Isuzu D- Max Eiger Review – Mountain or Molehill Climber? High build quality, great engine, good mpg, competitive price.
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The C4 with a 6-speed electronic gearbox system: Premiered on the C4 and mated to the HDi 110 DPFS engine, the 6-speed electronic gearbox system is of an entirely new. Model (as tested) Isuzu D-Max Eiger 2.5. 6 speed manual. Spec includes All-round power windows, radio with full bluetooth connectivity, electric folding and heated. Your car air conditioner is a fairly complex system. If it’s not working well, it could be one or more of several reasons: low or no refrigerant, the compressor or. Ford really dropped the ball on this car! Overall, it's a piece of junk with many problems: transmission (auto), engine, lights, tires, missing parts from assembly.
Plasticky interior trim, no rear tow point, no rear speakers. Isuzu D- Max? Isuzu’s new D- Max range starts with a single- cab option with steel wheels and goes all the way up to the Utah, which includes heated leather seats and satellite navigation.
Car Jolts When Changing Gears Manual Transmission
We’d been sent the D- Max Eiger, which is lowest spec model of the three range- toppers in the line- up (Eiger, Yukon, Utah), but still has heated mirrors and air conditioning, along with alloy wheels. Isuzu have built a reputation for hard- wearing, reliable 4×4’s and pick- ups, and push their 5 year warranty to the forefront for proof of this.
With pick- up saes growing in the U. K., the D- Max Eiger offers a strong, powerful engine with good economy and a comfortable ride alongside all the practicality of a workhorse pick- up. Let’s delve a little deeper eh…Exterior. Butt ugly or beauty? As mentioned, the Eiger is the start of the top three D- Max models, and stands out from lower spec’ed D- Max’s with a colour- coded front bumper, satin- silver grille, clear light clusters, chrome mirrors and door handles and 1. The exterior difference in the next step up (Yukon) would be side- steps, chrome front and rear bumpers and 1. Still, even without the extra shiny bits the Eiger looks like a nice truck.
The tough, rubberised rear bumper and lack of side steps smack of practicality, rather than you just being a tight wad. The black bumper at the rear will look better than the chrome version after you’ve stood on it in muddy, gritty boots for the three- hundreth time, or dropped a load of bricks on it. The lack of side steps mean better ground clearance for those times you decide to take the short- but- rough route across the quarry site to get to the burger van before it leaves. Let’s be honest, higher- range pick- up trucks available in the Britain and Europe tend to look similar now; rounded front end with a double cab and pick- up bed, and a square tailgate. However, comparing the design of similar- spec offerings from other manufacturers I’d say the D- Max Eiger is more modern than the out- dated Nissan Navara, more edgy than the Toyota Hilux, much less girly than the Mitsubishi L2. Ford Ranger or VW Amarok.
Especially in the darker colours does the Isuzu look menacing (at least from the front/front three- quarter view). The D- Max Eiger’s front end stares at you aggressively, the swage lines either side of the bonnet looking like a frowning brow as they meet the angular, angry eyes of the light clusters. Below those, the large rectangular air intake in the bumper is a mouth bellowing ‘Coming through! Get outta the way tiny vehicles’. If the D- Max starred in the ‘Cars’ animated movie, you can guarantee it’d be a baddie.
The rest of the D- Max is just very average in design. Nothing much to report on really, save for the bulging, flared arches over the wheels which look good. The pick- up bed is a decent size for a Euro- style truck at 1,4. Interior. Neat or nothing special?
Settling into the Isuzu’s interior, you’re greeted with lots of gray and black- coloured materials, plus the occasional splash of silver satin. The Eiger is clearly utilitarian, with hard but tough plastics featured anywhere there’s trim. There are zero soft- touch panels here. As I mentioned about the exterior, this is not a case of buying the lower spec’d Eiger because you’re tight- fisted – you’ll buy this with the aim of it being used.
Hard. The Eiger’s interior is one where you can jump in with your hefty boots, huge work jacket caked in mud, many pointy tools poking out of the pockets, and simply not overly- worry about the plastics getting scuffed or damaged. Spartan would not be a fair description of the D- Max Eiger’s insides, as it includes air conditioning, electric folding and heated wing- mirrors, and all- round power windows. What it could be described as is plain. There’s a fairly basic aftermarket Pioneer stereo which has Bluetooth connectivity for your phone calls and music, but that’s as blingy as the Eiger gets in all honesty. The three round dials for the heating controls are simple, rigid rings made of plastic and there’s not an ounce of luxury about them. Again, they are just very functional, and you could use all the other buttons and controls while wearing a big pair of leather rigger gloves.
I know because I did. Inside this Isuzu it’s all use no spruce. And that’s the point here. Yes the Eiger is quite minimal, but everything is well laid out, simple to use and you’ve got the all ‘luxuries’ you actually need in a workhorse like this. The only thing we think is a bit tight of Isuzu is the lack of speakers in the rear.
