2022 Isuzu DMax crew-cab - workhorse

[Lanky Car Guy]

Years ago I was a regular here, life changed and cars were a side line. However 2019 I started a new job which involves a good amount of travel and variety of vehicles. Joined them July 2019 and due to one reason or another I only took delivery of my proper vehicle for the next 4years on 1st March 2022. So what is it and what did it look like?

Isuzu DMax crew cab. In base white. Base model. 1900cc diesel/manual and 168bhp.

So, how did we get here to such glorious transport?

2019 July - started a job with a company I'd never heard of, working all over, the exact week my ex-wife and child left our family home. So between then and now I've been through the following vehicles:

06 SAAB 9-3 TiD Vector Sport Saloon - 173k miles This was my long termer, and commuter car from my prior job. Ran it 3days into my new job and the rock hard suspension and low ground clearance, plus it needing some love made it seem less than ideal.

07 Ford Mondeo Titanium X - 2.0tdci - needed wheels quickly, it was £1500. Which at the time was over a grand under market value. 140k miles or something on it, every toy you could think of. I spent 2weeks making it immaculate so it didn't show me up at corporate life. Wish I'd not bothered, within 2days working on quarries etc. it was filthy.

Put 10k miles on it between August 2019 and October 2019. Terminal turbo failure, so I punted it on for a grand. Over the course of it's time with me I'd made £0.02 for every mile it worked, between car allowance and fuel.

2018 Kia Optima Estate 2 Went into company cars, Europcar roulette. Had this October 19 until April 20. Put around 16k on it and my god was it a good car. So comfortable even at 6f6 and 17st. And with the boot packed floor to ceiling with work kit and dog cage.

2018 Toyota Hilux crew cab in base spec One of my team retired, gap until his replacement arrived so December 19 until March 20 I ran this alongside the Kia. Put about 6k on it. Hated it in every way other than the fact that site work was a doddle and I didn't worry about getting it filthy or getting stuck in mud.

68 Ford Transit Connect in base spec and LWB April 2020. We'd sacked a member of staff, this was spare. Company car tax and my company Kia being lathered all the time was starting to wear thin. So I sent the Kia back (filthy inside and out and with EML on due to an ad-blue tantrum). And collected this, all 1.5tdci of fury. Showing 9k miles in two years and rough as ahole's on account of the sacked team member treating it like crap.

The bad points were the bulkhead, no AC, no CC, base model with 105bhp. The plus side was that it was free. With free fuel. Free fixing. Free everything. My god, was this a saving grace. I told fleet that it'd die on the sites we have, but fleet new best: "you're not getting a pickup".

I ran it from 9k to something like 37k miles between April 2020 and February 2021. In that time it averaged 4tyres a month, about 6 undertrays, the front bumper was kicked back into place endless times, the arch liners got so full of mud they fell off.

Due to pandemic/lockdowns/contractors WFH and so on, our workload went through the roof. Constant call-outs, expected to fit 16hr days into 9hrs and so on. Net result was that the Connect took an absolute battering, I spent more time in that than I did my house. Add in a heavy right foot and being headlights deep in water/mud/slurry and it being thrashed to death - amazed it's still going.

NEVER got stuck, even when in landfill cells, quarries, collieries - 2nd gear, TCS & ESP off. Foot to the floor and hang on.

How it looked most of it's life:

|https://thumbsnap.com/LDFjcF8P[/url]

February 2021 fleet eventually gave in: Managers don't need 4x4, just sort yourself one so I did.

DMax number 1 arrived from a local rental co. 2018/168bhp/base spec. 13k miles showing. Immaculate.

Much like the Connect this got worked hard. Pandemic, business chaos, staffing issues - you name it. However come 3rd of August 2021 about 16k miles added to it since February that year and things went a little wrong.....



How it returned to the rental co. After a little visit to a ditch on the A18. Luckily I was doing circa 40mph in a 60 in traffic. So disaster was averted. However fk me... When you're on two wheels nearly on your side and trees etc are coming through the now shattered passenger window, don't you panic?



So that was the end of DMax #1. Service manager at the rental co. had a 3month old DL20 DMax (decent spec) with 3k miles on it. So he was told to give me the keys, and I wound up with that one, enter:

2021 Isuzu DMax DL20 - 1.9td - 168bhp - crew cab - white

Ran this from 4th of August 2021 until 1st of March 2022. Took it from 3k miles to 16k miles. Utterly faultless. Really comfortable, really nice to drive and good.

over 3x DMax so far I've averaged 32mpg combined use which considering they're spend hours on tick-over on site, get hammered down motorways, and spend much of each day in 4hi or 4lo off-road - I think is rather good.

