[Skyjim73]

We had our first trip towing the TM with our new truck two weeks ago. It was from Valencia California (along I-5 north of LA) to Saratoga, California at the foot of the Santa Cruz mountains for a wedding among the redwoods. Over the Grapevine, down into the central valley, drone up I-5 to Rte 152 over Pacheco Pass to Gilroy, then up the 101 and 85 to Saratoga.

Summary - the little diesel and the 8 speed ZF transmission are extremely well-matched as a towing powertrain, fuel economy was excellent, and towing is absolutely effortless!

About 315 miles per Google, 328 by odometer with rest stops, in camp, etc, and filled the next day after unhitching the trailer in camp. Took 16.7 gallons to the first click, yielding a calculated 19.6 mpg including some heavy stop and go traffic on 101 and two hilly sections, and cruising the flats of I-5 at around 68 - 70 mph with some faster stretches thrown in. (Go much slower than that on much of I-5 in the Central Valley and you're constantly being passed by 18 wheelers!) Was glad I'd replaced the original tires a few weeks earlier when one was damaged with Maxxis 8008s.

The onboard trip computer claimed 19.7, so it was pretty accurate, at least on this elevation/speed profile. I was seeing 23-24 mpg on that computer in steady-state cruising on flat ground at 65. Which is one heck of a change from my old V-10 gasser which got a best of 16-17 with the TM.

The diesel, which at least one poster here has talked up in his Grand Cherokee, was better than I had actually hoped. 240 hp isn't all that much in a full sized truck these days, but 420 fl/lbs of torque at 2000 RPM, coupled to a transmission that keeps you near the sweet spot in the torque band at all times, flat gets the job done! I'm towing way under the GCWR and trailer rating, but I still wondered about just 180 cubic inches of powerplant. That's what I get for being a fossil who recalls when one horsepower per cubic inch was a performance achievement in production gas engines...

You do need to roll in to the power off the line and allow the boost to come on, but it isn't a slug. And I've always tried to be nice to my powertrain when towing anyway, so my throttle habits already got along with the 3.0's power curve. So for me, this looks like a winner if it proves reliable. Couldn't be happier!