This pick-up is bristling with charm

THE “lifestyle” vehicle segment is flourishing, thanks to buyers wanting cars which encapsulate the look of a go-anywhere vehicle, with a fair smattering of creature comforts.

The pick-up section of the market isn’t immune to these desires, with cars like the

Ford Ranger Raptor already appealing to those who feel even a jumped-up SUV is too “ordinary”.

Now, Isuzu is getting in on the action with this – the D-Max

XTR. It’s a tougher, more lookat-me version of Isuzu’s rugged pick-up and boasts a variety of beefed-up extras. But is it any good?

To create the XTR, Isuzu takes its rough-and-ready D-Max and adds a whole host of extras. The suspension set-up, for instance, is new and brought to the truck courtesy of off-road specialists Pedders.

The brakes are new to provide better performance, while knobbly Pirelli Scorpion tyres sit on all four corners.

And the exterior has been given a serious amount of extra protection, with bigger bumpers, wider arches and large, mattefinished sidesteps.

There’s also the hard-to-miss decal set which, if you so wish, can be removed.

Our truck also had a hugely powerful light bar fitted on top.

The XTR boasts no power upgrades over the standard D-Max, and that means the rather agricultural 1.9-litre turbocharged diesel under the bonnet produces just 162bhp – and in a truck weighing just over two tonnes that’s not an awful lot.

However, it does kick out a useable 360Nm of torque, meaning it’s got more than enough shove for plugging through tricky conditions.

Drive is sent to the wheels