00:00 Hello folks and welcome to my review of the new Isuzu D-MAX.
00:07 This one's the DL40 4x4 double cab edition.
00:11 They start in manual form at a bit under £33,000.
00:16 This automatic is a bit over £34,000.
00:20 Under here we've got 1.9 diesel engine that gives 164 PS of power, 360 newton metres of
00:27 torque, which is actually slightly less than the outgoing model which had 400 newton metres.
00:32 The towing capacities are very respectable, 3.5 tonnes.
00:36 And we've got a payload of over a tonne in the back here.
00:40 The bed liner they've used here is brilliant by the way, it really feels great.
00:45 Feels like you could do anything to that and it'll survive.
00:49 One thing I will say though is this optional top box has been fitted and I mean we've had
00:54 biblical rain this week, I mean biblical rain.
00:57 And we have had some leaks in here, just small ones but it should be mentioned.
01:02 Obviously that could be a fitment issue, it could be an issue with this particular top
01:05 box, but I thought it worth a mention.
01:08 And this tailgate by the way is really nice and weighty.
01:12 I feel like you could drive another one into that and it would still look exactly the same.
01:17 It's very nice.
01:20 So into the front cabin and it's all rather lovely, surprisingly so actually.
01:25 The fit and finishing here is much better than I would expect in most commercial vehicles
01:30 and certainly a big step up from the outgoing D-MAX.
01:34 You've got soft touch materials up here, a handy little storage cubby there, another one
01:39 on the dash here above the glove box.
01:42 Really feels good, well screwed together, feels like it's going to last forever.
01:46 Now some of the plastics are really hard but they don't feel cheap in any way, they really
01:51 feel robust.
01:52 It feels like you're going to get in this vehicle after a day at work, you're going
01:56 to throw your stuff around a bit and it's going to live to tell the tale.
02:00 It really does have that feel of quality about it.
02:03 And a really big part of that are these gorgeous leather seats.
02:06 They're really comfortable, really nice leather or leatherette material and they've been finished
02:11 off in quite a stylish fashion.
02:13 A level above you would expect in what is essentially a commercial vehicle first and
02:18 foremost.
02:19 Now front and centre on the dashboard we find this dinky little infotainment screen, it's
02:23 just seven inches, although some people are happy with seven inches aren't they.
02:31 So no built in sat nav in this system but it does give you DAB and standard radio, Bluetooth
02:37 audio, USB media connections and get this, not only have you got Android Auto but you've
02:43 got wireless Apple CarPlay.
02:45 To put that in context, we're in an Isuzu pick up truck and we've got wireless Apple
02:50 CarPlay which is something you don't get on a lot of fairly premium cars, including anything
02:55 by Genesis that you might be paying close to six figures for.
03:00 Although the resolution's not amazing on this screen and it's certainly not that big, it's
03:04 more than sufficient when you're using it with Apple CarPlay, no issues with it in practice
03:09 at all, it just feels like a little bit daft to have so much real estate here and have
03:14 about an inch and a half bezel around it when that just could be screened for what must
03:19 be just a couple of shillings more.
03:22 You've got physical controls for volume and to skip tracks and all that kind of good stuff,
03:28 very simple to use, there's just not really much to it.
03:31 We've also got physical controls for the air conditioning and the air conditioning works
03:35 really, really well and we've got the controls here for your two wheel drive and to flip
03:39 that over to the two different options for four wheel drive ratios.
03:44 We've got heated seats in this one, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, it really
03:49 is a very well specced vehicle that competes with a lot of fairly expensive cars.
03:55 The rear cabin again is surprisingly premium in the way it feels, nothing particularly
04:01 flashy going on, all we've got is an electric window control, a couple of vents and one
04:06 USB A, but it's the fit and finish of everything, it all feels very, very solid and very well
04:11 made.
04:12 Huge seat back pocket there, there is a small transmission tunnel, middle seat in the back
04:17 is perfectly adequate for an adult and you're not lacking in shoulder or foot room really
04:22 and we've even got a nice little coat hanger on the back of the passenger seat.
04:26 Your passengers are going to love it in here.
