Isuzu D-Max 2.2L 8AT Premium Review: KL-JB-KL In Half A Tank

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Highway hauling with the D-Max is now made just that bit easier with this new 2.2L turbodiesel and 8AT pairing.

So a little while back, Isuzu had very generously offered up the chance to live with its newly updated D-Max for the weekend. And rather serendipitously, this writer needed to send some stuff down to Johor from KL… in one day. So what better way to put this workhorse to the test than with the challenge of a single-day round trip down south?

Also, given the intricacies of diesel subsidies (and this writer being a bit of a tightwad), the plan was to stick to the full tank of diesel the truck arrived with. This would not only put Isuzu’s efficiency claims for this new powertrain to the test, but also really see how the D-Max fares as a business-centric highway load hauler.

So then, what was it like on the highway?

Well, without beating around the bush, this new D-Max is surprisingly civilised while on the cruise. Much of this is down to the new eight-speed automatic transmission, which shifts smoothly and has sufficient ratios to keep the engine barely spinning past 1,800 rpm at the legal highway speed limit.

And with the engine essentially just above tickover while cruising, it is no surprise that overall NVH in the D-Max is rather good. The road-biased tyres fitted to this Premium variant further assist in keeping road noise to a minimum too, with whatever little remains more than cancelled out by the rather decent eight-speaker sound system.

But while it may be a gentle giant on the cruise, this all-new 2.2-litre turbodiesel still has decent grunt on tap to give the truck a good amount of overtaking capability when called upon. Though be forewarned that this extra go does come with a fair amount of groan from up front, with the four-cylinder still very much being a workhorse-like diesel when it is forced to do some actual work.

And as for the rest of the driving experience meanwhile, the D-Max’s steering feels ever so slightly vague and does require a bit of concentration to keep perfectly in lane. The suspension is also slightly bouncy on the highway… though this is perhaps an unfair critique when based off car standards.

In comparison to a normal car however, the D-Max’s sheer towering size proves rather adept at for just stopping other kings of the fast lane from giving one much grief while sharing the same stretch of road as them. Its commanding driving position also affords a view far into the horizon, making highway driving that little bit less straining.

On to the tech front, this highest-spec 2.2-litre variant unfortunately still lacks the full suite of ADAS found on the 3.0-litre X-Terrain, meaning it misses out on adaptive cruise control, something that would certainly be nice to have on the highway. But hey, at least its seats are decently sculpted and comfy — this writer spent nine hours in them in one day without too much complaint — though a dedicated dead pedal would still be nice.

And speaking of many, many hours on the road, this writer is pleased to report that the D-Max 2.2L managed to get from KL to JB and then back to KL on just half a tank of diesel (thereby actually rendering this whole full-tank challenge rather meaningless). In terms of the raw figures, the 621.8 km round trip saw it eke out 6.3 l/100 km (15.8 km/l), which is really respectable for any car and, for a truck, downright exceptional.

Before accusations of hypermiling trickle into the comments too, this was not actually a true economy run either. Speeds averaged around 70–130 km/h on the highway (which is the comfort zone for the D-Max), with the air-conditioning set to a suitably comfortable 19°C. The journey to JB and back was done with a solo driver, with about a 100 kg payload on the outbound journey.

Just to sum up this D-Max then, this banzai trip down south does at least show that the new 2.2-litre and eight-speed combination can live up to the grand claims of efficiency. And for what it is worth, considering that this writer managed to still get out of a nine-hour return trip without feeling like a soggy sack of flesh and bones, it is a decently humane highway cruiser as well.

So what does that mean in the bigger scheme of things? For any SME looking for a workhorse to do business throughout Malaysia, this new 2.2 is therefore a decent upgrade from the already popular 1.9. The additional 300 cc may sting a little on the road tax bill, but the improved performance and fuel efficiency should help offset that over time. And when you are asking employees to spend hours on the road, that extra bit of refinement and comfort certainly counts for something too.

Odds & Ends

The D-Max’s cabin features plenty of hard-wearing, scratchy plastic in various shapes and sizes, but at least the major touch points are nicely trimmed. The steering wheel is wrapped in nice enough leather, while the door and centre-console armrests are decently padded.

The D-Max does have start-stop to save a bit more fuel, but it also having a manual handbrake means the brake pedal has to be depressed firmly to activate it and then held there.
The D-Max’s 360° camera is clear and provides good coverage of the surroundings, which is vital for a truck of this size.

The new 10-inch screen is crisp and comes with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but for whatever reason, this writer simply could not get the microphone to work for hands-free calling.