Hard-working, hard-wearing pick-up turns to fresh style and equipment to keep fuelling its rising popularity
You will have read about the decline of the UK pick-up truck market and lately about new benefit-in-kind tax rules set to hasten its demise further.Well, it isn’t declining in all quarters. The self-proclaimed 'pick-up professionals' at Isuzu had their most successful year with the Isuzu D-Max in 2024, selling more than 6600 - more even than they managed during the 'lifestyle pick-up' boom of 2015. The Japanese company now expects to be less exposed to the April 2025 exit of people who have been running a pick-up as a way of paying less BIK tax.Most people who run a D-Max, Isuzu claims, do so because they genuinely need its capabilities: to carry 1200kg of bulky stuff around with them, to tow heavy trailers, to access remote places well off the road network. The D-Max also sells on its well-established reliability, we’re told, and is backed up by a five-year/125,00-mile warranty and as many years of roadside breakdown assistance.This isn’t the flashiest-looking flatbed on the market, nor the most powerful or desirable, but, they say, it’s the one that won’t let you down.The Isuzu D-Max range at a glanceBeing Isuzu's sole passenger vehicle offering in the UK, the D-Max range is fairly extensive.The entry-level Utility model comes with a choice or two- and four-wheel drive and can be had as a single-, extended- or double-cab vehicle, from as little as £33,000 including VAT (which many pick-up buyers either don't pay or can can claim back).Stepping up to the DL20 costs around £5000 more and grants you four-wheel drive as standard, with a locking rear differential and low-range transfer gearing, as well as 18in alloy wheels.The DL40 doesn't add any off-road equipment but gets additional luxuries such as LED headlights, push-button ignition and a reversing camera.The V-Cross, meanwhile, which is the primary subject of this review and the model Isuzu uses to target lifestyle pickup buyers, gets a 9.0in infotainment screen, dual-zone climate control and adjustable lumbar support for the driver.You can additionally specify a camping kit complete with a two-man tent, sink, barbecue, awning and foldaway chairs.At the top of the range sits the Arctic Trucks AT35 edition and the Mudmaster V-Cross, the latter of which is new to the fleet and comes with a winch, a light-bar mounted to the roof, a snorkel and all-terrain tyres mounted to 20in alloys.All D-Maxes are powered by a 1.9-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine with 162bhp and 266lb ft. As standard, you get a six-speed manual gearbox but you can specify a six-speed Aisin automatic, said to shift 25% faster than its predecessor. The sales split between the automatic and manual stands at roughly 50:50.