So, the car the thread is actually about....

2022 Isuzu DMax Crew Cab - base white - 1.9td - 168bhp

Lots of people ask "why one of these and not a Hilux?" Well, simple:

• Comfier
• better on fuel
• Driver nicer
• just as well built
• Toyota after sales is hit or miss - whereas Isuzu around here is Motus who did the Connect, and were sound.

Collected from Motus in Derby, 12miles on the clock. As basic as you can wish. Since then it's gained:

• China-bay arm rest. Measured up, blind by, retrofit myself but was a little bit nervous Looks OE if you squint
• Mountain Top cover fitted by a contractor for us
• Bed liner fitted
• Hardtops UK supplied wind deflectors - I hate the look, but being in wet PPE and having the dog in the back means that opening a window while travelling in the rain is often needed.

Pics below taken Wednesday this week - now has 2500miles on the clock and is running in nicely.



Front ^^



^^ mountain top fitted

And finally within 2weeks of getting it, was dragging 800kg+ of bowser in pouring rain



Sorry for the Australian pics, unsure how to rotate on here.

So, reason for the thread? Well aware the DMax isn't always a natural choice, but I love them and I've got this one for 4years unless a better spec'd DL20 comes in next year. In which case one of my guys will get this one and as "gaffer" I'll nab the 20 with the toys and better seats.

I'll update it if anything of significance happens, same with reliability and costs. As it's forecourt fresh - not expecting anything other than servicing and tyres.

Enjoy/flame me - whatever rocks your worlds

[Quattromaster]

Good to hear, I’ve a v-cross coming in late April, to replace my 6 yr old Navara.

Been having second thoughts of late, so good to read real user feedback.

[Lanky Car Guy]

Within our team we run Hilux, Navara and DMax.

I'm on my 3rd DMax since January 2021 and between them have covered just over 30k miles. As per OP they get worked hard, run fully laden, some days engine running for 8-10hours between site and travel.

V-Cross is the plush one right? So you'll get toys and comfy seats. One thing I will say, is beware of automatic braking and lane correction functions - you can alter the settings (while parked).

The lane wandering system can freak out on motorways and decide it wants to plunge you either into an adjacent HGV or the armco if you're not expecting it.

And auto-braking can make lots of noises and slam them on for little or no reason. Once you know what it reacts to you can alter in settings.

One of my lads wrote off a 9m old Navara on Wednesday night, had a corner/verge/ditch/sycamore tree type event - Will say it stood up well to going airborne at NSL speeds and being stopped by a tree.

[surveyor]

Looks good.

As telecom surveyors, various staff run either L200's or Rangers. L200's I think are no longer available, but everyone who has driven the Ranger far prefer it.

Most of ours are tramping motorways with a bit of light off road work, apart from one Ranger in Scotland which works hard for it's money and seems pretty good so far.

I'm now desk(ish)based and don't miss the wind and rain!

[Lanky Car Guy]

L200: yeah, I had two of them in my last job. They're good tbh, just uninspiring engines. Cement mixers. The run out models are really nice things tbh. But yeah they've stopped.

Ranger: good trucks, know a guy that's just got a new one. Sadly not on our fleet list. And they're a bit blingy for what we want. The DMax is more suited to quarries etc.

I'd take any of them over a Hilux tbh. Really can't get on with them.

[Lanky Car Guy]

And yes, being outside all day every day for 3years has been.. interesting

[Lanky Car Guy]

little update

Now 6 weeks in. Dome nearly 4000miles and 130hr behind the wheel. Averaged 33mpg.

Zero issues. Offroad daily. Washed daily.

Only annoyance so far has been mud and st building up on the back of the steelies, making them wobble as if unbalanced.

Moves 1500-2000kg stuff around site fine

[renmure]

I'm in.

I just got my 2015 DMax Blade a week ago. I was looking to move my modified Wangler on after 3 years and fancied something like a pick-up of some description but was pretty open minded about what. I actually went to see a 2021 Navara at a really local Dealer without appreciating it was totally base spec and found myself attracted to the Isuzu parked next to it. It's had an easy life, one private local owner, used as a "lifestyle" vehicle with a comprehensive service history.

