Road Test Review: Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain

Thursday, 7 January 2021

Isuzu has launched its all-new D-Max ute in New Zealand. We head high up to the Canterbury back country to put it through its paces.

ISUZU D-MAX X-TERRAIN
Base price: $75,490
Powertrain and economy: 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder, 140kW/450Nm, 6-speed automatic, 4WD, combined economy 8.0L/100km, CO2 208g/km (source: RightCar).

The Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain is a good-looking thing. Depending on your opinion of blinged-up utes, that is.

Vital statistics: 5265mm long, 1870mm wide, 1790mm high, 3125mm wheelbase, 18-inch alloy wheels (test vehicle had optional 20-inch alloys and AT tyres fitted).
We like: A brilliant basic package, even more capable off-road and better on it, looks pretty good for a show-pony, excellent levels of standard kit.

The X-Terrain gets LED lights all round, including what are probably the best looking taillights on a ute today. We think so anyway.

We don't like: Expensive for what it offers, not a fan of the ‘sports bar’, big wheels and chunky tyres ruin the on-road ride.

After years of being the basis for the Holden Colorado and positioning it as a cheaper option than the Aussie-badged alternative, Isuzu has pushed the D-Max upmarket with its new version that now shares its underpinnings with the Mazda BT-50. But have they tried to go a bit too far up with the top spec $75k X-Terrain?

The 3.0-litre turbo diesel four carries over, but has been improved in every way.

Breaking the $70k barrier isn’t that unusual for a top-spec ute these days though, is it?

Not particularly, but it is put into sharper perspective when you realise that the X-Terrain is actually two grand more expensive than the top-spec bi-turbo Wildtrak version of what has been the country’s single most popular vehicle for a fair while now: the Ford Ranger.

Plenty of red X’s on display, just to remind people you bought the X-Terrain.

**READ MORE:

* First drive review: Isuzu D-Max

These ruin the X-Terrain's ride. Don’t do this.

* Top Ute: Toyota Hilux

* Mazda comes out swinging with BT-50 ute pricing

A hard tonneau and a sports bar complete the look up the back. We’re not entirely convinced by the sports bar though...

* Ford's fightback - Ranger holds off Hilux in November sales

The interior is more restrained, but light years ahead of the old D-Max’s interior in terms of quality.

And that’s not even thinking about the vehicle that recently got our Top Ute pick for 2020 over the D-Max partly because of its remarkably sharp pricing, the heavily refreshed Toyota Hilux – a top-spec Hilux SR5 Cruiser 4WD double cab crushes both the D-Max and the Ranger with an RRP of $58,990.

Okay, to be fair, there is a large degree of wiggle room for negotiations in the Ford and Isuzu pricing, while the Toyota’s is what it is, but still, that’s a hell of a gap to negotiate down. I guess opening with “I can buy a Hilux for…” is a strong start though.

Worth it if you want the bling? It’s hard to justify in the face of the competition...

More bothersome for Isuzu, however, is the pricing of the mechanically-identical Mazda BT-50, while lacking an absolute range-topper-with-the-lot like the X-Terrain, is more competitively priced across its entire range, while its current top-spec model – the $60,990 Limited – goes a more luxury route, packing pretty much the same specs as the X-Terrain, but eschewing the exterior bling.

But what’s it actually like to drive?

Well, that is the $75k question after all, isn’t it. I mean if it feels like it is worth $75k on the road, then the price is justified, right?

Make no mistake – the new D-Max is a thoroughly excellent ute. The massive jump in quality, capability and equipment over the previous model well and truly justifies the price jump and perfectly positions the D-max to take over Colorado sales now that Holden has left the building.

In fact, it is far better thing than the Colorado ever was and currently dukes it out with the Toyota Hilux for the title of the best ute on sale in New Zealand today.

The interior is impressively high quality and – more importantly in a ute – comfortable and logically laid out. The engine is equally impressive with a strong response and lashings of lovely torque, while the six-speed auto is a nice shifter that is well-matched to the engine.

The engine carries over from the previous model, but is far more refined than the older iteration, while also packing more power and torque.

Where things fall apart for this particular X-Terrain, however, is with the optional 20-inch alloy wheels and AT (all-terrain) tyres that completely ruin the on-road experience.

The standard X-Terrain comes with 18-inch alloys and HT (highway) tyres and would no-doubt ride and steer the same as the LS double cab on the same size wheels and tyre type that we had previously sampled before its launch, but the chunky all-terrains and jump to 20-inch wheels not only lumbers the X-Terrain with a harsh, unpleasant ride at open road speeds, it also wanders considerably leaving the driver constantly chasing it with small corrections.

To make matters worse, the D-Max’s driver assists are irritatingly intrusive, something magnified by the X-Terrain with the AT’s wandering tendencies, with the annoying and over-insistent land-keep assist and lane departure warning constantly harassing you. To make matters worse, they can only be turned off by going into a menu when stationary, and default back to on every time you turn the D-Max off…

So forget the awful wheels and tyres, is it actually worth the money?

Yes? Although that depends on your desire for bling. Which, let’s face it, is pretty strong in the subset of top-spec ute buyers.

The X-Terrain adds lots of exterior bling in the form of the gloss dark grey grille and wheel arches, side steps, roof rails, LED headlights and taillights and a sports bar and hard tonneau out the back, with the occasional “X” badge for good measure.

And it does have to be said that as far as blinged-up utes go (and that is a big polariser) this is a good-looking one.

Things are less blingy inside, with some comfortable and surprisingly supportive leather-accented seats and a leather steering wheel being the major differences.

Still, with a full safety suite of driver assists (even the annoying ones), a slick 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system (even if it does have a 2000’s Palm Pilot vibe in terms of on-screen displays), dual zone climate control and rain sensing wipers among its standard equipment, it is a very well-equipped thing.

I repeat: is it actually worth $75k?

Well… not really. Given you get most of the standard equipment on the $10k cheaper LS as well and just do without the exterior bling, the X-Terrain's price is harder to justify. Unless you do have that deep desire for bling though.

Admittedly the dark grille looks WAY better than the chrome one on the LS, but for the $10k you save you could easily do that and more. Just don’t ruin it with massive wheels…

Any other cars I should consider?

There’s no shortage of competitors in the ute segment, but based on its pricing, positioning and impressive abilities, there are really only three main competitors that I may have mentioned – the Ford Ranger, the Mazda BT-50 and, of course, the Toyota Hilux.