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Top Gear
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Buy Isuzu D-Max Price, PPC or HP
Buying What should I be paying? Prices start from just over £27,000, but with the Arctic Trucks variant an official part of the range and available through Isuzu dealers, the D-Max now tops out at over £50,000. Yikes. Although then you realise the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster starts at £66,240. The model range is structured into three segments: Business, All-Purpose and Adventure. Within Business you'll find the Utility trim, offered in a choice of 4x2 or 4x4 and in three different cab types: single, extended and double cab. Features include vinyl flooring and cool-as-ever steel wheels, plus hard-wearing black bumpers, door mirrors and door handles. The workhorse, in other words. Post 2023 facelift you do now get a touchscreen infotainment system in there though, plus a reversing camera, a 'rough terrain mode' on four-wheel drive versions and upgraded driver assist systems. Prices start at £27,505. Advertisement - Page continues below The All-Purpose range previously consisted of just the DL20 and DL40 versions, with 'DL' signifying that the rear diff-lock comes as standard, and the '20' and '40' demonstrating the model hierarchy. Now though, the V-Cross has also shifted into here, with 'Adventure' presumably being saved for the AT35. The DL20 starts at £33,005 and can be had in extended cab or double cab forms, with the former featuring fold down seats that can either accommodate passengers or offer additional indoor storage. The double cab adds proper rear seats with ISOFIX points, but gets a smaller load bed as a result. The DL20 trim adds 18in alloy wheels, body-coloured front and rear bumpers, heated front seats, slightly more fancy cloth trim and a couple of extra speakers. The £36,505 DL40 is double cab only and gets LED lights, a chrome grille, silver side steps and two-tone wheels. Because two tones are better than one, apparently. You also get keyless entry, leather upholstery, and USB-C ports in the front and rear. As previously mentioned, the best seller is apparently the V-Cross, which gets dark grey 18in alloy wheels and the same colour trim on the grille, mirrors and door handles. There's also that larger infotainment screen, even more speakers to improve the audio experience (or to drown out the engine noise) and a choice of eight different exterior colours. Prices start at £38,005. Advertisement - Page continues below The Arctic Trucks AT35 kicks off at £52,505 and is a pretty specialist bit of kit. With its fancy Bilstein suspension it gets a 35-degree approach angle, 34-degree breakover angle and 22-degree ramp angle. There are also huge all terrain tyres, with guides for the correct pressures built into the massive wheelarches. Very cool. Which should you choose? Depends what you're planning on using it for. Commercial buyers needn't look further than the rough-and-ready Utility trim, which will be more than a match for everyday working life. Families? If your budget can stretch that far you'll appreciate the extra luxuries offered in the V-Cross, that is if you're considering a pickup to replace that aging small crossover. Looking to climb a mountain or reach the North Pole? You'll be wanting the Arctic Trucks treatment. It's probably also worth noting here that the D-Max secured an impressive five-star Euro NCAP rating. That's thanks to the standard active safety systems like lane departure warning and prevention, traffic sign recognition and an intelligent speed limiter. There's also an Autonomous Emergency Braking system that Isuzu helpfully demonstrated to us with the help of a polystyrene cut out. All of this helps sell the D-Max to fleet buyers, who should save on insurance claims with fewer accidents. Break something in the rough stuff and you'll be covered by Isuzu's 125,000 mile/five-year warranty.
Top Gear
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Isuzu D-Max Driving, Engines & Performance
So, the four-cylinder diesel clatters away like it's from a 25-year-old Transit, but it does provide a useful 162bhp and 266lb ft of low-down torque no matter what trim level you go for. That's good for a 0-62mph time of 12.7 seconds (or 13.0 seconds if you've gone for a fancier trim, double cab and an auto box), and on to a top speed of 112mph. Not bad. The old D-Max was fairly workmanlike to drive on the road, and the current third gen isn't actually that much different. But then it needs to be to excel in other areas. Despite that commercial vehicle feel, the D-Max can actually be driven at passenger car speed limits in the UK thanks to its sub-2,040kg kerb weight. Something that 200-300kg heavier rivals can't match. Tell me more about drivetrain options. Right you are. If you want to go really basic there's a two-wheel drive single cab 'Utility' spec. One up from that is still Utility but adds Isuzu's shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive setup and a rear diff lock. These white or silver workhorses can only be combined with a manual gearbox. The first few gears are short so you'll be working the 'box fairly hard, and there's little feel to the brakes or steering. Still, there's certainly some joy to be found in a proper boggo spec truck. Anything up from Utility is four-wheel drive with the locking rear diff and available with a six-speed manual or the aforementioned auto gearbox. And yep, even the burly AT35 just gets the standard diesel four-pot engine. All D-Max models are mightily impressive off-road, though, whatever spec you choose. Worth noting that the wading depth was also improved to 800mm for this generation. So how does it handle on the road? We'll focus on the best-selling V-Cross trim in double cab form with the auto gearbox here, because that's the one you're most likely to buy if you rarely venture from the tarmac. It's certainly not as refined as a Ford Ranger or even the bulletproof (figuratively speaking) Toyota Hilux, with its rough 'n ready diesel chuntering away and plenty of road and wind noise making its way into the cabin. The power steering is supposedly speed sensitive too but we found it a little heavy in town at times and it's sometimes reluctant to self-centre. The auto gearbox is fairly smooth if you leave it to do its thing, although changes are still a bit glacial in manual mode. The suspension was also new for this third gen D-Max, but while the leaf spring setup at the rear helps for a minimum payload of 1,090kg, it also means it's a little firm and bouncy on rutted roads.
