Isuzu D-Max vs Toyota HiAce

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.

The rear barn-door option brings a significant boost in versatility, ensuring Toyota’s dominant market leader not only maintains its vast customer base but potentially expands it to include forklift-reliant operators who have previously overlooked the HiAce.

Given we had to wait 55 years for this barn-door option, we hope we don’t have to wait another half a century for a fold-down inboard armrest on the driver’s seat, which is now the only item missing from an otherwise formidable workhorse specification. 

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.

It’s a typically robust design comprising MacPherson strut front suspension, a leaf-spring live rear axle that’s excellent for load-carrying, variable-ratio rack and pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes on all automatic variants, like ours.

The rear-wheel drive chassis has an inherent traction advantage over front-wheel drive vans, particularly on loose or slippery surfaces and with heavy payloads. 

Its 1990mm height allows access to underground and multi-storey car parks and its 3210mm wheelbase boasts an impressively tight 11.0-metre turning circle.

The two-tone dash layout is neat and functional with easy-to-use controls and instrumentation. 

There’s still no fold-down inboard armrest for the driver’s seat to enhance comfort on long hauls, but given we had to wait more than half a century for a barn-door option, we know Toyota won’t be rushed on these decisions.

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 its 2225kg kerb weight and 3300kg GVM, the HiAce has a genuine one-tonne-plus payload rating of 1060kg, and up to 120kg of that can be carried on the roof using Toyota’s genuine accessory triple-bar roof rack set. 

It also has a braked tow rating of up to 1500kg and with a GCM (how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) of 4800kg, it can carry its peak 1060kg payload while towing that weight, which is a versatile set of numbers for a working van.

Cargo bay walls and doors are lined to mid-height, the roof is internally lined and there’s ample internal lighting. 

It’s accessed from either side through sliding doors with 1010mm-wide openings, or from the rear through the barn-doors which are both equipped with demisters/windscreen wipers and can swing open to 180 degrees. 

Each door also has a simple brace which can hold them at 90 degrees opening if required.

The cargo bay offers a sizeable 6.2 cubic metres of load volume, measuring 2530mm long, 1760mm wide and 1340mm high. 

With 1268mm between the rear wheel housings and six floor-mounted load anchorage points, it can carry up to two standard 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or up to three 1200 x 800mm/1200 x 1000mm Euro pallets. 

Its spacious driver’s cabin has numerous storage offerings including a large-bottle holder and bin in the base of each front door, small-bottle/cupholders in the centre and on either side of the dash, plus a single glove box.

The centre console is well designed, comprising an open storage tray at floor level and a large lidded box between the seats. 

This not only has cavernous internal storage but there’s also an external shelf at the front, two large-bottle holders at the rear and another shallow tray set into the lid, which when closed can double as a handy work desk. 

Our test vehicle is the LWB (Long Wheel Base) powered exclusively by Toyota’s well proven 2.8 litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel. It’s available with either standard six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic, like our example.

Painted in standard 'French Vanilla', it has a list price of $46,760, plus on-road costs, but ours is fitted with the new $750 Barn Door option which bumps the list price to $47,510. 

It’s available on all LWB and SLWB (Super Long Wheel Base) variants except for the HiAce Crew, HiAce Commuter and LWB manual versions. 

Our test vehicle is also the Panel Van variant, which means a buyer can order a full-panel left-hand side sliding door instead of the standard windowed version at no extra cost.

The HiAce comes ready for hard work on sturdy 16-inch steel wheels with replaceable plastic covers and 215/60R16 tyres plus a full-size spare, along with a large centre console offering a variety of storage options. 

There are also useful creature comforts in the two-seater cabin like a tilt-and-reach adjustable leather-accented steering wheel, driver’s seat adjustable lumbar support, manual air-con, two 12-volt cabin accessory sockets, folding/heated exterior door mirrors with indicators, and more.

The two-speaker multimedia system has a big 8.0-inch touchscreen plus steering wheel audio controls and 'DAB+2' digital radio. 

Multiple connectivity options include Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Siri voice recognition, Bluetooth, sat-nav and 'Toyota Connected Services', which includes an app for mobile phones and safety/security functions like 'Stolen Vehicle Tracking', 'Automatic Collision Notification', 'SOS Emergency Call', and more.

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.

HiAce’s venerable (1GD-FTV) 2.8 litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel produces 130kW at 3400rpm and in auto models like ours a meaty 450Nm of torque between 1600-2400rpm. 

Maintenance procedures are simplified by its Euro 5 emissions compliance which doesn’t require AdBlue.

A smooth-shifting Aisin (AC60E) six-speed torque converter automatic optimises fuel economy with full converter lock-up on fourth, fifth and sixth gears, along with overdrive on fifth and sixth for relaxed highway driving. It also offers the choice of sequential manual-shifting if required. 

The live rear axle is equipped with an electronically-controlled automatic limited-slip diff, which optimises the inherent traction advantage of rear-wheel drive.

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.

Toyota claims an official combined cycle average of 8.2L/100km. 

After 215km of testing, without a load and with the automatic engine stop-start function switched off, our figure based on trip meter and fuel bowsers readings came in slightly higher at 9.8L/100km. 

This single-digit economy was achieved purely in city and suburban driving, which is thrifty for a large commercial vehicle weighing more than two tonnes. 

So, based on our figures, you could bank on a ‘real world’ driving range of around 700km from its 70-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.

The big front doors swing wide open to provide easy access to the cabin, where it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position given ample seat adjustment that includes lumbar support, plus a height-and-reach-adjustable wheel and big left footrest. 

Responsive steering and strong braking, combined with a reasonably supple ride quality when empty or lightly loaded, makes for a comfortable daily work environment. 

This is enhanced by commendably low internal noise levels for a van without a bulkhead between the cabin and cargo bay. We suspect the full-length roof lining helps here.

Like all panel vans, the solid-walled cargo bay creates a huge blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder which can’t be avoided. And the central join of the barn doors obscures vision through the cabin’s rear-view mirror.

However, the portrait-shaped door mirrors are a decent size and combined with a suite of driver aids like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, rear parking sensors and reversing camera, a competent driver can easily steer clear of trouble. 

And it has easy manoeuvrability thanks to the tight 11-metre turning circle and lightness of the variable-ratio steering at parking speeds.

 The 2.8-litre turbo-diesel has good flexibility with strong low-rpm response thanks to its ample 450Nm of torque. 

The smooth and snappy shift protocols of the six-speed auto optimise engine response, which is most evident in stop-start city and suburban driving. 

It also delivers relaxed and economical highway travel, particularly with the cruise control activated, with overdrive requiring less than 2000rpm to maintain 110km/h.

The current HiAce generation came armed with a maximum five-star ANCAP rating when launched in 2019 and still sets a safety benchmark.

There are seven airbags plus a plethora of active features including AEB with day/night pedestrian and day cyclist detection, trailer sway control, hill-start assist, lane departure alert with steering assist, road sign assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, and more. 

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 HiAce is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty.

Scheduled servicing is set at relatively short six month/10,000km intervals, whichever occurs first. 

Capped-price of $290 per service covers the first six scheduled services over three years or 60,000km.