SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.
This vehicle is called Isuzu D-Max in other markets
Posted: 11 December 2014
The cheat sheet
Price: R483 500 (fabric upholstery) or R493 500 (leather)
Engine: 2999 cc, 16-valve, four-cylinder turbodiesel
Power: 130 kW at 3600 rpm
Torque: 380 Nm between 1800 and 2800 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12,3 seconds
Maximum speed: About 180 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9,3 l/100 km
Tank: 75 litres
Payload: 1048 kg
Max. towing mass (braked): 3500 kg
Ground clearance: 220 mm
Approach/departure/breakover angles: 30,0/22,7/22,4 degrees
Static traverse angle: 49 degrees
Warranty: 5 years/120 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km; at annual or 15 000 km intervals
Fact of Life: Pickups get bigger all the time. It’s mainly down to customer pressure; we want bigger load bins to carry more stuff. We want safer vehicles and a longer body means longer crumple zones to absorb impacts. And higher bonnets provide more “give” when a luckless pedestrian gets scooped up onto it - because it’s safer to lift the person than to deflect him or her downward and under the wheels. We want inner space - back-seat passengers in double-cabs have traditionally been crowded – too little head room, minimal knee space and a scramble to exit.
Most of the above, plus a little nipping and tucking, is what 2015 KBs are about. In front, a new polypropylene bumper not only helps to absorb initial impacts with pedestrians, but it’s designed to lift them up rather than push them down. Polycarbonate headlamp covers don’t shatter easily, like glass, or lacerate as badly. A longer front end, and the engine placed further rearward, means more space for crumple zones. And the bonnet frame crumbles to absorb energy if a pedestrian is struck. Placing heavier components lower down, without sacrificing ground clearance, drops the centre of mass for greater stability on- and off-road.
The intercooler was moved to the front of the engine to improve volumetric efficiency and allowing it to be placed lower – for “give” space. Then they partly screened the windshield wipers to reduce possibility of pedestrian injuries. Bigger front discs on high-rider and 4x4 models, six airbags in double-cabs rather than two, stronger steels, new welding techniques, improved seatback design to better cope with rear-end impacts and a more rigid booster that improves brake performance, all make life safer.
The vehicle is 260 millimetres longer, its wheelbase grew by 45 mm, front and rear tracks are 50 mm broader and it’s wider and taller by 60 mm. That means more space inside, improved ride and handling, and greater stability. Isuzu strengthened the chassis too. Aerodynamic changes to cab and load bin reduced wind noise and fuel consumption.
Interior space for those at the back is 25 mm longer, head room is improved and door openings are wider for more comfortable entry and exit. Then there’s the load bin: It’s 135 mm longer, 70 mm wider and the metal is stronger. When I needed to move two cube bags (750x750x750 mm) of garden cuttings to the disposal site, it took one trip. With the old double cab, it usually took two. And the tailgate opening is wider to make loading easier.
New reversing beepers warn of unseen obstacles – useful in a truckie the size of an Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer. All it needs now is a backup camera, or wing mirrors that tilt down as you reverse, so drivers can see the lines on each side of parking bays. We’re getting there, so thanks for the beepers in the meantime, Isuzu.
Rear seat accommodations now rate 8/10 each for head room and under-seat foot space with a solid ten for knee room. Seats are more comfortable than I remember from earlier models although the central arm rest does without cup holders.Two seatback pockets and bottle bins in the doors look after storage. The wider doors mean getting in and out is easier than before.
Our review on the 2012 KB 300 D-Teq is here
Our review on the 2013 KB 300 D-Teq double cab is here
Isuzu has an off-road training academy. Read about it here
And catch an update on the academy here
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
Comments?
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8