On their U. K. website, Isuzu state the Eiger has ‘4 speakers’. Yes, two in the dash and two in the front doors. Surely it can’t be much moolah to add a couple more in the back doors! In today’s market, I think it’s just something people expect, and so they should.
The front seats are actually very comfortable. There’s no adjustable lumbar support but they have the curves in the correct places, so your back and legs are well placed.
As with most double- cab pick- up trucks, the D- Max’s back seats are at an upright angle, and there’s no adjusting them. On a longish drive the passengers said they weren’t too bad, and the leg room was ample. In the rear, you’re sat up probably a good four inches above the front seats, making the view ahead excellent. The D- Max is quite a wide vehicle and because of that there’s a good amount of elbow room in the front, and it feels genuinely spacious. You can seat three adults in the rear, although you may find your head being used as a ball should you try to sit three large rugby players in the back for any length of time. Engine and gearbox. No matter what model in the D- Max range you choose they all have the same engine, and it’s a rather nice one too.
A 2. 5 litre twin- turbo four- pot diesel powers the Isuzu. Yes, twin- turbo. For all those thinking ‘that thing has got to slurp the diesel big time’, well, you’d be wrong, but more on that in the test drive section. With 1. 63 PS (1. Nm (2. 95 lbs ft) of torque, it’s no slouch once you’re rollin’. With all 2. 95 lbs ft available from just 1,4. D- Max has the torque available almost as soon as your right foot depresses the accelerator.
Fire the engine into life and it is surprisingly smooth. I’ve heard noisier diesel engines on high- end cars and SUV’s in truth. This could be down to the fact that attached to the underneath of the bonnet there seemed to be a wedge of insulation thicker than my beds duvet though. Whatever, the engine runs super- smooth even when started in cold weather and I liked it. Props to Isuzu on how the engine bay looks. Personally, I hate it when you open up the hood of a vehicle, only to be disappointingly greeted by a mass of hugely unexciting plastic covering almost the entire space.
Boo to that. Happily, when I popped the lid on the Isuzu I was met with loveliness itself. Okay it did have have a plastic top, but redeemed itself by 1.
Turbo’ stamped in large print on each side of the cover. This is a good thing. There are things petrolheads truly like to see.
Like a large orange hose. And two actual, visible turbo’s. And many, many metal pipes and pieces of shiny mechanical beauty (such as the huuuge ABS unit) that look cool, and which mean you can spend many an hour in your garage cleaning and polishing ’til your heart’s content and your beer has run out. Onto the Isuzu D- Max’s gearbox.
The six- speed manual version I had was acceptable but noticeably agricultural. Pulling and pushing the fairly long gearstick is strangely fun though, and as our other test guy Nath pointed out, it feels like you’re clunking a huge piece of farm equipment into gear. It’s not heavy or industrial- like, but you certainly know you’re changing gear, if that makes sense. Although the Eiger we tested had only covered around 3,0. The six- speed ‘box is a definite plus for the fuel- consumption and makes long motorway journeys more relaxing. First and second gears are ultra- short, which is good if you’re towing or carrying something heavy, but get slightly tiresome if you’re doing a lot of round- town driving. Select 6 on that long stick at the aforementioned speeds though, and you’ll find needle on the rpm dial so low it’s ludicrous. 1,8.
The fuel economy of the D- Max is especially impressive. On the manual, Isuzu quote 3. Overall, the diesel Isuzu D- Max has a great power plant which is smooth and efficient, and even though the manual can be a tad notchy sometimes, the gear ratios are set up nicely.
Ready to roll? Let’s drive this thing! I’d been seriously hoping for snow to arrive while I had the D- Max on test, and it did – the very day it was delivered. After doing a mini jig around in the snow in celebration (once the driver had left so’s I didn’t appear a total fool), I dived into the Isuzu, key in hand, ready to awake the beast from its slumber.
I love a good pick- up, and with good ground clearance, a long wheelbase and a wide body the D- Max Eiger is a proper one. Turn the key and the D- Max instantly fires into life. The rpm needle immediately leaps to 1,4.
All good though, and the revs will die to around 9. Pulling away, the D- Max puts down all the torque right away and you’re left in no doubt there are twin turbo’s in action. Going through the gears it’s very apparent that the turbo’s in the Isuzu aren’t like the old unit’s you’d find that had heavy lag. These spool up quickly, and the power is there when you need it.
Although the six speed ‘box means changing gear a fair amount around town, in lighter traffic there’s enough low down torque to get away with fewer changes by making the turbo’s work harder. Talking of town driving, one thing I wasn’t looking forward to was the jarring ride that a pick- up usually brings.
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