The Isuzu D-MAX Review - Is it the Ultimate Workhorse? - video Dailymotion

Men and Motors

Hop in with Jim as he explores the rugged charm of the Isuzu D-Max!  Discover why the Isuzu D-Max is the ultimate blend of power and practicality in this thrilling review!  Share your thoughts in the comments below!  Hop in with Jim as he explores the rugged charm of the Isuzu D-Max!  Discover why the Isuzu D-Max is the ultimate blend of power and practicality in this thrilling review!  Share your thoughts in the comments below!  Our website: http://menandmotors.com/  ----- Social Media -----  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menandmotors/ Instagram: @menandmotorstv Twitter: @menandmotorstv  If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com  © Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023

Transcript

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]

The Isuzu D-MAX Review - Is it the Ultimate Workhorse?

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