Hyundai Terracan Turbo diesel auto for towing

Under the skin it is essentially an NL pajero with a common rail version of the mitsu 4m40T motor. Fairly bulletproof drivetrain.

Pat

We brought a jack a few yearsw ago that was set up for towing, been a good car but suspension was sagged from towing and it only had 77000ks. just something to check,.
cheers pete

I've got the V6 and the Diesels tow a damn sight better than my petrol. Here is the link to the Terracan Owners Website. masses of info for you there.

I had a 2007 Diesel Auto from new & sold it the following year with very low K's. It was bought by a Mail Contractor who I run into one day last year. I asked how it was going & he stated that overall it was good with the exception of the front end which had collapsed on him & he could not get parts for it from Hyundai. He ended up using Mitsubishi parts. The motor is a VM Motori. In my first year of ownership I had a Turbo replaced that was leaking oil under Warranty. They seem to drive ok & have a fair bit of go.

Pat is right about the fairly bulletproof drivetrain but on everything else not totally accurate. The Auto is an Aisin four speed unit, so it is very good. The chassis might be similar to a NL Pajero but that is all. the Motor was designed by VM Motori a Mercedes Benz owned company in Italy and made under license by Kia for Hyundai. It uses a Delphi common rail system. That said...I am lead to believe Hyundai are very good at reverse engineering.

The Terracan is a good solid tow vehicle with the upgraded suspension can pull 2500kg. The original suspension setup was a shocker...unless you liked marshmallow handling and no ground clearance. Ironman have upgraded the front torsion bars the rears can be sourced from various suppliers. It has a decent sized transmission cooler which is always a bonus.

Aside from the suspension mods, performance can be improved by various performance enhancing chips/modules and fan on the intercooler also helps. Front and rear lockers are available as are 'auto-(un)lockers', the latter a very good option for the rear...not the front.

I recently sold my 2005 Auto Terracan Highlander and was sad to see it go after seven years of solid performance. It crossed the Simpson, the High Country, Vic deserts and Cannuda and Little Dip amongst others easily and often...and in comfort.

I owned a 2005 Terracan diesel with the upgraded suspension from new. I used this to tow a boat which was just over 2 tonnes and a Jayco Freedom which I cannot remember its weight. I then upgraded the van to a full height semi off road caravan and towed it from Perth through the Great Central Road up to Darwin and down the coast home. It was not until later that we discovered the van and load was 2800kg so it was sold at a little over 100 000 kms. It was a brilliant car and tow vehicle. The only issue I had with it was it needed a replacement front diff insert as it was faulty and replaced under warranty. The economy towing was great also recording 12.6 litres /100 towing the Jayco to Kununurra.

Hi Old Mal
Ive got a 2005 CRDI Hylander (bought New), 190000 on the clock now and still going strong, have towed a 1200kg camper 6500k through central Aus including Plenty hwy, Oodnandatta Track, Mereenie Loop, track to Palm Valley (very rough) and many other off road tracks, and the car never missed a beat or seemed to strugle (cant say the same for the trailer though, LOL).
I agree with other comments regarding suspension upgrades, definitely required.
Some other mods I have done that in my opinion have helped are:
-Snorkel and High flow Cat (dont get unless you are prepared for a little more noise) has helped low end performance and economy to a degree.
- Replaced roof bars with heavy duty ones, originals are rated at 35Kg which is not much. But check out the forums as there is a lot of debate about the roof rail strength.
-Alloy Bull bar, good but I wish I had got a winch compatible one.
-Air bags and heavy duty springs and shocks on the rear, heavy duty shocks on the front, with the extra battery and bull bar weight maybe needs heavier torsion bars.
Lastly keep in mind that while spares are readily available throughout Aus, after market accessories are few for the Terracan.
Cheers
Dave T

Thanks to all who provided wise counsel on the Terracan. My mate ended up buying a 2006 auto with 110,000kms on the clock, one owner with bull bar & long range tank in Geraldton for $15,000 so he thinks he's Christmas !