SA Road Tests

Welcome

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.


The power of X: 2018 Isuzu X-Rider 4x4

Let it walk

Posted: 4 June 2018

The numbers
Price: R454 100
Engine: Isuzu 4JK1-TC Hi, 2499 cc, four-cylinder, CRDI with turbocharger and intercooler
Power: 100 kW at 3600 rpm
Torque: 320 Nm between 1800 and 2800 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 17.0 seconds
Maximum speed: 175 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.5 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Tare: 2035 kg
Payload: 1020 kg
GVM: 3000 kg
GCM: 5000 kg
Maximum braked, trailer mass: 2100 kg
Ground clearance: 220 mm
Approach / Departure / Breakover angles: 30 / 21.4 / 22.4 degrees
Wading depth: 600 mm
Warranty: 5 years/ 120 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years / 90 000 km; at annual or 15 000 km intervals

What more can I say about Isuzu’s X-Riders? They were introduced in 2016 as enhanced alternatives to the company’s somewhat plain 2.5-litre workhorse pickups, or plaasbakkies as we South Africans call them.

In the beginning they were offered as market testers in 4x2 only and in both extended-cab and dual-cab configurations. Isuzu SA confirmed X-Rider as a stand-alone range less than a year later, but withdrew the extended-cab version. A 4x4 dual-cab was phased in late last year. Again this is identical, apart from minor features and wheel and tyre changes, to its 2.5 HO High Rider 4x4 sister. I drove an LE (slightly fancier) version of that in January 2016.

Let’s recap: There are two X-Riders; 4x2 and 4x4. Both are dual-cab. Both use the 100-kW version of Isuzu’s 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine. The add-ons are the same; 18” alloy wheels with 245/60R18 General Grabber AT (or similar) tyres, fog lamps in front, LED daytime running lights, projector-style headlamps to replace the multi-reflector units, tubular side rails instead of flat, a black bin bar, blacked-out “B”-pillars, leather seats with X-Rider branding and red stitching, audio remotes on the steering wheel and red stitching on that, too.

But it remains a plaasbakkie at heart. It sounds like an agricultural diesel; won’t break any speed records; provides supplementary information via a narrow, monochrome MID rather than a pretty touch screen; has no driver’s side vanity mirror (the chauvinists!), one dome light, no cup holders or armrest in the back, no reach adjustment for the steering wheel and no vent repeaters for rear seat passengers.

What it does give you includes sensible leaf springs at the back, a bin with four lashing eyelets, a handbrake that’s properly placed for right hand drive and offers a firm and progressive action, more than sufficient cup holders in front (four), well spaced pedals, a foot rest, climb-in handles at both front doors and a reassuringly solid gearshift.

Safety kit consists of two airbags, ABS brakes with EBD and BAS, ESC (read about that here), hill start assist, hill descent control, side impact protection bars, a full set of belts with pretensioners for those in front and automatic unlocking of doors in case of accident. Underbody protection consists of a front skid plate and shields for sump, transfer case and fuel tank.

Transmission is five-speed manual with a selector dial offering 2High, 4High and 4Low. You can switch between 2H and 4H on the fly up to about 100 km/h, but the usual rules apply when selecting 4Low. Switchable diff lock is standard on 4x4 X-Rider but optional on 4x2. There is also a switch for downhill crawl mode but selecting first gear in 4Low, and letting it  “walk”, works just as well.

Over the years I have attended two off-road training outings with Isuzu - at Louvain Guest Farm in the Langkloof Valley and Slagboom Outdoors (since closed) near Addo; climbed, stopped just shy of the top of and restarted on, indecently steep man-made hills; conquered mountain passes; driven countless kilometres on gravel roads; “let it walk” in first gear and 4Low through muddy ditches and up and down rocky hillsides; crawled over log bridges; crossed babbling brooks with stony beds and forded rivers too deep for any sane person’s peace of mind.

It’s therefore safe to say that Isuzu 4x4s are decently competent. Whether you choose the X-Rider option is up to you, but it does add a little luxury and more than a hint of in-your-face showmanship.

Test unit from Isuzu SA press fleet

Apologies: These photographs are all of the 4x2. The manufacturer has not released 4x4 images yet but the vehicles look identical apart from identifying decals on the 4x4 version

What We Do

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 ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle 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. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.