How much can I tow and carry with the 2020 Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain?
How much can you safely tow and carry with the new Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain dual-cab 4×4?
Question: I am thinking of buying the new Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain and use it to drive around with my partner and tow an approximately 2000kg caravan. There will be about 500kg of extra equipment in the caravan and maybe 250kg in the D-Max. Will this be ok to tow and how much gear can we carry in the car?
Answer: All this is explained in our All You Need to Know About Towing article, but using the Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain as an example (all weights in kg):
2020 Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain 4×4 | |
| Tare | 2130 |
| You | 75 |
| Passenger | 75 |
| Cargo | 250 |
| Total weight of the vehicle | 2530 |
Caravan | |
| Caravan tare weight | 2000 |
| Additional gear | 500 |
| Estimated total trailer weight | 2500 |
| Required towball mass | 250 |
Car spec | |
| GCM | 5950 |
| GVM | 3100 |
| Max tow weight (braked) | 3500 |
| Max towball mass | 350 |
To explain:
The Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain weighs 2130kg. With you and a passenger in it plus 250kg of gear, that’s 2530kg.
The caravan and its gear come in with a total weight of 2500kg.
The gross combined mass (GCM) of the two is 5030kg, a healthy 920kg less than the maximum 5950kg GCM for the Isuzu.
Next, we need to look at the max tow weight. For the new Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain, that’s 3500kg (braked). Again, we’re within limits at 2500kg for your loaded trailer.
So we have a factory 5950kg GCM and a 2500kg trailer. To find the maximum you can carry in the Isuzu D-Max, we take 2500kg away from the GCM of 5950kg, leaving 3450kg. The weight of the D-Max X-Terrain with you, a passenger, and 250kg of gear is 2530kg. So there’s an additional 920kg payload left for gear.…
However, the gross vehicle mass (GVM) is 3100kg, so you can’t have 3450kg, that’s 350kg too much. That leaves 570kg for payload. Except we need to think about the towball mass…
The towball mass is tricky. That doesn’t count as part of the GCM as the towball mass is already accounted for as part of the trailer. However, the towball mass does count towards the towcar’s GVM. So, if we add 250kg to the towcar’s mass we get 3100kg+250kg = 3350kg. This is obviously more than the 3100kg GVM ( 250kg more).
This means you must take 250kg from that 570kg payload. That leaves 320kg, or approximately 70kg more than the planned 250kg planned.
To recap:
You can safely tow 2500kg with the Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain, and with a driver and passenger who both weigh 75kg, you still have a total 320kg of payload left in the D-Max to load up gear… or people and gear.
However, all the above are approximate and you need to double-check all figures once you’ve decided exactly what towcar and trailer you’ll get, and determine precisely your extra load. This answer is just a guide.
Check out our 2020 Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain review.
Find more on our Facebook page & Subscribe to our weekly newsletter (it’s free).
Driver and Passenger weighing in at 75kgs each, in your dreams, maybe when I first met her but why is life so unkind.