To be fair, it's a 7th vehicle in a 2 person household here so its easy life is going to continue for a while longer. So far I've got to say I really like it. I'm getting 33mpg and it has a leisurely manner on the road that suits gently wafting along. Only issue to date has been the realisation that I've got to think a bit more about how much sticks out the back when I park it in a standard supermarket space. I fancy fitting the "fender extender" kit to give it a bit more of the chunky look the Wrangler had.

[Lanky Car Guy]

That's lovely, the blade has toys and lifestyle bits doesn't it? I'd rip all that off at work by accident.

That the 1.9tdi or the 2.5? I can't recall when the 1.9s became defacto.

I'm 6ft6 and find them the comfiest J-truck.


And yes, the arse end does stick out a bit in car parks. Nipped to Lidl on my way between sites the other day, back end was a good 3ft+ out the space.

[renmure]

Yeah, I think the Blade is the posers edition. Thankfully that includes having a decent reversing camera

My first trip was to the local ChipsAway franchise to get rid of the smallest little chip at the bottom of the rear door that even the paint guy struggled to see till I pointed it out. Sad but true. He only charged me £30 tho and I went away happy

It's the 2.5 twin turbo engine. Instinctively I can't get my head around something so big having a 1.9 litre engine but that's probably me just being a bit of a ludite. My little Wrangler Sport was a 2 door soft top lightweight toy with a 4 litre straight 6 engine and whilst it was as slow as a slow thing at least it burbled away loudly like it could have gone faster.

[Lanky Car Guy]

Ha, I've got no parking sensors or camera. Just mirrors. Last one had sensors.

The 1.9s go alright, 168bhp. Quite throaty noise. They'll sit at 100 all day long if you wanted. Decent off road. Tow ok. No doubt if you're pulling 3500kg all day, might want some more poke. They only way 1950kg empty anyway. Happily keep up with 2018 Hilux 2.5td.

Yours immaculate then? Can't say mine are/have been

[renmure]

It's probably not immaculate but It's probably as close to it as a 50k mile 7 year old pick-up has any right to be. I doubt the rear seats have been used. I'm probably as far away from "workhorse" owner than you can be However, so far, so good.

The main reason for getting it was that I've got some cars I fancied taking to a few shows and all the big ones are down south so, thinking out of the box, I bought a covered Race Shuttle trailer then realised I'd nothing to tow it with as the limits on the little Wrangler were too low. So... get a pick-up was the answer.

10 days later, some local towing practice with a mate and a couple of hours proper instruction with a proper instructor and.... I don't think towing is for me so the trailer will be off to a new home soon but I'll keep the DMax. Might even buy a Hi-Vis vest

[Lanky Car Guy]

That's some man maths right there eh? Towing doesn't bother me. Never had instructions, but done a fair bit through work. Sink or swim.

Small/heavy is hardest, as they are hell to reverse.

[Alfahorn]

I live in rural Leicestershire and there’s a small family run Isuzu dealer in the next village who’ve had the franchise for about 30 years or so. They’ve made a small fortune out of the farming community round here over the years. The D-Max, and the Rodeo before it, just go on and on and on.

[Lanky Car Guy]

Good to hear. I'd never tried one until the silver rental, of which I had no choice. My god they're good compared to a Hilux or L200, especially of you work them.

[FoxtrotOscar1]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dmax+...

Thai's love them

[idealstandard]

Great thread and good write up.

I like the DMAX, my neighbour has a twin turbo one in Green looks lovely. I also follow the 4x4 247 guys on Youtube and Graham's got a DMAX which can handle the tough stuff just as well as any of the others. Their adventure videos are well worth a watch.

[ZiggyNiva]

Watching this thread with interest. I almost got a Dmax but ended up with the wrangler instead. I'm still very tempted to get one as my next vehicle. The fact you can lift the back seats so my dog can go in the back is a massive selling point over other pickups. I just wish they did a 3 +3 like they do the F150.

[Lanky Car Guy]

DMax #4 arrived today;



Rental, likely be with us a year. 2018/4k miles/base spec. One of my lads wrote off a Navara two week ago, needs something that will back site and all his kit/gear. Forecourt fresh transit connect that fleet sent, wasn't cutting it. So I made some calls, got a bking for avoiding fleet and procurement process and saved the company money.

Mines still soldering on at 33mpg.

I love em, so much better tha. Hilux.

If I was more motorway and less site, I'd spec it up or go ranger.

[Bobberoo]

Nice to see some love for something more proper workhorse!!