A Posi+ive Influence

Australia’s love affair with the Japanese brand’s tough workhorse remains strong.

- Justin Walker

THE ISUZU D-MAX has been a runaway sales success for the Japanese company since its 2008 launch in Australia. It has steadily climbed up the local 4x4 ute sales ladder to an impressive sixth position in 2016, finishing ahead of Mazda’s BT-50 and Volkswagen’s Amarok. The D-MAX was only just pipped for fifth position by Nissan’s former sales king, the Navara, with less than 400 sales separating the two. That’s an even more impressive result when you compare the respective model range of these two vehicles.

With this type of result, combined with the impressive sales performance of the MU-X 4x4 wagon since its late 2013 debut, you’d think Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA) would be happy to rest on its laurels and retain the status quo. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the company’s determination to grow sales further was more than evident at the recent launch of the 2017 D-MAX and MU-X (officially called the MY16.5 variant, as it receives the new engine but not the exterior styling/design tweaks the MY17 D-MAX does).

The biggest news from the launch is the all-new, Euro-5-compliant, 3.0-litre common-rail turbo-diesel powerplant, developed exclusively for Isuzu’s Australian market. The engine – official moniker: 4JJ1-TC Hi-Power – carries over the 130kW output from the previous-gen and significantly ups torque. The newbie’s 430Nm at 2000-2200rpm is not only 50Nm higher than previous, but is now available across a far wider rev-range, with 380Nm on tap from 1700-3500rpm – a big improvement on the previous gen’s 1800-2800rpm. Backing this increased grunt is a new six-speed manual (Isuzu’s own MVL-6N) and smooth Aisin six-speed automatic gearbox, along with a toughened rear diff to cope with the extra punch.

UNDER THE BONNET