04:27 Unfortunately folks, once you get onto the road, you'll find that some of that refinement,
04:33 some of those extra touches they've made to this car to make it feel a lot more car like
04:38 and a lot less pick up like, sort of go away as soon as you turn the engine on and what
04:44 you have is really quite a gruff diesel engine that feels at times a little bit lacking for
04:51 power especially on steep inclines and I've only had that experience so far with me in
04:56 the car with no load.
04:59 So if this is fully laden with people and cargo, I fully expect this engine might struggle
05:06 a tad.
05:07 Having said that, once you get up to motorway speed, it's perfectly capable, it cruises
05:12 along really nicely, it doesn't leave you massively fatigued or anything, it's just
05:18 a little bit rougher and gruffer than you'd expect in a vehicle with this level of fit
05:23 and finish and it's a shame that engine note is a bit gruff because otherwise it's fairly
05:29 well mannered on the road for a pick up.
05:31 Aside from that, that gets annoying quickly.
05:34 Lots of different safety features in the car which will bing and bong at you as you cruise
05:39 down the road but it's a sign of the times folks, it's not necessarily a slight on this
05:43 particular vehicle.
05:45 As I said, the rest of the road manners in this are actually pretty decent.
05:49 You don't get thrown around half as much as you do in some of the competitors but you
05:54 don't have that nice, smooth, refined engine note that you'll get from something like a
06:00 V6 Ranger for example.
06:02 All in all, it's a really nice thing to drive, it's just that rattly old diesel does get
06:07 a little bit tiresome after a while.
06:09 And you have to think that given the effort they've gone to with the rest of the cabin,
06:13 a little bit more thought and effort around sound deadening and insulation inside the
06:18 cabin wouldn't have gone amiss.
06:21 It feels like this vehicle is probably aimed at taking the tradesman away from having a
06:24 van and a car at home and giving him something that can actually do both things and do them
06:31 both well.
06:32 This absolutely does that.
06:33 You've got a level of equipment and fit and finish in here that is up there with quite
06:39 a lot of family cars.
06:40 It actually exceeds quite a few family cars.
06:43 One thing I will say about this engine is that it returns a pretty decent mpg considering
06:47 the size and weight of this vehicle.
06:48 I've done quite a lot of mixed driving, a couple of longer runs but on A and B roads
06:53 rather than motorways and it's combining out a 36.6 mpg which as I said, considering the
07:01 size and weight of this thing, I don't think is too bad at all.
07:04 Had Isuzu given us a second choice of engine for this vehicle and spent a tiny bit more
07:09 time and effort on the sound insulation, this would have been the one to beat.
07:14 The D-Max is obviously one of the original gangsters in the pick-up world but it's got
07:18 a lot of stiff competition now from Toyota, from VW, from SsangYong and this is nearly
07:25 good enough to stand with the best of them.
07:27 As it is, it's just a strong contender.
07:30 The really standout good points with this are that it's very well equipped.
07:34 It's got a really good level of standard equipment that a lot of passenger cars don't actually
07:40 come close to.
07:41 It's got a really good quality interior.
07:44 As I said, although they've used some hard plastics in there, they feel like they're
07:47 going to last.
07:48 They're really robust.
07:49 It's got five stars from Euro NCAP which is not always a priority for pick-up truck manufacturers
07:55 and obviously it's very capable off-road although I have to say I haven't been able to test
08:01 that out this week.
08:02 The downsides are that engine noise.
08:04 It's just not that refined and the fact that there's only one choice of power plant, that
08:10 1.9 diesel engine which is very agricultural.
08:13 It's not the most powerful thing in the world.
08:15 I really feel they should have had a V6 option here as well.
08:19 But aside from those few minor quibbles, this is a very good, very practical, very capable
08:24 pick-up truck that should definitely be part of the conversation.
08:29 I hope you've liked this video, folks.
08:30 Please give it a thumbs up if you have.
08:32 In fact, give it a thumbs up even if you've disliked it because it helps us out.
08:37 Please subscribe to the channel and please go and watch this video.
08:39 I think you're going to like that one for sure.
08:42 Thanks.
08:43 Bye.
08:44 Bye.
08:45 Bye.
08:46 (music fades)
08:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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