and second-row fridge console for road sodas compensate somewhat for its roughly 20 combined miles per gallon. It used to look like a giant Mini Cooper, but a standout frame and spacious 80 cubic feet of cargo room make it as close as you'll get to a locker room on wheels.

10. 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan

Starting price: $21,795

When tailgating competes with warm mornings home, DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket, the scoring-plays-only Red Zone Channel and fantasy football leagues, it takes a lot more than seven-layer dip to drag everyone out to the stadium. The folks at Chrysler seemed to realize how hard it is to dislodge football fans from the living room and brought it to them instead.

Their latest take on the classic minivan includes more than 83 cubic feet of cargo space with the third-row seats down, a flip-back option for that third row that turns it into a lot-facing couch, a Blu Ray/DVD system with second and third-row screens for pre-game entertainment, and USB and aux ports for hooking up both audio and computers. Best of all, the Caravan's available Wi-Fi option not only allows folks with Sunday Ticket to stream other games through laptops, tablets and smartphones, but it makes the minivan a mobile hotspot with a 150-foot radius for all your friends following their fantasy team more closely than the teams they're paying to see.

11. 2016 Honda Fit

Starting price: $15,790

One of the subcompacts that started the class's renaissance, the colorful and convenient Fit got by on a whole lot of flexibility and user friendliness. Last year, it received a complete revamp that made it an incredibly worthy tailgate vehicle despite its size.

Cargo space shrinks from 57.3 cubic feet with the seats down to 52.7, but the seats get a little more modular, to the point that the front passenger seat folds back to serve as a footrest for a passenger in the back who wants to sleep for this leg of the trip. Blind-spot cameras, a multi-angle rearview camera, touchscreen audio system, Bluetooth connectivity, an app suite, leather-trimmed and heated seats, a moonroof and satellite navigation all make for a pleasant, comfortable ride for both driver and passenger.

12. 2015 Toyota Sienna

Starting price: $28,700

If you're going to play the minivan game in 2015, you have two strategies at your disposal: cram the giant box with tech toys, or fill it with people.

Toyota's decided to take the latter route with the Sienna and use an upright folding seat in the second row to squeeze in as many as eight passengers. The entire second row slides up to allow third-row access and the second and third rows can fold away if there's a need for extra storage. That 39 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row can expand to as much as 150 cubic feet with the seats away.

With power sliding doors, keyless entry, power liftgate in the back, second-row climate controls, a sliding center console, panoramic moon roof, backup cameras and Entune entertainment and information system all available, the Sienna is only giving families more to love by raising the stakes on its rival Honda Odyssey. However, they really need to stop calling it a “swagger wagon.”