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02/03/2011, 01:42
4WD Review By MURRAY HUBBARD
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About the most practical vehicles on the road today are dual cab utes, and the flexibility these vehicles offer to tradies and active families mean that market segment is booming. Isuzu Ute Australia is a one-trick pony in that it only offers utes in it’s short, but impressive, menu: the all purpose D-Max in various guises.
Within the D-Max range 4 X 4 models grab the bulk of sales with 80 per cent and refining that even further the best-seller in that range is the top-of-the-line LS-U, which also happened to be our test vehicle. We admit to having a soft-spot for the D-Max after last year taking one to Poeppels Corner, around 200 kilometres west of Birdsville and deep into the Simpson Desert. It was a flawless performance taking in 4600 km and recording frugal economy of 8.3 litres/100 km, despite being packed to the hilt and around including 400 kilometres of sand driving.
This week was different. No desert treks and no hour-after-hour driving between remote Queensland outback towns. Just suburbia, much like a tradie would experience, with trips to the shopping centre and the usual montage of the activities of modern living. It’s one thing to live with an Isuzu D-Max in the bush, but is it urban-friendly? A lot of buyers think so, going on IUA’s 2010 result which saw 5114 units delivered, up 41 per cent over 2009, IUA’s first year of operation. The economy varied little from the Birdsville trip and the D-Max again did the job with 8.7 litres/100 km.
I have a simple philosophy with test vehicles: Could I live with this car? The D-Max gets the thumbs up. Our test car was the LS-U five-speed manual variant which will set you back $42,500 before on-roads. We also hear Isuzu is about to release a limited-edition special variant based on the LS-U with quite a bit more fruit, but at a minimal increase.
BODY STYLE
The LS-U dual cab is the closest thing Isuzu has to a sports model and has colour-coded bumpers, alloy wheels, chrome rear view mirrors with indicators with our test car also brandishing trendy roof rails. The D-Max is interesting because the rear suspension has underslung leaf springs, meaning the vehicle sits considerably lower than the opposition. This means the vehicle looks sportier, but does not give away ground clearance, and secondly it provides easier access for loading the tray and leaning over the sides. If you are short in stature that means a lot of convenience.
POWERTRAIN/PERFORMANCE
In these days of ever-decreasing engine capacity boosted by turbo chargers, the D-Max is sticking to the tried-and-true adage that there’s no substitute for cubic inches. Just in case there’s not enough grunt for hard-working tradie utes there’s a turbo to fill in the gaps in this under-stressed four cylinder 3.0 litre engine. This is really noticeable around town where the low-rev grunt means fewer gear changes and a smoother ride. Even in second gear the D-Max will pull away smoothly from zero, even on hills. It pulls easily away in third gear from under 1000 rpm. There’s 360 Nm of torque on tap from 1800 rpm so the driver is never far from the sweet spot in any gear. The gear shifter is light and relatively smooth. First is reasonably low and a ‘rolling’ gear and in second, third and fourth the significant torque is excellent for quick acceleration and passing. D-Max is no slouch.
SAFETY
D-Max has most boxes ticked but misses out on side curtain airbags and the all-important Electronic Stability Program with associated traction control. We would like to see these in the next upgrade. What it does have is dual front airbags, ABS brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, the recent addition of pre-tensioned seatbelts with height adjustment on front and rear belts, three-point child seat tether strap anchorages for the rear seat and attached to the rear wall and heavy duty 280mm ventilated front disc brakes.
INTERIOR DESIGN/FUNCTIONALITY
There’s nothing fancy about the cabin, just a highly-functional space that gets the job done with a minimum of fuss. The seats come in hard-wearing cloth, ideal for hot or cold climes. Being the top-of-the-tree model the LS-U has some nice touches with splashes of chrome and leather steering-wheel rim and gear knob. The rear seat folds down in one piece providing a large luggage space when two are travelling and there are no locks on the tonneau cover. The back seat is comfortable and not too upright and provides ample legroom and plenty of headroom.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
On size alone the D-Max - or for that matter any of the dual cab utes - may intimidate some drivers in the urban jungle. Issues include tight car parking spaces in shopping centres etc., and the turning circle. You do get accustomed to it. The D-Max errs on the side of being fairly agricultural compared to the modern SUVs that have car-like driving manners. It is, after all, a truck-based vehicle designed to work for a living with leaf springs rear suspension. So handling is fine as long as you don’t confuse it with a ground-hugging sports car. The 4WD push-button system is simple and easy to use and the D-Max does not lack grunt for the hard stuff, sand-driving or rock-hopping ... or the daily grind of urban commuting.
MODEL RANGE Isuzu Crew Cab Turbo Diesel*
SX Cab Chassis 3.0 L $38,700
SX Crew Cab Ute 3.0 L $38,600 (auto $40,600)
LS-M 3.0 Crew Cab Ute 3.0L $40,800 (auto $42,800)
LS-U 3.0 L Crew Cab Ute $42,500 (auto $44,500)
(*Pricing does not include statutory or dealer charges)
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard with 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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