Luxury king cab is a winner in tax battle
Work, rest or play, Isuzu’s D-Max pick-up has plenty to offer, says Alan Anderson
One of the many reasons luxury king-cab pick-ups are increasingly popular in the UK, and not simply for business use is that they are classified as a commercial vehicle for Benefit-In-Kind purposes meaning operators get the best of both worlds.
However, last February the HMRC wantedthisloopholeplugged by insisting that double cabs with payloads of over 1000kg would no longer be classified asLCVsforbutinsteadbetaxed the same as company cars.
Thankfully,afterstrongprotests, another one of the Government’s numerous U-turns now included a swift about face to revert to the original flat tax classification. To cut a long story short, if the plan had gone ahead then potentially an o p erator would have to pay an extra £2516 in tax if used as personal transport. Not only wouldhavehurttheowner,but theUKpick-upmarket–which, despite growing by over a third last year has already seen the likes of Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Fiat and Nissan drop out – would have been thrown into further jeopardy.
It would certainly be a tragedy to lose the D-Max, Pick-Up of the Year 2024 voted by Company
Car & Van magazine – the truck’s third co nsecutive win. Heavily revised in 2019, the most significant change involved thechassiswhichwas made longer, tougher plus an improved rear leaf spring suspension. The latest make over last year was cosmetic; essentially new grille, wheels and trim changes. The modeldesignation‘DL’isn’tdeluxe but rather signifies standard ‘Diff lock’ and this now includes this highly useful option on manual transmission versions.
While the D-Max is now endowed with a new found smoothness, it hasn’t gone soft as a result. Wading depth rankstoaclassleading800mm and remains a class leader for towingcapacitypayloadstakes.
Furthermore, the Isuzu’s kerbweightbeatsmany rivals, enabling it to be driven under normal passenger car speed limits legitimately.
Comparisons with the best selling Ranger are inevitable and the pair are pretty evenly matched; the Isuzu rides better while the Ford posts better performance as well as superior official fuel economy and emission figures. This is one area where the D-Max could do with revising as while its 1.9-litre may be cleaner living than theold2.5-litre,the164bhpunit has its work cut out, despite the healthy 265lbft of torque. What’s more, the six-speed automatic union isn’t an entirely happy one and can get easily caughtditheringtryingtoguess the right ratio when, say, leavingasliproadtojoinanarterial.
The difference between the DL20 and DL40 is cosmetic rather than mechanical and costs an extra £3000. Not that the Isuzu is basic as all benefit from an adjustable steering column, automatic wiper and headlight activation, the latter also coming with high-beam assist. Depending upon model, DL adds alloy wheels, front and rearparkingsensors,powered/ heated door mirrors, carpets, cruise control and Lane Assist. Improved standard safety kit includes autonomous emergency brakes, collision, traffic sign recognition and an intelligent speed limiter. The D-Max alsocomeswithafive-starEuro NCAP rating.
Isuzu offers a broad range which includes a plain twowheel drive two-seater DMax (starting from just under £25,000) as well as extended cab and king cabs. The D-Max notonlyholdsapriceadvantage over the Ford but also boasts a better (five year) warranty and longer servicing intervals.