Isuzu D-Max vs Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

What's the difference?

The new D-Max hasn’t been majorly overhauled and instead bundles together a whole bunch of small but important changes, all of which have been designed to keep it fresh in the face of its competition, like the Triton, Ranger and HiLux.

Has it done enough? Only time will tell. But there’s little doubt that these updates only improve the D-Max formula.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

It has its niggling faults like any vehicle but the Sprinter panel van is a well-designed vehicle overall. It’s fit for purpose and worthy of consideration if you’re in the market for a heavy commercial van. That is if you have about $90K to spend, which is around $40K more than its closest competitor - and that one comes from China.

There are some big-ish changes for this new-look D-Max, but how many of them you get depends on which of the six trim levels you’re shopping for.

Spring for one near the top of the family tree, and you’ll get all of the updates, which include new-look headlights that are LED with LED DRLs (but halogens on the SX), and a new-look front-end and grille. At the rear, there are new LED rear light clusters.

It doesn’t look a million miles away from the current D-Max, to be honest, but it does look a little newer, and a little fresher, which is important in the battle of the inches that is the new-ute market.

Inside, the brand describes the cabin as a mix of utility and comfort, and that’s feels pretty accurate from the driver’s seat.

The tech is new, with the 8.0- or 9.0-inch central screen joined by USB connection points, and there’s a new Digital Driver Display screen in the mix, along with new seat materials and trims, too.

But back to that that mix of utility and comfort. I’m not sure Isuzu has gotten the mix exactly right. There are plenty of soft-touch materials in the higher-trim levels, just not always where I want them to be.

I don’t know about you, but I like to have my elbow up when driving, and that plastic is still scratchy and hard, as is the place where my knee touches the centre console.

That said, it’s largely comfortable, definitely functional, and it serves up pretty much exactly what you might expect.

This is a sizeable vehicle that’s almost 7.0 metres long (6967mm) and more than 2.0 metres wide (2020mm) and with its ‘High Roof’ design stands more than 2.6 metres (2663mm) tall. If you tick the ‘Super High Roof’ option that raises height to 2878mm.

It rides on a sprawling 4325mm wheelbase with strut-type coil-spring front suspension, a robust leaf-spring live rear axle and four-wheel disc brakes.

Our only gripe in the cabin relates to the single USB outlet, which is awkwardly located inside the dash pad’s lidded central storage bin with no cut-out in the lid to route a device cable through. Placement near the central dash controls (like its smaller Vito sibling which has two USB ports) would be much better.

Isuzu has taken to calling the D-Max one of Australia’s most capable utes out of the box.

That includes up to 240mm in ground clearance, 800mm in wading depth, and a towing maximum of 3.5 tonnes for the bigger diesel engine, dropping to three tonnes with the 1.9-litre powerplant fitted. Payload is up to 1405kg, too, but to get you need the SX with Cab Chassis. It’s more like 1045kg for most dual-cab ute trims.

Also new for this update is the addition of Rough Terrain Mode — a technology borrowed from the MU-X, then improved to pair with the D-Max’s mechanical off-road features.

In short, the tech taps into the traction-control systems to detect wheel slip, and can then brake individual wheels and send torque to where it is needed to smooth your progress. In the D-Max, it works with the rear diff-lock, too.

The back seat of the D-Max shows why vehicles in this category are now doubling as family vehicles. Behind my own 175cm driving position there was enough knee and headroom to get comfortable, and I’m confident you could fit three across the back row pretty easily, too.

There are some creature comforts, including a USB-C charging point (trim dependent) as well as air vents, but no temp controls, and even a little coat hook as well, but it’s not swimming with niceties.

With a 2372kg kerb weight and 4100kg GVM, this Sprinter van has a substantial 1728kg payload rating. It’s also rated to tow up to 2000kg of braked trailer and with its 6100kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) that means it can haul its maximum payload while towing its maximum trailer weight.

The huge cargo bay, with a solid timber floor that looks long enough for landing light aircraft, has a cavernous load volume of 14 cubic metres.

It’s accessed through a large kerbside sliding door with 1260mm-wide opening, or symmetrical glazed rear barn-doors with 180-degree opening for easy forklift access. There’s internal lighting front and rear and the walls and roof are not lined.

Tall people can stand without stooping given the 2009mm internal height. With a 4351mm floor length and 1350mm between the rear-wheel housings, the Sprinter can carry up to three 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or up to five 800 x 1200mm Euro pallets, secured with a choice of 12 load-anchorage points. There are also handy net-type storage pockets in each rear barn-door.

