Working class hero

by Drew Asuncion 13 Feb 2009

Photos by Richard Garcia

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COMMENTS

• jv says dmax rocks! (30 April 2009)
• Powerstroke says Are you sure Isuzu is reliable, with less than 3 months of purchase, the Sportivo AT gear broke down, was towed on the highway.. (25 July 2009)
• kiko sanchez says Fuel efficiency and responsive power? ---- no doubt the Isuzu DMax 3-liter 4JJ1-TC DDi-iTEQ (common-rail) is very fuel efficient. Drove down south to Camarines Sur with my wife, son, yaya, together with our things onto our way to the famed Camarines Watersports Complex just a bit further south of Naga City (and also to see the beaches of Caramoan Peninsula thereafter). Logged in a total of 425.5 km (from Tierra Pura gate to CWC) and consuming only almost 1/3 of my fuel-tank. Computing that, it gives you a fuel mileage of 17 km per liter (e.g. 425.5 km divide by 25 liters) My friends who were also on convoy with us on their Hyundai Starex CRDi's and Toyota Fortuner 3.0L D4D simply could not believe how fuel-efficient the DMax is. The Starex Fuel gauge only has 1/4 left while the Fortuner D4-D had 1/3 left. All of us (my DMax, their Fortuner and Hyundai) loaded up our fuel tanks at Petron Congressional Station prior to speeding off to Naga City at around 3:00 am, 28 April 2010. All throughout our 3-day inland travel from Quezon City to Naga (CWC) to Albay to Naga (CWC) to Guijalo Port to Naga City proper, my DMax did not require refuelling. It was then ONLY on our way back to Metro Manila (Quezon City) that Sunday of the week where i had to refuel. Here's a photo of my control panel at the end of the 425.5 km trip from Quezon City to CWC, Naga (kindly copy and paste link): http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/10/dsc04354bx.jpg ....Being the cheapest 3-liter out there and yet arguably the most fuel-efficient, my all-stock DMax is just one humble hauler getting the job done wherever i take it (Pampanga, Pangasinan, La Union, Tarlac, Zambales in Mt. Pinatubo, Baguio, Rizal, Antipolo, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Camarines Sur, Albay). You may copy and paste links: http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5540/dsc04532b.jpg http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/1821/fil11231.jpg http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/6325/dsc04040i.jpg http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9034/dsc03885ok.jpg (25 May 2010)
• ricky adigue says In relation to our Pinoy-issued DMax's and Alterra's 3-liter 4JJ1-TC, all i know is that a better variant of this DDi-iTEQ is now being plugged onto Thai-issued DMax's and MU-7's (the MU-7 is our Alterra). This is the 3-liter 4JJ1-TCX, which is VVGT-equipped. This is also the same variant that Isuzu had been issuing onto Euro- and Aussie-version DMax's. Now, normally, we Pinoys have to wait for Thailand, incidentally where our Isuzu's are assembled from, 1 to 2 years before an updated version reaches the Philippine shores.... And i have no doubt that this variable valve geometry turbocharger (VVGT)-equipped 4JJ1-TCX will reach the local market, finally. It produces a peak power of 164 pferdestarke at 3600 rpm and a peak broad/ flat torque of 360 Newton-meter from 1800 rpm to 2800 rpm. Here are some pictures of this slightly-modified variant 3-liter DDi-iTEQ series (please copy and paste the links): http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4734/4jj1tcxddivgsturbopower.jpg and http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/1641/4jj1tcxddivgsturbopic.jpg (25 May 2010)
• dtkiko says The current Pinoy-version DMax is indeed an excellent choice! BUT STILL, i wouldn't mind owning one of these "better-powered" Isuzu DMax when they finally arrived Las Islas Filipinas hehe. See that hood-scoop, a distinct ergonomic feature that our current Pinoy-version DMax-siado doesn't have? ---- Thanks to the intercooler's new location, which is better design-, functionality- and safety-wise, on top of the 4JJ1-TCX engine (yes, with an "X") VVGS-equipped engine. Link provided for copy and paste: http://www.isuzu.it/repos/wallpaper/52.jpg The new 3-litre 4JJ1-TCX DDi--iTEQ with Variable-Valve Geometry Turbocharger is even compact and lightweight than our current 4JJ1-TC that is equipped only with a "swirl mix" in the intake. Copy and paste link. http://isuzu-tis.com/2010/product/D-MAX/jpg/engine/engi3.jpg Engine variant: 4JJ1-TCX Direct Diesel Injection-iTEQ (with Variable-Valve Geometry Turbocharger) Engine year model: Introduced in 2006 (USA, Europe, Australia) and introduced in 2010 (Thailand) Displacement: 3.0-litre Peak power: 164 pferdestarke at 3600 rpm Peak torque: 360 Newton-metre from 1800 rpm to 2800 rpm (07 June 2010)
• dtkiko says During the 2009 Paris-Dakar, on the Privateer UTE Class, the Australian-issue DMax beat all European brands (like VW's and BMW's), including swarms of Nissan Navara's and US-version gasoline-fed Nissan Frontiers (these almost 4-litre Nissan Frontiers have indeed higher 265 ps rating than the 164 ps Aussie-version DMax, but they only have 270 Nm torque even at 4000 rpm, stock-trim). The smaller 3-litre DMax, however, puts out 360 Nm torque from as low as 1800 rpm up to almost 3000 rpm, stock-trim. The two (2) DMax's that joined in, one piloted by an Australian-Japanese team, and one-piloted by a Swedish-Belgian team, survived the harshest race in the world with that one piloted by the Aussie-Jap winning 1st place in the category of non-factory vehicles, or UTE (utility) Privateers Class. The DMax-siado even won 11th place in the Overall from amongst 500 plus participants, beating a lot of American, other Japanese, and European brands in the process. You can see here, that in the hands of a competitive driver, the DMax-siado can shine and handle the punishments of these harshest elements unimaginable to most of us Pinoys ---- Akalain mo bang magre-rescue pa itong DMax-siado ng nabalahong Hummer (or Humvee) at the midst of the Paris-Dakar rally (see 4:55 min and up) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4obUjFp6ZPA (12 July 2010)
• dtkiko says Erratum: The gasoline-fed 4-litre Nissan Frontier produces a peak torque of 380 Nm, not 270 Nm as mentioned previously. Sorry for the glitch guys. At a hindsight, however, to tap this 380 Nm torque it has to be in the 4000 rpm engine speed, whereas the 3-litre DMax with VGT produces already 360 Nm from as low as 1800 rpm and spread it widely up to almost 3000 rpm. (13 July 2010)