The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
The Isuzu D-Max put through its paces
Drive a variant like the 4x4 DoubleCab Utah and you may well agree
The Isuzu D-Max offers superior ride quality, a more efficient engine and a much slicker range of products than the Rodeo it has replaced.
Is it good enough to challenge the best pick-ups in its class? Drive a variant like the 4x4 DoubleCab Utah model and you wouldn’t count against it.
The Isuzu D-Max is powered by a highly fuel-efficient 2.5-litre twin-turbo common-rail diesel engine, available with the choice of either six-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmissions.
This advanced Euro5-compliant unit generates 163 PS and peak torque output of 400 Nm at 1,400rpm.
The Isuzu D-Max also introduces a ‘shift-on-the-fly’ system, allowing the driver to adjust between two- and fourwheel drive modes while travelling at speeds of up to 60mph.
The front suspension comprises an independent double wishbone with coil-spring set-up while the rear suspension is made up of over slung leafsprings installed above a special long span rear axle. Isuzu claims this offers better driving comfort.
Like the Rodeo, the D-Max is built on a rugged ladder-framed chassis, but the similarities end there. The i-GRIP (Isuzu Gravity Responsive Intelligent Platform) underpinnings of the D-Max are 42% stiffer than the old Rodeo chassis, helped by better cross bracing at the rear, which offers superior stability under load and when towing
Isuzu offers the D-Max with four specification levels and, for the first time for Isuzu in the UK, with an extended cab body configuration – featuring rearopening side-access panels – joining the single and double cab variants. The entry-level Isuzu D-Max is a single cab 4x2 derivative and above that are the double cab variants.
As well as being the most comprehensively developed, most efficient and most refined Isuzu pick-up to date, the D-Max is also a highly capable load-lugger: it has a three-tonne (braked) towing capacity and a payload capacity of 1,000kg.
Whichever D-Max variant you choose, it’ll come with daytime running lights, air-conditioning, all-round electric windows and a CD stereo.
On the top-of-the-range Utah variant all the niceties are in evidence, as you’d expect on a vehicle demanding a budget of around £22,000. Things like roof bars, rear parking sensors, Bluetooth connectivity for your phone, heated and folding mirrors, climate control and leather upholstery are all present.
There’s a stack of safety gear built in across the range, including stability and traction control, six airbags, a fourchannel anti-lock braking system and electronic brakeforce distribution.
Anti-whiplash head restraints and a pedestrian-friendly front bumper and bonnet also contributed to a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating that is notably good for a pick-up truck.
On to the loading practicalities, which we’ll base around the double cab variant most UK customers will want.
At around 5.3m long, this is certainly a pretty large vehicle, so you won’t be surprised to flip down the sturdy dropdown tailgate (which can only retract to horizontal level because of the chunky bumper) and find a pretty substantial cargo area on offer.
You’ll find a space 1,485mm long, 1,530mm wide and 465mm in depth – easily big enough for a euro pallet which can slide in the 1,110mm-wide space between the wheel arches.
What else? Servicing is every 12,000 miles or 24 months. Insurance is group 9A or 10A, dependent on trims, for the double cab models. On the eco front, the CO2 emissions figure is a respectable 194g/km and there’s a dual exhaust gas recirculation system to cut down on NOx nitrogen oxide emissions.
The efficient common-rail Euro 5-compliant unit can return a classleading 38.2 mpg on the combined fuel economy cycle.
Previous Isuzu pick-up models never really appealed to the lifestyle set. This D-Max could be different. Models like this top Utah 4x4 DoubleCab offer a decent alternative to buyers in this sector already set on spending more than £20,000 on a top Ford Ranger,
It has a three-tonne (braked) towing capacity and a payload capacity of 1,000kg.
Mitsubishi L200, Toyota Hilux or Nissan Navara.
Though this vehicle may not yet be thought on in the same terms as these competitors, it deserves to be.
It won’t have a straight run at them though. Ford’s much improved Ranger will prove a serious impediment to the D-Max improving the old Rodeo’s market share. It’s well worth trying this Isuzu though.