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After 13 days at the wheel of an Isuzu D-Max dual cab ute - my longest-ever road test - I have nothing but admiration for this relative newcomer to the Australian 4X4 scene. We covered 4,591 hard, dusty, confidence-inspiring kilometres in the 3.0 litre turbo-diesel, five-speed manual D-Max LS ute.
This was no ordinary road test, nor was it a fuel economy run. We were loaded to the hilt with camping gear, extra water, food, recovery equipment, tools, spares ... everything bar the proverbial stainless steel kitchen sink. The D-Max took us from the Gold Coast out through Roma, Mitchell, Windorah and eventually Birdsville, the hopping off point for the `real' road test: The trek over 'Big Red' and 174 kilometres and 150 sand dunes to Poeppel's Corner. This destination is little more than a stick in the red sand, between two huge salt flats, that denotes the outback corner of Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia.
There are two aspects of the Isuzu D-Max that strike you after a hard day at the wheel. Firstly, the comfort level of the vehicle's seats and suspension are extraordinary. We felt almost as fresh after six or seven hours at the wheel over the gravel roads from the turn-off near Windorah to Birdsville, as we did when we started bright-eyed in the morning. Secondly, in the outback you want to get the best possible economy. With the tray as full as full an ex-prime minster's ego, and the back seat buried under layers of soft luggage, sleeping bags, camera bags, boxes of food behind the seats, we were not exactly traveling light. Yet, as we rolled into Birdsville late in the afternoon we were showing a miserly 7.8 litres/100 kms after the 1700 km trip.
This was reassuring as a couple of days later we would tackle not only Big Red, but the next 149 sand dunes in our east-west crossing of the Simpson Desert National Park on our way to Poeppel's Corner. This was one of the reasons we selected the D-Max. We did not want to carry fuel, so we needed a 4X4 that was frugal in all road conditions. That led us firstly to a diesel-engined vehicle, and secondly to the D-Max. We also liked the heavy-duty under-body protection for the sump, fuel tank and transfer case. If anything the D-Max is a little over-engineered in the mechanical department. The 3.0 litre turbo diesel is a lift out of an Isuzu two-tonne truck. Even hauling our house-on-wheels around for a couple of weeks was nothing compared to the usual work this engine performs as a true work horse. We also like the idea of having a vehicle that comes from a trucking company, in fact the company that sells more medium size trucks in Australia than any other manufacturer. The D-Max is set on a ladder frame with seven cross beams.
While Isuzu is a new name in this light truck market, any Holden Rodeo owner will soon tell that his vehicle is in reality an Isuzu. After a tiff between Isuzu and GM in the US, GM lost the right to use the Rodeo name and the Rodeo is now called the Colorado. What made our trip also interesting is that we traveled in company with a 10 year-old Rodeo/Isuzu single cab ute, powered by a 2.8 litre turbo-diesel.
Owned by our traveling companions, Barry and Julie Harkin, this meticulously maintained Rodeo had 180,000 kilometres on the clock, and did not miss a beat. Perhaps more interesting is the evolution of the Isuzu diesel engines. Our 3.0 litre turbo diesel when sitting on 110 km/h was idling at just 2100 rpm while the Rodeo was working at 3000 rpm. It is easy to see why at the end of our epic, real-world road test we returned an impressive 8.3 litres/100 km, compared to the Rodeo's 10+ litres/100 km.
Much of our black-top travel was done at around 110 km/h using cruise control. On the vast gravel road that starts after you leave Windorah we sat on around 80 -90 km/h for the long haul into Birdsville via the now deserted Beetoota Hotel. Big Red is around a 30 minute drive from Birdsville, but with the huge wet the inland received earlier this year there is now an expansive lake in front of the famous sand dune requiring a 10 km detour. From this point on we were in four wheel drive high-range using first gear over the temporary sand tracks. The D-Max has a simple push button dual range system to go from 2 high, to 4 high and 4 low. You can shift on the fly into 4WD high up to 100 km/h. At no stage did we need 4 low.
The Lake in front of Big Red
Big Red can, at first, be daunting, but the D-Max, with my wife Shelly at the wheel, took it easily in second gear with a run-up started in first gear on the hard stand before the red sand buried the track. By late afternoon we were were about 35 km from Poeppel Corner and set up camp in the desert. The D-Max, with 225mm of clearance, had not bottomed out once and the smaller dunes we were taking in third gear. Our consumption climbed to 8.0 litres/100 km with the soft sand forcing the car to work harder. We would prefer diesel any day out here as this is the type of terrain that rapidly sends petrol gauges south. This is not a place to run out of fuel.
