Isuzu D-Max

This month a practical prospect in the form of a double-cab pick-up which blends a chunky playful look with genuine off-road ability and surprising on-road civility. It’s Isuzu’s D-Max, as seen at Cereals 2025

It’s fair to say that if a General Election were to be called in the coming weeks, Labour would not do well among voters in farming communities. In what might prove to be a spectacular act of self-sabotage, the party has piled into farmers in respect of changes to inheritance tax and have struck a free-trade agreement which many fear will flood the UK with cheap, poor-quality imports of food from the US.

They’ve also reclassified as cars double cab pick-up trucks which farmers, estate managers and lifestyle users have come to rely on as a practical and tax-efficient daily driver. 

The logic, so far as the Treasury is concerned, is that with increasingly civilised interiors, drivers are availing themselves of the vehicles as a cheaper option to luxury SUVs, running them as commercial vehicles for tax purposes. 

But whilst it’s true that double-cab pick-ups have lifestyle appeal, with chunky, aggressive styling, it also bears mention that for those who need a genuinely practical vehicle, they’ve become a godsend.

Seek a luxury SUV these days and you’re spoilt for choice, but if you need an open bed for transporting hay bales, machinery or mountain bikes, one that’s covered in a practical hose-down liner – not plush carpet – isolated from the vehicle’s cabin, a pick-up is a far preferable option to a van.

With the vehicle tax loophole now closed, dealers were bracing themselves for sales to wither… certainly there was a clamour to purchase them before April’s changes. 

To everyone’s relief though, sales after the changes have remained stronger than ever. Ford’s Ranger (and its sister car Volkswagen’s Amarok), Mitsubishi’s L200, KGM’s Musso and Toyota’s Hilux are all contenders.

But the most recently updated is Isuzu’s D-Max, and it’s an absolute cracker. The sole model in the company’s UK vehicle lineup is availability in Utility spec with one two-wheel drive version, then 4×4 across the range. 

Utilities are shod in steel wheels and feature easy-to-clean vinyl flooring in the cab but still feature sophisticated features like Apple CarPlay infotainment, air conditioning and adaptive cruise control.

The D-Max’s all-purpose range, meanwhile, runs to the DL20 with its alloy wheels, the DL40 with its heated leather seats, dual-zone climate control and enhanced body styling.

The range-topping version we picked up from Duckworth Motor Group recently, though, was the D-Max V-Cross, Isuzu’s answer to the Wildtrack, the best seller in Ford’s Ranger lineup. There are a couple of specialised ‘arctic versions,’ and a Basecamp a camping pickup conversion, but essentially, the V-Cross is the flagship D-Max.

V-Cross looks conspicuously aggressive, with dark 18” alloys, size steps and branding, as well as bespoke colours like the Sienna Orange which featured on our vehicle.

First impressions are of a vehicle that’s muscular and practical with generous ground clearance, It’s handsome and fun, very tall, with a commanding driving position.

The bed, meanwhile, can accommodate a standard Euro pallet, over 1.5 metres long and 1.5 metres wide. 

You can keep your bed open and specify a load liner (the least you should do) but our vehicle had a Truckman silver aluminium lift-up tonneau cover on gas struts which – though limiting load space to 50cm depth – does grant security to the loadspace and waterproof the area too, as well as ensuring you can still see out of the rear window. There’s also a hard-top canopy available as well as other aftermarket options.

You might expect such a rufty-tufty truck to be uncivilised on road but D-Max’s tarmac manners are a pleasant surprise. With a 1.9 four-cylinder diesel engine, its engine size undercuts rivals, and it works a little harder, but at idle it’s remarkably discreet.

Push the throttle and, especially under harder acceleration, there’s a diesel growl which is a satisfying vocal statement of intent. There’s plenty of torque (360nm) and power (164ps) but it’s a civilised drive that’s settled on the road and all of its driver assistance systems play nicely (the adaptive cruise is a better system than on many luxury cars). All of the driver aids can be turned off easily and the automatic gearbox diligently shuffles through six ratios.

What’s surprising is how easily you come to acquaint yourself with the vehicle’s size. There’s a very good reversing camera with guidance lines, and you’ll soon be parking it into the tightest supermarket spaces with no worries whatsoever. 

The steering, too, is extremely light at manoeuvring speeds, becoming heavier at A-road speeds, and there are respectably low levels of road and wind noise despite the 265mm wide tyres with their 60mm profile.

The interior, too, is pleasingly premium. The leather on the seats feels supple and plastics are of a high grade, slightly tougher on areas likely to get a daily beating. Infotainment is also good with an excellent stereo, easy-to-navigate touchscreen and nicely damped indicator and wiper controls.

By far the biggest surprise though was the ability to achieve over 30mpg around town and 40mpg on A-roads. That’s even more optimistic than the brochure states, and very impressive for a vehicle of D-Max’s size.

So far then, so good. Smart, surprisingly easy to drive and park, practical, comfortable inside, well-built and even economical. But what about its off-road potential? Happily, as a key sponsors of Cereals 2025, held just last month on our farming correspondent Andrew Ward’s farm, there was a chance to find out. 

The off-road course at Cereals was created by Isuzu for the purpose, enabling drivers at the event to see the vehicle’s traction, ground clearance and articulation for themselves, as well as discovering how civilised the vehicle is in the cab. 

Standard fit 4×4 with high and low-range gearing can be activated on the fly, there’s a rear differential lock, hill descent control and trailer sway control. D-Max will tow 3,500kg and carry up to a tonne in the bed. 

It’s easy to see why pick-ups like the D-Max appeal, with a blend of car-like usability and immense load carrying and off-road abilities. Interestingly, tax changes haven’t dampened demand for them – quite the opposite, in fact. And… at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show Isuzu showed off D-Max EV, Europe’s first production electric pick-up, available to order now with first deliveries in February 2026. 

The all-electric D-Max will make Ford’s plug-in hybrid Ranger, with its paltry 26 mile electric range, rather mealy-mouthed. Lincolnshire farmers in a long-term relationship with diesel might need some convincing as to the benefits of an EV pick-up but it’s likely to be quiet, cheap to tax and it’ll offer instant power delivery, building on the strengths of the black-pump D-Max… of which there are already many!

If pick-ups remain popular, then D-Max remains the best of the best. It’s usable, genuinely civilised and offers absolute practicality… it’s the pick-up you really won’t want to put down.

D-Max V-Cross

Price (V-Cross): £38,005 + VAT.
Engine: 1.9 diesel four-cylinder, 164ps power, 360nm torque. Six-speed automatic gearbox, switchable two, four or four low range gears.
Performance: 112mph, 0-60mph 13 secs.
Economy: 31.38mpg (combined).
Equipment: Damped tailgate, 18” dark grey alloy wheel, electric windows, keyless entry, navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, climate control, heated leather seats with electric adjustment.

Our Isuzu D-Max was provided by Duckworth Motor Group of Kirton near Boston 01205 725700, see www.duckworth.co.uk.

See more images in this month’s Lincolnshire Pride at https://www.pridemagazines.co.uk/lincolnshire/view-magazines?magazine=August-2025