ISUZU D-MAX

PLAYING LEAPFROG; SAFETY FIRST

- ASH WASTERMAN

AT THE RISK of reading from the Captain Obvious handbook, it’s clear that plenty of 4x4 ute buyers do not work from same priority list as car buyers. If strong fundamentals of the driving experience, and inclusion of the latest multimedia and safety tech were 4x4 prerequisites, then the outgoing Isuzu D-Max would have never achieved the level of sales success it has.

No, it’s clear that to regularly nudge the overall top 10 best sellers in the country, the D-Max had to be appealing to buyers with a different set of must-haves: a reputation for rugged unburstablity, a six-year warranty, affordable servicing schedule, and keen drive-away pricing.

So where does the new third-generation set its sights? We drove the mid-spec LS-U, noting that it leaps ahead of segment rivals in terms of safety, assistance and connectivity, improves enough on the driving fundamentals to claw its way into a more competitive position against them, and retains most of the virtues that were clearly always on its side. The only question will be value, as the price rises are not insignificant.