New 2.8 Auto Colorado

g'day Brucer
maker mite say it can tow that weight, i reckon it probably would but for how long, i think a big ask of that donk.

G'day brucer
Recently there has been a fair bit of discussion about this type of vehicle and towing ability.
Many push it to the limit because the maker said it can tow it, so they do.
Madness.
Just because it can physically move it along the ground doesn't mean any great margin of safety is there if things go wrong. That includes climbing, braking and dynamic steering control ability.
A large cooling capacity auto transmission cooler would be essential to ensure temps don't damage the transmission and cause undue heat being delivered to the radiator for dissipation.
Fuel economy will most likely be in balance with physics, to move 5 tons along the road will use about the same amount of fuel unless the vehicle is inherently less efficient. Modern CRD engines are usually programmed for light use and aren't anything special when highly loaded/stressed. They do vary though.

To develop the torque figures the manufactures claim, the engine has to use fuel. Some are more efficient than others at this, just because the torque is high on paper doesn't mean the best for your situation. Dmax seem to do well economy wise but aren't as powerfull as many others which have smaller engines.
It's the fuel usage while under that load which matters.

It is worth checking with a loaded tandem to try and replicate the situation. Hard to tell which will come out tops.

Gday
Read post 98793, may not be the same vehicle, but they were towing 3 ton as well.

Maybe worth also checking out the new ford ranger, bit bigger donk with loads more grunt.

I've driven one twice but not towed anything. They drive nice and the motor has been around since about 2006 in Jeep diesel Cherokees and Wranglers apparently but not tuned for the current figures of 470 nm. My son's Cherokee has the motor and it has 400nm on paper. I decided to wait and see how they go. Being an early adopter can be expensive. The gearbox is an unknown at this stage.