As a result of the rains, Eyre Creek which is not far from Big Red, also has to be crossed with a diversion of 500 metres and six kilometres. The water can be a deep in places on the detour crossing – around 800 mm we guess – and we lost our front number plate on the crossing with the bow-wave almost up to the bonnet's intercooler scoop. The return to trip to Birdsville was interesting with the sand dunes we came down on the way out being steeper and of softer sand than those when driving west. As a result quite a few dunes needed to be taken in first gear with plenty of momentum – a key, along with lower tyre pressure (we used 22 psi) – to successful sand driving.
By the time we returned to Birdsville we had covered almost 400 km but still had almost half a tank of diesel in reserve. Our refill of 37.91 litres cost $1.55 a litre to top up the 76 litre tank. With the weather turning bad to the south and all roads to Innamincka closed we headed north to Bedourie and into the Diamantina Lakes National Park and then on to Winton – about 600 kilometres of dusty gravel roads over two days. The D-Max tray is a good size, long enough for a long handled shovel, and we had it crammed with our heavy-duty tent, annex, tent pegs, chairs, stretchers, table and chair, camp kitchen, first aid kit, as well as 40 litres of emergency water. By now we had covered around 900 hundred kilometres of gravel roads and the bright red sand tracks of the Simpson Desert and one thing had become apparent: the tray is not dust-proof. Generally the hard tonneau-cover keeps out dust along the sides, but under the tailgate and on either side there's a gap which sucks in dust. The cabin however was well sealed and we kept the air conditioner going to pressurise the interior as we sped across the gravel roads leaving a dust storm up to 500 metres long.
From Winton we returned home via Longreach, Blackall, Roma and Toowoomba. The D-Max's grunt at speed became a major factor for passing the road trains on this stretch – prime movers and cattle carriages half as long as the MCG. In fifth gear at more than 100 km/h the D-Max was out, past the road trains and back on the correct side of the road quickly. This is a major issue in the bush.
VERDICT: Anyone in the market for a tough, economical dual cab ute should test drive the D-Max as part of their research. After almost 4500 km at the wheel of a D-Max in almost all road conditions we gave no hesitation in giving it the thumbs up. (NOTE: Steel and alloy bull bars are available for D-Max starting from $1334 fitted)
MODEL RANGE Isuzu Crew Cab Turbo Diesel
SX Cab Chassis 3.0 L $38,700*
SX Ute 3.0 L $38,600
LS-M 3.0 L Ute $40,800
LS-U 3.0 L ute auto $42,500
(*Pricing does not include statutory and dealer charges)
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standardwith EBD
Air Conditioning: Standard
Automatic Transmission: Optional
CD Player: Standard
Central Locking: Standard
Cruise Control: Standard
Dual Front Airbags: Standard
Front Side Airbags: N/A
Stability Control: N/A
Traction Control: N/A
SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE: Diesel
Capacity: 2.999 litres
Configuration: In line 4
Head Design: DOHC 16 valve
Compression Ratio: 17.5:1
Bore/Stroke: 95.4 mm x 104.9 mm
Maximum Power: 120 kW @ 3600 rpm
Maximum Torque: 360 Nm @ 2800 rpm (man) 333 Nm @ 3200 (auto)
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: 2WD/4WD high/ 4WD Low
Manual Transmission: Five speed
Automatic Transmission: Four speed
Final Drive Ratio: 3.727 (man) 4.1 (auto)
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 5030 mm
Wheelbase: 3050 mm
Width: 1800 mm
Height: 1750 mm
Turning Circle: 12.2 metres
Kerb Mass: 1869 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 76 litres
Towing Ability: 3000 kg (kg with braked trailer)
OFF ROAD ANGLES
Entry: 34.6 degrees
Departure: 23.3 degrees
Ramp: 21 degrees
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent hi ride torsion bars, double acting gas shocks.
Rear Suspension: Alloy steel semi elliptic leaf springs
Front Brakes: 280mm Ventilated discs
Rear Brakes: 295 mm Drums
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: N/A seconds
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: Diesel
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 8.4 L/100km
GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 5.5 /10
Air Pollution Rating: 3/10
STANDARD WARRANTY:
3 years/ 100,000 km
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