Isuzu D-Max DL20 long-term test | Facelift brings welcome changes

Our Isuzu D-Max has been part of the Fleet News ‘family’ for four weeks now – and has been getting lots of admiring looks along the way. Sporting the rather clever ‘DL20 MAX’ number plate – and yes, it is a genuine one – a glance at the pictures here shows it to be elegant and stylish but tough and macho too.

The D-Max has been upgraded since we had a similar model on test last year and one of the standout exterior upgrades is that chunky ‘don’t mess with me’ front end. Our truck comes with a shiny dark grey coat of paint which sets off those 18in alloy wheels and chrome side bars nicely. Our only gripe with the last test model was the fact that the rear end was open to the elements, so the press guys at Isuzu UK added a Truckman top at £2,674 ex-VAT this time around.

There are numerous other external upgrades too, such as halogen headlights, folding heated body coloured door mirrors and automatic windscreen wipers. We’ll deal with the interior upgrades next month.

Now, here at Fleet News, we take a lot of trouble to select the kind of long-term test vehicles that our readers are going to actually buy. So, while yours truly would love to swan about in one of Isuzu’s dazzling top end models, instead I reckoned that the DL20 was a variant that would appeal to fleet managers who want a truck that’s tough and capable, yet has more than a few standard goodies that will keep drivers happy too.

And if you are one of those people, I would forgive you for thinking that maybe I had suffered a temporary loss of sanity when the DL20 was ordered. But no – despite its dazzling looks and list of standard equipment that would just about take the internet out if I listed it all here – this a mid-range variant.

Isuzu’s strategy of providing rock solid vehicles with lots of standard spec at a decent price – rather like Hyundai and Kia have done with cars – has seen the D-Max rise from being a bit part player in the UK pickup truck market to a solid brand that commands respect and delights any driver who is lucky enough to be given one as a working tool.    

Isuzu D-Max DL20 joins our fleet

Unless you happen to have been living under a large stone lately – or maybe in Afghanistan – you will no doubt be aware that the 4x4 pickup truck sector is at present in a state of turmoil.

The Labour government recently decided that these trucks would no longer be considered commercial vehicles for the purpose of benefit-in-kind (BiK) tax. The result of this move is that all the high earners who choose them as company vehicles, thereby saving a shedload of BIK tax, will no longer have this crafty little tax-saving avenue open to them.

While this may cause upset among the higher echelons of Great Britain plc, there are still plenty of businesses that actually buy pickup trucks because they are the only vehicles that will be capable of successfully tackling the jobs that are required of them.

And those companies are increasingly turning to Isuzu to fulfil their orders. The D-Max is a rising star in the sector, with the Japanese manufacturer launching a whole host of new derivatives like there’s no tomorrow – and hoovering up a pile of industry awards along the way too.

So, eschewing the higher grade models, the boy we picked for our latest six-month trial is one that many Fleet News readers are likely to choose  –  the DL20 double-cab manual, which weighs in at £33,395 ex-VAT. It’s a mid-range variant that offers a fleet-friendly performance with lots of standard goodies without breaking the bank.

We had a DL20 on test last year and were left mightily impressed by its macho looks, smooth on-road performance and its wealth of standard goodies, but this new version leaves us wondering just how much better these trucks could possibly get.

A dashing new front end leaves our D-Max looking even more macho than the last one, while Isuzu has managed to dial in such smooth on-road manners that on a smooth road, passengers closing their eyes could imagine themselves being wafted along on a magic carpet – well almost!. It’s a far cry from the old pick-ups we used to test back in the noughties which had such hard suspension that they would just about shake your fillings loose!

During the next six months we’ll be putting our truck through its paces in a variety of test situations – and we have no doubt that it will pass them all with flying colours.