Plenty of cabin storage starts with a large-bottle holder and upper/lower bins in each front door, plus full-width overhead storage shelves with a lockable compartment on the passenger side, four small-bottle/cupholders in the lower central dash, two more small-bottle/cupholders and three ‘clamshell’ lid bins in the top of the dash-pad, an open storage shelf on the lower passenger-side dash and another sizeable enclosed compartment beneath the passenger seat.

Our test vehicle is officially known as the Sprinter 419 Van LWB. It’s equipped with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, nine-speed automatic transmission, long wheelbase and rear-wheel drive, for a list price of $87,021.

Our example is fitted with the optional 'Campervan Package' (not that we’d choose to camp in an empty shipping container) which brings an upgraded front axle load rating, comfort seat pack with swivel function, chrome grille, additional dash-pad storage bins with hinged lids, long-range 93-litre fuel tank and electronic enhancements.

Ticking this options box costs $2838 which bumps the list price to $89,859. Our test vehicle is also fitted with an accessory mesh-type cargo barrier.

The Sprinter panel van is clearly built for work with its all-weather vinyl cabin floor, 16-inch steel wheels with 235/65R16 tyres and full-size spare, side marker lights and ample dark grey plastic where bumps, scrapes and high wear usually occur including the bumpers, door mirrors/handles and lower body sides.

However, in stark contrast it also offers numerous creature comforts including keyless start, a delightful leather-rimmed and height/reach adjustable steering wheel with paddle-shifters and multiple remote-control functions, as well as heated and power-folding door mirrors with truck-style lower wide-angle views.

There's also a driver’s instrument cluster with colour display, black fabric bucket seats with fold-down inboard armrests and multiple posture adjustments, adaptive cruise control, DRLs and a two-speaker multimedia system with 7.0-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity including Apple and Android devices.

The D-Max’s powertrains for 2024 remain unchanged, with the choice of a 1.9-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine good for 110kW and 350Nm, or a 3.0-litre unit producing 140kW and 450Nm. They are paired with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, and two- or four-wheel drive, depending on the model.

The 'OM654' is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel that meets the toughest Euro 6 emissions standards using AdBlue.

With two-stage turbocharging and auto start/stop technology, it produces 140kW at 3800rpm and 450Nm across a 1000rpm-wide torque band between 1400-2400rpm which showcases its flexibility.

The smooth-shifting nine-speed torque converter automatic offers the choice of sequential manual-shifting using the steering wheel-mounted paddle-shifters, which could be handy when hauling heavy loads particularly in hilly terrain.

Isuzu reckons you’ll see around 8.0L/100km on the combined cycle with the bigger engine, with fuel use dropping to 6.9L/100km with the 1.9-litre unit fitted.

The 76-litre tank is the same for both engines, meaning a theoretical range of 950km or 1100km.

Heavy commercial vehicles are not required to provide fuel consumption data. Even so, when we stopped to refuel at the end of our 247km test of which about one third of that distance was hauling a heavy payload, the dash display was claiming a surprisingly frugal combined average of 9.9L/100km (with auto stop/start switched off).

This was close to our own figure, calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings, of 10.5 which means you could expect a ‘real-world’ driving range nudging 900km from its optional 93-litre tank.

Remember, it’s evolution over revolution for the 2024 Isuzu D-Max, so don’t expect the drive experience to be dramatically different. 

Instead, the brand says it has focused on fixing some of the complaints surrounding the outgoing model, something Isuzu is pretty open about.

It says they’ve taken feedback from the media, from their customers, and from their big fleet users, and they’ve fed it up their Japanese HQ. And the result of all that is this 2024 update.

Apparently one of the biggest complaints focused on the infotainment screen having no physical buttons, but the new one changes that with its wireless Apple CarPlay and twin USB connection points joined by a physical volume dial. I know that feels a little like you’ve taken a step backwards through time, but when something works, it works.

The’ve also made some key, and worthy, changes to the safety systems, but we will get to those in a moment.

The reality is — and I don’t mean this in an insulting way — that the new D-Max largely drives much like you might expect a top-selling diesel dual-cab to drive.

The torque on offer from both engines, but especially the bigger one, is plentiful, even if the noise of the diesel is an ever-present passenger when you put your foot down, and there is that inescapable truck-like feeling from behind the wheel.