Top Gear
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Isuzu D-Max Review 2025
You may not have noticed, but the Isuzu D-Max was facelifted in mid-2023 with a new front grille, new wheel designs and some fresh interior fabrics. Yeah, it wasn't the most comprehensive overhaul. But as the saying goes, if it ain't broke… The self-proclaimed 'pick-up professionals' only offer a single model here in the UK these days, but when this third-gen D-Max arrived on UK shores in 2021, Isuzu told TG that it planned to go more 'lifestyle'. At that point in time, Mitsubishi had just pulled out of the UK altogether, Volkswagen had discontinued the previous generation Amarok and Mercedes had stopped X-Class production. Advertisement - Page continues below The Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger remained a constant on our shores, and now in 2025 there are new rivals like the Ranger-based Amarok, the KGM Musso and the pricey Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster. And yet, 2024 was Isuzu's best year for sales to date, with over 6,500 examples of the D-Max shifted to UK buyers. However, with recent changes (6 April 2025) meaning that double cab pickups are now treated as cars rather than commercial vehicles for Benefit-in-Kind tax, it's tricky to know how the once burgeoning truck market in the UK will be affected. Has the D-Max fully stepped away from its workaday image? Not quite. Isuzu has taken a leap towards 'lifestyle', but because it only has the D-Max to focus on it's still able to offer the classic 'Utility' spec complete with steel wheels, black plastic bumpers and halogen headlights. There's more detail over on the buying tab, but prices for that start at £27,505. As you walk up the range the D-Max strays further into posh pickup territory, although the top spec £52k+ AT35 version is actually a badass, widebody adventure truck built by the folk over at Arctic Trucks. Presumably that's for the people who consider climbing a mountain before breakfast a 'lifestyle' activity. Advertisement - Page continues below You can read more about our thoughts on that gargantuan by clicking these words, but just know that it's treated to a 50mm suspension lift and 35in BFGoodrich All Terrain tyres. Yeah, it's large. What's under the skin of the D-Max? Well, you've still got a properly sturdy ladder frame chassis and leaf spring suspension at the rear. You've also only got one choice of engine – an old school 1.9-litre turbodiesel four-pot that can be paired with either a six-speed manual or six-speed auto gearbox. It's loudly and proudly a commercial vehicle powertrain, endowing the D-Max with the ability to tow 3.5 tonnes. However, there will also soon be a D-Max EV, and we're promised that will also get the 3.5 tonne towing capacity, one tonne payload and full-time four-wheel drive. It'll also get a 66.9kWh battery and dual motors for 188bhp and 240lb ft of torque. Just 163 miles of WLTP rated range, though. If you're interested, first deliveries to UK customers are planned for March 2026. Any other key figures that I need to know? Well, all diesel versions of the D-Max also get a payload of over one tonne, even the Arctic Trucks variant with its fancy Bilstein suspension. Oh, and Isuzu still offers a 125,000 mile/five-year warranty across the range. What's the verdict? ' Top spec models are well equipped and massively capable off-road, but on road it's still rough around the edges ' Fair play to Isuzu. It's managed to retain the old D-Max's workmanlike abilities whilst also bringing a lot more mass appeal to the range with the posher V-Cross trim. It's not perfect: on-road manners are still lacking, and the old diesel engine could certainly be more refined, but it's a fine effort at compromise and still undercuts direct rivals on price. The interior is simple and easy to use, even if some of the graphics feel like they've been transplanted straight from the 2000s, while some of the materials aren't quite as premium as those in the Ranger or Amarok.
