This seems all to common ...... people trying to make Hiluxes something they are not. Hiluxes are a great light 4WD. That is what they, are that is where their strength is ........ try to make them something they are not and it will get expensive and disapointing. Remember the maximum braked towing capacity of a pre 05 hilux is 1800Kg ........ I would not be trying to tow 1800Kg long distances at high speed and expecting it to be all good. SOOOOO many people are trying to push the boundries on towing capacity .......... this is possibly the single most dangerous issue with caravans on our roads. If you look at towing capacity in simplistic terms ....... you may well find you are overloaded and illegal ..... you must consider ball weights ..... the payload reduction due to the ball weight AND the axle loadings on the tow vehicle. As for the engine power ........ If you are comming to diesel from owning petrol engined vehicles .... you need to change your expectations and you need to learn to drive a diesel. Remember thet the 2.7 litre petrol motor makes considerably more power than even the turbo diesel motor in the pre 05 hiluxes. Get it thru your head that a diesel hilux, particularly pre 05, turbo or no turbo will never be fast ......... but they are an excelent towing engine and 4wd engine. Remember too that diesel engines get slugish if they are babied and driven around town at low rpm and low loads ...... they need to be loaded and driven hard from time to time. You Must use a good diesel spec oil ...... forget all the fancy brands and stay away from thick oils ..... you need a 15w40 diesel oil, preferably a JASO DH1 rated oil ....... in this catagory the top oils on the market come from three of the major oil companies .... Caltex Dello, Shell Rimular, or Mobil Devlac ........ it realy does not matter which and if ya paying more than $150 for a 20 litre ya not shopping well. Change ya oil every 5000 ......... yes every 5000. you can try all sorts of things to ring a bit more power out of a 3 litre pre-common rail diesel ... and you might get a little ........ but it is what it is .... get used to it. cheers