Isuzu D-Max is a cool to drive SUV that’s as capable as the big names for less money – & there’s a big reason to buy now

FARMERS. Builders. Vets. Gard­eners. Everyone with a business in the green bits of Great Britainland.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING.

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From April, double cab pick-up trucks will no longer be classified as commercial vehicles for tax purposes. They will be treated as cars. So they will end up costing you more.

Unless you get in quick.

Order a new one before April 1 and the commercial vehicle status remains until April 2029, sticking with the existing flat-rate Benefit In Kind, rather than shifting to a variable rate based on CO2 emissions, and taking advantage of current Capital Allowances for “plant and machinery”.

Saving your business a tidy sum. Saving your family a tidy sum. Wink.

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D-MAX STRENGTH

I drove the Isuzu D-Max, it looks great but only comes in 1.9-litre diesel

Note. Reclaiming VAT remains unchanged.

Look like a pro

My next bit of money-saving advice starts with Isuzu and ends in D-Max.

That’s right. The truck you see in the big pictures. Every bit as capable as the big-name 4x4s. For less moolah.

We took one for a workout in a muddy quarry, climbing slopes as high as houses — and we didn’t get stuck once. Even on normal tyres.

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Of course, D-Max has all the muscle needed for off-roading: 4WD shift-on-the-fly system, rear differential lock, high ground clearance and attack angles, sturdy ladder chassis with underbody protection, and it can swim in water up to 80cm deep.

New-for-2025 models have something extra: A handy little button that activates rough terrain mode.

Basically, it makes you look like a pro, enabling you to claw up the steepest, snottiest surfaces by braking the slipping wheel and sending torque to the wheels with the most grip.

So you don’t really need chunky off-road tyres. Standard tyres are fine. Which also means less road noise and better fuel economy, should your D-Max ever be used as a family motor.

Now there’s a thought.

The double-cab range starts at £31,595 exc VAT. All are powered by a 1.9-litre diesel turbo prod­ucing 164hp and 360Nm of torques.

All versions can swallow a tonne of stuff in the load bed and tow 3.5 tonnes. Just not both at the same time.

All versions come with five-year roadside assistance and a five-year warranty.

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Isuzu has given D-Max a little more love inside and out, including new lights and radiator grille, and designer creases on the bodywork.

The twin-screen dash carries ­sensible levels of tech — wireless Apple CarPlay, reversing camera, adaptive cruise control and so on — combined with THREE properly useful gloveboxes.

The front seats are heated. You big softies. Speed-sensitive steering makes life easy.

To sum up, then.

The Isuzu D-Max. It’s affordable, capable, cool to drive and doesn’t skimp on the bits you need from both a workhorse and a family SUV.

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But the clock is ticking if you want to maximise tax savings.

• ISUZU is developing a pure ­electric D-Max with the same minerals as the diesel. E-Max?