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The What Van? Road Test: Isuzu D-Max (2021)
Date: Friday, January 28, 2022
Powertrain
The four-cylinder in-line diesel achieves its top power output at 3,600rpm. The top torque of 360Nm bites across a 2,000rpm-to-2,500rpm plateau.
The D-Max employs AdBlue housed in a 14l reservoir to help keep its Euro 6D exhaust emissions under control. You will find the reservoir filler point beneath the fuel flap located on the truck’s nearside.
Driving
There is no denying that V-Cross handles well for a 4x4 pick-up. It rides reasonably well too, even when unladen; probably better than most of its rivals.
The automatic box delivers the horses available smoothly and rapidly, which is to its credit, but we would like rather more of them.
While 164hp may be fine for most fleet applications, businesses that run heavily-laden for most of the time or regularly tow a trailer will, we suspect, be looking for more power. Isuzu should seriously consider offering a 200hp or thereabouts diesel as an extra-cost alternative.
Noise is seldom a significant issue, although the engine can occasionally sound harsh under acceleration, and at low speeds. The cab sits on new mounts designed to absorb more noise, vibration and harshness, but we cannot help feeling that additional attention needs to be paid to sound-deadening.
All extended- and double-cab D-Max pick-ups weigh less than 2,040kg un-laden. As a consequence – and unlike some of their rivals – they are subject to car rather than goods vehicle speed limits. The latter are 10mph lower on single and dual carriageways.
Net result? You should be able to achieve better journey times, and still stay legal.
Four-wheel-drive is easy to activate and you can switch to it while the truck is in motion. All you do is twist a knob at the bottom of the dashboard, which additionally allows you to choose either a high- or a low-ratio set of gears depending on the terrain you are proposing to tackle.
Switches to engage the rear diff lock and Hill Descent Control sit next to the gear shift lever. The Electronic Stability Control and fuel-saving Stop and Start systems can be switched off.
The truck’s off-road performance is exemplary.
Steep ascents and descents, heavily-rutted boulder-strewn tracks, deep, clinging mud and rather-deeper-than-you-at-first-thought streams hold no terrors for it. It happily tackles them all, and comes though with flying colours.
A beefed-up ladder chassis plus a steel skid plate and sump guard help minimise the risk of damage.
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