Workhorse tries to appeal to the lifestyle market with an abundance of equipment and a hardcore off-road edition
The Isuzu D-Max is tasked with spearheading its brand’s push into the “lifestyle” market; that well-trodden but eminently profitable niche that gave birth to cars as varied as the Land Rover Defender, Ineos Grenadier, Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger.But what makes Isuzu’s sole passenger vehicle offering different is that it undercuts all of its closest rivals on price. It is cheaper than the Hilux, the Ranger, the Volkswagen Amarok, and even the KGM Musso. In short, there isn’t a cheaper way to get yourself into a large, rugged pick-up truck with a diesel engine.Isuzu realised that it’s not enough to simply make your agricultural workhorse, well, an agricultural workhorse. You need to give it luxuries like snazzy 18in alloys, an eight-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as adaptive cruise control interspersed with off-road goodies such as a snorkel, a winch and chunky, all-terrain tyres.But in gaining all of this additional technology and componentry are you now distracted from the fact it is no longer a cost-effective fleet-friendly tool? Or does it manage to blend true value-for-money, rough-and-ready charm with a modern feel that puts it as much as home towing your boat as parked next to it?The Isuzu D-Max range at a glanceBeing Isuzu’s sole passenger vehicle offering, the D-Max’s range is fairly extensive but far from exhaustive. The entry-level Utility model gets interchangeable two- and four-wheel drive, a low-range gearbox, automatic headlights, 16in steel wheels (or 18s for the double-cab version), cruise control, hill descent control, air conditioning and bluetooth.Stepping up to the DL20 car costs around £5000 more and grants you a locking rear differential, 18in alloys, a 4.2in infotainment display, and servo-assisted power steering. The DL40 doesn’t add any off-road equipment but gets additional luxuries such as LED headlights, a 7in touchscreen with smartphone mirroring, push-button ignition, and a reversing camera.The V-Cross, meanwhile, which is the primary subject of this review and the car Isuzu is using to target Defender and Grenadier buyers, gets a larger 9in infotainment screen, dual-zone climate control as well as lumbar support for the driver. You can additionally specify a camping kit complete with a two-man tent, sink, barbecue, awning and foldaway chairs.At the top of the range sits the Arctic Trucks AT35 edition and the Mudmaster V-Cross, the latter of which is new to the fleet and comes with a winch, a light-bar mounted to the roof, a snorkel, all-terrain tyres mounted to 20in alloys, but underneath it is the same as the regular car.All cars are powered by a 1.9-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine with 162bhp and 266lb ft. As standard, you get a six-speed manual gearbox but you can specify a six-speed Aisin automatic, said to shift 25% faster than its predecessor. In 2023, the sales split between the automatic and manual almost stood at 50:50.
