Isuzu D-Max 2023 review: LS-U cab chassis - off-road test

The Isuzu D-Max LS-U crew cab-chassis 4x4 auto has a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $59,500, but with Mercury Silver metallic paint ($650), a Heavy Duty Alloy Tray ($2871) and on-road costs $5044, it climbs to $68,065. However, our test vehicle adds to the mix an electronic brake controller ($820), a tow bar wiring harness (12 pin flat, $359), tow tongue kit ($195.80), and stamp duty ($68.74) to push the price out to $69,508.54 driveaway.

This D-Max has heavy-duty three-leaf suspension at the rear, engineered for load-carrying. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Standard features include a 9.0-inch multimedia display with sat-nav, Android Auto and wired or wireless Apple CarPlay, an eight-speaker sound system, dual-zone air conditioning, keyless entry, push-button start, walk away door lock, auto-dimming rear view mirror, a factory-fitted tow bar receiver, and more.

Standard features include a 9.0-inch multimedia display with sat-nav. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The crew cab-chassis’ major point of difference with its ute tub body style stablemates is, of course, its tray, which you’ll get to choose: this is a heavy-duty alloy tray – and that costs about $2900 fitted – but there are economy alloy trays, general purpose alloy trays, and heavy duty steel trays available.

No matter the tray style, they’re all longer and wider – no wheel arches taking up load space – than the tubs, but they are shallower.

A factory-fitted tow bar receiver. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

This D-Max has heavy-duty three-leaf suspension at the rear, engineered for load-carrying.

The standard range of paint finishes includes Basalt Black mica, Cobalt Blue mica, Mercury Silver metallic, Obsidian Grey mica, and Mineral White.

Premium exterior paint colours for this variant, include Magnetic Red mica, Marble White pearl, and Mercury Silver metallic (on our test vehicle).

The LS-U’s cabin is basic, as it should be in a work ute, but well-designed.

High-grade cloth seats and carpet flooring with rubber mats are suited to work and rugged recreational shenanigans. 

Upfront is comfortable and well equipped with an easy-to-use 9.0-inch multimedia touch screen. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Upfront is comfortable and well equipped with an easy-to-use 9.0-inch multimedia touch screen (even I hooked up my smartphone, no worries), USB charge points, a plethora of storage spaces and everything is simple enough to access and use. 

The seats are comfortable and, being high-grade cloth, are well-suited to long work days or, better yet, long trips away.

The back row is a comfortable space with a reasonable amount of head, leg, and knee room. There are also numerous storage spaces, including cup holders in the fold-down centre arm-rest, map pockets in the seat-backs, and bottle holders in the doors.

The rear of the centre console sports air vents and a USB charging point, and there’s a pop-out cargo hook in the back of the front passenger seat.

The D-Max has a claimed 240mm of ground clearance, a wading depth of 800mm and approach, departure and ramp-over angles of 30.5 degrees, 20.6 degrees, and 24.3 degrees, respectively.

I’ve tested a lot of 4x4 D-Max variants over the years – including that recent long-distance test of the LS-U+ with the tub body style that I mentioned earlier – and these utes have all impressed in tough 4WD conditions. This one was no different.

I drove this ute on lightly corrugated dirt tracks and through coastal bush sand and deep mud holes. 

The D-Max’s suspension does a good job of keeping everything settled when the blacktop becomes a gravel or dirt track. 

The D-Max’s suspension does a good job of keeping everything settled when the blacktop becomes a gravel or dirt track. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The low-revving engine is not the torquiest one around, but it never seems stressed, in high- or low-range over a variety of terrain, and things just tick along nicely. There is ample accessible torque across a wide rev range, and that’s crucial when you're 4WDing.

Low-range gearing is sound (with a crawl ratio of 33.3:1), throttle response is good – with a pedal that’s not too sensitive to unintentional inputs when you’re bouncing around off-road – and the recalibrated traction control, while not quite as dialled-in as some of its rivals’ systems, is effective. 

The D-Max’s electronic rear diff lock can be engaged at speeds up to 8km/h and only when you're in four-wheel drive low-range (4L). It will disengage when you hit 30km/h or more. Note: when you engage the diff lock, off-road traction control is disengaged. The rear diff lock is a very handy addition and one that’ll help to keep you moving along off-road on traction-compromised terrain and give you more peace of mind on the tracks.

Showroom-standard tyres are something of a vehicle-maker’s unnecessary evil because they are aimed at being quiet and comfortable on-road, while not atrocious off-road.

The D-Max has factory-fitted 1.5mm-thick steel and 5mm-thick poly-composite underbody protection over powertrain components. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The D-Max’s road-biased rubber yields a quiet, comfortable ride on-road, sure, but they’re not suited to 4WDing. This is fortunately an easy issue to address: buy a set of decent all-terrain tyres to replace the existing rubber.

Ground clearance is listed as 240mm but the D-Max’s side steps and even its underbody feel vulnerable to grounding on dirt or on more substantial irregularities in the terrain (rocks, tree roots etc). Thankfully, the D-Max has factory-fitted 1.5mm-thick steel and 5mm-thick poly-composite underbody protection over powertrain components. 

Low-riding sensation can also be resolved with an aftermarket suspension lift, if you plan to use your D-Max as an off-road tourer for destinations well beyond the beaten tracks. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Slower, more considered driving will go some of the way to negating this low-riding sensation, but it can also be resolved with an aftermarket suspension lift if you plan to use your D-Max as an off-road tourer for destinations well beyond the beaten tracks.

The heavy-duty alloy tray is 1800mm long at floor height and about 1777mm wide because there are no wheel-arches taking up any load space. It has internal load-restraint points along either side of the base (supposedly 18 of them, but I didn’t count), quick-lock dropsides and tailgate, tail light protectors, wiring guard, rear-window protector, and alloy headboard tube. You can even add a ladder rack, under-tray tool box or under-tray water tank if you get the urge.

It has a listed payload of 1140kg, gross vehicle mass of 3100kg, an unbraked towing capacity of 750kg and a braked towing capacity of 3500kg.

With the latest round of updates, the GCM (gross combined mass) has been increased in all 4x4 D-Maxs by 50kg from 5950kg to 6000kg. 

The D-Max range has the maximum five-star ANCAP rating from testing in 2020.

The LS-U crew cab-chassis has eight airbags, and its comprehensive suite of active and passive driver-assist tech includes AEB, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, forward collision warning, blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, auto headlights and high beams, reversing camera with rear cross traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors and more.