Matt MacConnell issues his final verdict on our Isuzu D-Max pickup long-termer.
Isuzu D-Max Utility Double Cab
P11d: £28,614 CVOTR (excl. VAT) BiK: LCV flat rate £3,960 CO2 emissions: 219g/km Economy: 33.6mpg Test MPG: 39.3mpg
Final report:
Although Scotland had a passably dry autumn this year, there were a few rainy spells that transformed the leaves to a slippery mush, but this was no problem for the D-Max. Similarly, its 1,530mm wide bed came into its own while we emptied our shed of tat and other junk.
We also decided to climb Kinnoull Hill in Perth, so I coated the rear seats with a thick blanket to make our Siberian Husky comfortable – and to protect the D-Max’s interior from dirt and hair.
Naturally, the floor mats became dirty, but with these being rubber, removing them was easy and cleaning took mere seconds with a vacuum and water. Over the 65-mile round trip to Perth, there were zero complaints from my wife or our dog because of the D-Max’s ample interior space.
There are many back roads around our house and the D-Max requires a bit more wheel turning when navigating these. Likewise, its suspension feels firm over an average UK pothole and over the few months spent with the pickup, it returned an average of 37mpg. The short trip computer logged figures as high as 40mpg on longer journeys, which impressed.
I’ll admit, I was feeling a bit blue as I watched the D-Max drive off into the sunset. The Utility guise offers big bang for its buck, although it would be nice to have reversing assistance as I often had to ask my wife to help me back up.
That omission aside, the D-Max never let me down and was always ready for the next challenge. Therefore, if you need a budget pickup, you should consider the D-Max Utility.
Report 3:
After meeting Mr Kendall, who’s filed the first two reports for our Isuzu D-Max Utility, for a spot of lunch in Preston, it was soon time for me to drive the D-Max back up to Scotland. It’s not exactly built for long motorway slogs, but I was surprised at how well it did the job.
In John’s last report, he mentioned it has a low first gear. This caught me off guard while setting off for the first time, but you get used to it and a rapid upshift does soothe the agricultural soundtrack – and helps keep the revs down as previously mentioned.
Setting off, the fuel readout showed 510 miles — the tank being roughly three-quarters full. The 1.9-litre has enough shove to keep up with modern traffic. Likewise, sinking your right foot in sixth gear while doing 60mph on the motorway gets you past slow-moving vehicles without shifting down. The six-speed manual feels clunky, but in the best possible way; it’s exactly how you would want a tough utility pickup to feel.
Its supportive seats kept my back intact on the 205-mile journey back to my home in Scotland. Cruise control, albeit not ACC, made the drive easy and the 2000s-like double DIN Pioneer head unit, complete with blue backlighting, was entertaining. It was a reminder of simpler times and how basic tech is all that’s really needed.
Arriving home, the fuel readout showed 320 miles, a half tank left and an economy readout of 36.3mpg.
Report 2:
We’ve topped 10,000 miles on the Isuzu’s clock. Test mpg has slipped a bit to 40.4mpg, down from 42.4mpg a month ago because I’ve been covering a fair few motorway miles. Even so, 40mpg from a pickup truck with no load cover to improve aerodynamics is impressive. An unladen weight below 2,040kg means that the D-Max can be driven at car speed limits, unusual among its rivals. This doesn’t help fuel consumption either, but does help with journey times.
Apart from motorway running, the D-Max has been put to work with a few loads of garden waste shipped to the local recycling centre. It’s also served as airport transport so it’s certainly earning its keep.
First gear is quite low, a sensible arrangement for a vehicle designed for towing, and I find that a rapid upward shift after pulling away helps to keep revs down and noise with it. It can be a bit tricky reversing without an alarm or camera, just don’t rush.
If there is one thing I would change, it’s the sensitivity of the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), designed to keep you out of trouble. A loud alarm and red flashing light will let you know if the system thinks your closing speed on the vehicle in front is too great. For instance, I was turning at a busy junction angled to my right at more than 120 degrees recently, when a car approaching from the right and turning into the road at speed took the junction quite wide. This was enough to convince ADAS that a collision was imminent and its response was to slam the brakes on just as I was pulling out into a gap in traffic. You can’t put a price on safety, but…
Report 1:
Just over 41,000 pickups were registered in the UK in 2023, up 38.7% on 2022. Many of these will have been company vehicles, either because the user needed the vehicle for their job or because they were taking advantage of the LCV flat rate of Benefit-in-Kind tax imposed on the vehicles, offering lower BiK tax rates than for cars. If that’s your motive, then the Isuzu D-Max is a good choice because its unladen weight of less than 2,040kg (1,985kg in the case of our D-Max) also means that it can be driven at car speed limits rather than LCV speed limits.
Isuzu launched the new-look D-Max range last year, bringing largely cosmetic changes with a new grille. Our base-spec utility model is pitched at business users who are going to use it for work. Additional kit includes Isuzu’s silver pack of side bar, Pioneer screen and a reverse camera, as well as tailgate assist which damps the descent when opened, rubber floor mats, tow bar, 13-pin electrics and an over-rail load bed liner. So far, so good, except that the reversing camera is not connected, probably because the Pioneer audio system does not have a suitable screen.
The D-Max is proving to be a comfortable motorway cruiser, with the engine more subdued than when driving around town. Without a load area cover, luggage space is restricted to what you can carry in the cab, but so far that hasn’t been a problem. Fuel consumption is generally good too with mid-40s mpg on a longer trip and an average of 42.4mpg overall.