There are some elements that set it apart, though. The steering is smooth and responsive, as is the quick-witted automatic gearbox, and despite us tipping into corners a little faster than we would on our daily commute, there wasn’t much in the way of side-to-side body roll, and no complaints from the rubber.

That might sound like I’m damning the D-Max with faint praise, but that’s not the intention. It’s a comfortable, capable, practical workhorse, and that’s ticking plenty of ute boxes, right?

The bigger-engined D-Max remains a towing powerhouse, too. We pulled some serious weight, and 3.0-litre turbo-diesel made pretty light work of it, with ample torque on offer to keep things moving.

It wouldn’t be the launch of an updated diesel dual-cab without a tour across a tailored off-road course, and Isuzu delivered, specifically to plug the merits of its new Rough Terrain Mode.

Tested back-to-back with the system switched on and off, there does seem to be less slip from the wheels when traversing bumpy, tyre-torturing articulations, with the D-Max just gripping and going. It’s another off-road tick for a ute already very good in the rough stuff.

Wide door openings and large assist-handles on the windscreen pillars make for easy cabin entry.

Finding a comfortable driving position is not hard either, given the combination of a height/reach-adjustable steering wheel and supportive bucket seat with adjustments for backrest angle, seat-base rake/length and lumbar support.  

The optional 'Campervan Package' seats, with fold-down inboard armrests, can also rotate towards the centre of the cabin. We assume this pivoting function is to aid rear-of-vehicle access, but was of no use in our test vehicle given the mesh cargo barrier.

Our only criticism of the driving position is that the slim pillar between the fixed and sliding glass in the driver’s door partly obscures the driver’s eyeline to the door mirror. However, sliding the seat base forward solves the problem, so it’s only an issue for tall drivers like me that need to sit more rearward.

The ride quality without a load is good, given the robust rear suspension. It also has nicely-weighted and responsive steering plus good braking, along with acceptable internal noise levels at sub-80km/h city and suburban speeds given the absence of a solid bulkhead and minimal cargo bay linings.

However, tyre roar emanating through the rear-wheel housings and amplified by the cargo bay can be uncomfortably intrusive at highways speeds, depending on the coarseness of bitumen surfaces.

So, we’d recommend either installing a solid bulkhead (or use ear-plugs) to reduce noise levels if you’re planning to do regular highway driving in this configuration.

The 2.0-litre turbo-diesel and nine-speed automatic display great efficiency, with throttle response at its most immediate and energetic when operating within the 450Nm peak torque band between 1400-2400rpm.

The refined auto’s snappy but smooth shifting gets the best out of this engine in most situations, without the need to paddle-shift in manual mode.

To test its load-carrying ability, we used up all of our weights to forklift 1300kg into the cargo bay, which was still more than 400kg less than the GVM rating.

As a result, the Sprinter made light work of hauling this 1.3-tonne payload around town, with the only differences being a slightly firmer ride and more accelerator pedal required to maintain engine performance.

It easily hauled this load to the summit of our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km set climb at 60km/h, although engine-braking on the way down was (as expected) not as strong given its small displacement.

In a manually-selected second gear, road speed quickly increased as the engine climbed towards the tacho’s redline on overrun, before the auto dismissed our manual gear selection and shifted up to third.

This automatic engine-protection protocol is common in Euro vans. However, if you’re not ready for it, it can spring a surprise when you’re leaning on the drivetrain to assist with engine-braking during a steep descent and it suddenly shifts up and starts running away from you. The quartet of disc brakes, though, easily compensated for this shortfall.

There’s no ANCAP rating required for Heavy Commercial vehicles but the Sprinter has many safety features highlighted by four airbags, AEB, blind-spot and lane-keeping assists, crosswind assist (crucial in a van with such a wall-like profile), trailer sway control and more.

There’s also adaptive cruise control and a reversing camera, but omissions which should be standard are rear cross-traffic alert and rear parking sensors.

The D-Max is covered by Isuzu’s six-year, 150,000km warranty, and we like the years, but less so the kilometre limits.

There’s five years of capped-price servicing, too. You’ll be visiting the service centre every 12 months or 15,000kms, and each visit will cost you $449 for the first five years, or $2245 in total.

The Sprinter is covered by a five year/250,000km warranty including five years roadside assist.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/40,000km whichever occurs first.

Capped-price servicing for the first five scheduled services during warranty period totals $7130, or a pricey average of $1426 per service.