Isuzu D-Max: This workhorse is a rugged and dependable pickup

The Isuzu D-Max has been a stalwart of the UK pickup scene for decades.

Beloved by farmers and landowners, it’s earned a reputation for dependability and ruggedness.

Several big players have left the pickup market in recent years, and the list of competitors for the D-Max is now quite short.

The Isuzu D-Max at the top of Dundee Law. Image: Jack McKeown

There’s the excellent Ford Ranger, the new VW Amarok, the KGM Musso, and the Toyota Hilux.

Isuzu recently overhauled the D-Max, with new exterior styling, an upgraded cabin, some new colours, and higher levels of standard equipment.

Prices and variants

There are three versions: single cab with two doors and two seats; extended cab with seats that are fine for occasional use; and double cab with four doors and five-seats.

Prices start at around £28,000 for basic versions and the high spec double cab V-Max model I spent a week with cost around £37,000, excluding VAT.

All versions come with a 1.9 litre, 162bhp diesel engine. It’s not fast – 0-62mph takes 13 seconds – but it has plenty of low-down pulling power for hauling heavy loads and scrambling up muddy hillsides.

An orange Isuzu D-Max drives across a shallow river — The D-Max is designed to get out in the wilderness. Image: Isuzu.

There’s the choice of a manual gearbox or the six-speed automatic my model came with. The latest D-Max scored the maximum five stars on the Euro NCAP test, making it one of the safest pickups on the market.

The updated model has better on road manners than its predecessor, but that’s a matter of degree. It still has an engine that sounds agricultural. There’s a lot of engine and tyre noise in the cabin. And the ride is a little bouncy.

You do sit high up and have a great view of the road and you get used to the noise. But if you’re expecting it to feel anywhere near as comfortable as a saloon car you’ll be disappointed.

That said, the top spec V-Cross version I drove had a nice interior and was packed with most of the kit you could want.

What’s it like inside an Isuzu D-Max?

The soft leather seats were comfortable, heated, and electrically adjustable. The 9.0in touchscreen was a bit fiddly but had Apple CarPlay, so I just hooked my phone up to it and didn’t have to bother with Isuzu’s slightly clunky software.

Adaptive cruise control helped make a long journey on the M90 a little easier and a reversing camera made Dundee Lidl’s car park spaces that much easier to get into.

There’s easily enough space for five adults in the double cab D-Max and there are plenty of USB ports, cup holders, and cubby holes for stashing snacks.

The D-Max interior — The updated D-Max has more technology and a nicer interior. Image: Isuzu.

The dashboard, which offers a 9.0in touchscreen with smartphone connectivity. — There’s a 9.0in touchscreen with smartphone connectivity. Image: Jack McKeown

Another bonus is that, because the D-Max weighs less than 2,040kg, it has the same speed limits as a normal car. Pickups that weigh more than that are restricted to 50mph on single carriageways and 60mph on dual carriageways.

Of course, one of the main purposes of the D-Max is to perform well off road. It has high and low range four-wheel drive and a rear differential lock.

Choose the right tyres and it’ll venture as far off the beaten track as virtually any other off roader on the market.

With the exception of a Highland Perthshire farm track, I didn’t get the chance to take my D-Max off road. I put the previous generation through some pretty extreme stuff at an old quarry near Glasgow and in Perthshire, though, and it was very impressive.

Towing and carrying

The D-Max will also tow 3.5 tonnes and can carry one tonne in the load bay, both of which are good figures.

Single cab models have a larger load bay than the double cab I drove, but all versions can carry a standard sized pallet in the back.

Should you buy an Isuzu D-Max? That depends on what you want to use it for.

Yes, you can buy and run the Isuzu D-Max as a lifestyle vehicle. It’ll carry mountain bikes or paddleboards in the load bay just as easily as it’ll take pallets of building materials or lengths of piping.