WATCH: Isuzu D-Max made first off-road experience easy

If you are looking at getting into off-roading with your 4×4, there are many beginner trails in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria, with Breedtsnek Pass being one of them.

Tucked in the wilderness of Magaliesburg, Breedtsnek Pass is a must for off-road enthusiasts, hikers and bikers.

When The Citizen got the opportunity to test the Isuzu D-Max, we knew that we had to put this 4×4 to the test on an off-road trail, so our news editor Thembela was tasked to drive it up the pass.

Not only was this Thembela’s first time driving a 4×4, it was also her first time doing the whole off-road experience.

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We took an early morning expedition with Thembela and her three friends, where the drive on the open road was smooth.

We used Bluetooth to connect an Apple device to the radio and it automatically asked if we would like to use CarPlay. The connection process was so easy and the GPS worked seamlessly on the screen.

The audio in the rear sounded crystal clear with the surround sound setup in the double cab.

It took just more than an hour to reach the pass and as soon as we got onto the gravel road, we switched the car into all-wheel drive mode.

Though this was Thembela’s first time using the all-wheel drive mode, the Isuzu D-Max suggested which mode to select.

This pass is more of an easy to moderate difficulty, which meant that we could use the 4H mode, which in basic terms means four-wheel drive high speed mode.

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From the onset, Thembela drove the Isuzu with confidence, never getting nervous on the rockier sections of the road.

The Isuzu felt like it did most of the work, taking all the difficulty out of driving an off-road pass and the all-terrain tyres handled the gravel and rock sections with no setbacks.

When they got to the peak of the mountain, the group of friends had a picnic while enjoying the splendid view.

Then they took some pictures for socials because the view on top of Breedtsnek Pass is phenomenal.

After some good food with good friends Thembela made her way back down the pass with ease, by this time she had started building up the confidence.

On some of the more challenging section, we still needed a spotter to make sure the car didn’t get damaged.

This Isuzu D-Max is built tough, and when going over the rocks you could see how the suspension flexed to overcome challenging sections.

In future, Thembela says that she feels confident enough to do this Breedtsnek Pass again, especially if it is in the Isuzu D-Max.

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