Finishing off Tartan Tarmac’s recent run of pickup reviews, the Isuzu D-MAX Blade special edition was a pleasant mix of old and new.
The Blade is a special edition, offered as this current D-MAX model is due to be replaced later in 2017. Available in black, red or in this car’s pearlescant white, it is a good looking thing as pickups go. Not too square, not too swoopy- Isuzu got the D-MAX styling right for this model and the Blade special edition features aren’t too bling.
It’s one of the bigger pickups, not so big as the VW, but still far from slender. It is one of the most capable, coming as it does with a 1 tonne payload capacity and a braked towing capacity that is the full 3.5 tonnes. Many of its rivals can only tug 3.1 tonnes along the road.
The engine has been revised recently by Isuzu and the all important torque number is up to a healthy 295 Lb ft, but it only pulls that well between 1400 and 2000 rpm. Coupled with the older 5-speed auto box, you do notice the narrow performance window of the power plant. It is quick enough though. No 0-62 time is given, but I wasn’t struck by a lack of power. I wasn’t shocked by the power available to me either – we’ll leave that to the rather more expensive VW Amarok.
Inside, the old-meets-new theme continues. There is a very capable Pioneer media and navigation unit, but it isn’t well integrated into the design of the car. It does the job, but the mic wire obscuring part of the old fashioned trip computer display on the dash was a bit frustrating. Frustration levels peaked upon discovering that there is no volume control knob. It’s a pet hate of mine. I get it with touch screens, but sometimes you just need your hand to land on a prominent control that functions intuitively.
The seats were comfortable and supportive on a long drive down South, with very powerful heating elements for which I was grateful even if the switches for them had been located underneath the seatbelt strap near the seat hinge.
The car lacked auto-headlights and auto-wipers which added to the old-and-new feeling. I’m often found driving classic cars, so I’m used to going without electric windows, central locking or even the belief that I might survive a crash. However, why the Isuzu specified this Goliath of a car without the optional parking sensors is beyond me. I’m sure the reversing camera works well in the summer when it isn’t covered in salty muck, but this was wintry Scotland and I had to jump out of the cab a couple of times to check rearwards progress when remembering that nothing was going to start beeping at me.
Going back to the wipers, top marks are due to Isuzu for the wash-wipe cycle. How incredibly pleasant, on grimey dirty winter roads, to have a wash-wipe control that pushes out plenty of liquid and doesn’t insist on sending the wipers around that one time too many. Isuzu have obviously decided to trust the driver to decide if that borderline “will it smear or won’t it” final wipe is needed. I’d consider the D-MAX for that alone.
Driving the Isuzu was better than I expected. The gearbox shows its age and the engine is a bit noisy and limited in rev range, but the chassis is still good and you know what the wheels are doing. The front wheels feel firmly located, generating less roll than you might think. Maybe that good sense of contact with the ground came at the expense of economy. On a long motorway run, the D-MAX returned 27mpg for me. I was moving along nicely, but not at any speeds that would see me invited into a courtroom.
Slow manoeuvres with 4WD selected aren’t so good. There’s a lot of grinding and dragging as the poor old diffs express their lack of approval, but it’s fine when you’re back on the move.
In summary, the D-MAX is showing its age, but it’s still a great pickup. I enjoyed it more than the Mitsubishi L200, but I wonder if bigger wheels and different tyres on the L200 would bring me around to its way of thinking. Still, if I could get a good end-of-run deal on the D-MAX I’d give it serious thought. I look forward to trying the 2017 model.
PRICE: ÂŁ27,499 CV (ÂŁ32,942 inc tax)
ENGINE: 2499cc, 4 cylinder, twin turbo diesel
POWER: 163 PS
TORQUE: 400 Nm
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 112 mph, 0-62 mph not stated
CONSUMPTION: 36.2 mpg (offical combined)
CO2: 220 g/km
TT Rating: 
