Isuzu South Africa starts teasing 45th birthday celebratory D-Max

Its most recent model introduction having been that of the X-Rider in March, Isuzu South Africa has commenced teasing a new limited edition variant of the D-Max due out soon.

Watch the teaser clip below

Hinted by a series of cryptic details on its Instagram page, the D-Max 45 celebrates 45 years of the Japanese brand producing vehicles in South Africa at its Gqeberha plant in Eastern Cape owned until 2017 by General Motors and before that, the erstwhile Delta Motor Corporation.

What to expect?

Officially renamed to the globally used D-Max moniker in 2018 after 39 years of using the KB name, the largely blacked-out clip shows the D-Max 45 sporting what appears to be a canopy of sorts alluding to it possibly adopting an off-road focused flavour.

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Along with a special 45 commemorative badge on the tailgate, the biggest surprise involves the newcomer not being based on the flagship V-Cross as often alleged.

Instead, and as evident by the nomenclature, the step-down LSE trim grade will serve as base powered by the venerable 140kW/450Nm 4JJ3-TCX 3.0-litre DDI turbodiesel engine hooked to the six-speed automatic gearbox that serves as sole transmission on double cab variants.

Not top-spec

While set to lose-out on some of the safety and driver assistance systems offered on the V-Cross, opting for the LSE has seemingly been deliberate so as to avoid making the flagship pricier based on the series of expected extras the 45 will feature.

Given the supposed off-road focus, expectations are that the D-Max 45 will be offered solely with four-wheel-drive, which in the case of the LSE, translates to a starting price of R869 500.

As a comparison, the all-paw gripping V-Cross kicks-off at R916 400, which, if it was to serve as base, could have lead to a sticker price of around the R1-million mark and within range of the D-Max AT35 that retails from R1 170 339.

Opting for the LSE will, therefore, result in a lower price tag expected to be around the V-Cross’ base price, but not by much.

Anticipation has started

While very much nothing but speculation at present, expect Isuzu to divulge more details within the next few weeks.

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