Isuzu D-Max LS a double cab tough enough for any job

Stemming from a horrible experience in my youth, this writer has a profound distrust of favourable recommendations.

At the tender age of 19 – an eternity ago – I heard about the most incredible club, restaurant and bar in Johannesburg’s history. Somebody else pays for your admission, plus food and drinks all evening.

They will laugh at all of your weak jokes and compliment you on your dress sense plus appearance. And, after all of that, you are guaranteed to extend the evening in private with at least one of them.

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I was told about this by my sister – she went to the place and everything listed above happened. When I went, things were different.

A clean slate

I had to pay for admission, food and drinks and nobody listened to my brilliant, hilarious commentary about the world in general. And, when I started getting physical, management became nasty and threw me out with a disconcerting amount of violence.

I have never again trusted a good reference, whether it be a place, product or person. I do not fall for generalisations.

Which is why, when presented with the Isuzu D-Max 1.9 TD Double Cab LS manual, I had my doubts. The Citizen Motoring’s online guru and all-round motoring knowledge fountain Charl Bosch told me manual bakkies are a rarity these days. And that the Isuzu name basically guaranteed the test vehicle to be excellent.

So, I decided to judge the new arrival on a clean slate.

From the outside, the Isuzu D-Max looks solid and aggressive. Undeniably pretty are its 18-inch spoked alloy rims in 265/60 R18 rubber.

Inside, the bakkie’s manually adjustable contoured cloth seats will host four adults in comfort and five in a squeeze, with the rear seats able to split and fold down to create plenty of space.

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Plenty of spec

There is a multi-function steering wheel, electric windows all round, central locking, a seven-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Audio capability, Bluetooth, USB ports front and rear, plus a 12V power socket.

Safety-wise there are ABS brakes, traction control, stability control, hill descent control and seven airbags.

The Isuzu D-Max 1.9TD is powered by a 1 898 cc, four-cylinder turbo diesel engine that develops 110 kW at 3 600 rpm and 350 Nm of torque between 1 800 and 2 600 rpm. This is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual box.

All of which sounds fine, but it does come with character flaws. There is a large amount of turbo lag, which makes it difficult to drive the D-Max smoothly. First gear is almost unusable – you pull away and there is no poke at all.

Then, at about 1 600 rpm, the turbo comes on song with a bang, forcing one to immediately select second and repeat the experience.

This makes smooth getaways difficult to achieve, but once on the move, the bakkie will pull like a freight train in third gear. Thus, that became the gear of choice in traffic.

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Isuzu D-Max a solid product

Out on the highway, there were very few circumstances that demanded one to gear down from sixth – the Isuzu D-Max would happily cruise at 120 km/h all day, with 2 200 rpm on the clock.

The vehicle felt planted and steady in corners, and inspired confidence over rough patches, like the 20 787 individually identified potholes in Industria West, where our offices reside.

We made no efforts to drive economically, and reckon an overall fuel consumption figure of 9.3 litres per 100 km over the week of the test is satisfactory.

Generally, this feels like a tough vehicle, well put together, and it should serve as a workhorse in many guises.

At an asking price of R533 900 the Isuzu D-Max 1.9TD comes with a five-year/120 000 km warranty, plus a five-year/90 000 km service plan.