While electric vehicles might be the future, the sacred fires of the church of diesel still burn brightly for true believers—namely, real estate developers, building contractors, and ‘mariners.’
Yes, mariners. Men who live in the country for a few weeks at a time between months-long tours of duty. For your typical marine engineer, a car powered by the same reliable diesel technology that powers their boats, and that feels as fresh now as it did ten years ago is a perfect fit. And while Toyota might reign supreme in the rest of the market, Isuzu has a strong and steady following thanks to its durable DuraMax engines and trucks. But with the flood of new entries from Chinese makers, does the Isuzu D-Max have what it takes to appeal to the rest of us, who have to live with it on a daily basis?
Let’s find out.
Styling
Not much has changed with the D-Max’s looks over the past four years, even with the recent facelift. There’s more integration between the foglights and the lower grille this time around, which helps open up the front end a bit, as the old one tended to look a bit pinched, but all the sheetmetal bits remain the same.
This LS-A version features simple reflector headlamps rather than the LED-equipped ones on higher-end variants. Daytime running lights are instead built into the fog lamps. The fender flares are a little more complex, with more details stamped into the plastic, including leading edge ridges that are meant to either clean up airflow around the wheels or simply look like they do. There are minor detail changes to tail-lights and bedside rails, but these are easy to miss. Simpler black 18-inch alloy wheels feel much sportier and are better suited to the D-Max than the previous design.
Interior
The only major change of note to the interior is the new steering wheel boss—that rubber pad in the center of the wheel. Everything else is basically the same. It’s still a relatively no-nonsense cabin, with lots of interior storage like dual gloveboxes, that hidden dash-top box, along with decent seating space. Cabin plastics and materials may not be luxurious, but they still benefit from the upgrade the line-up got when Isuzu started building the D-Max’s BT-50 twin for Mazda.
Ergonomics is generally good, if a bit old-fashioned. You still get a traditional shift lever and mechanical handbrake here. The quilted fabric seatbacks are decently padded and provide excellent ventilation, especially in hot weather like we’ve been having lately.
Out back, you get a plastic bed liner and plastic sill extenders, perfect for a tailgate picnic, as you won’t be sitting or leaning on scorching hot metal. The extenders add slightly to usable cargo volume, but unfortunately, don’t provide any extra tie-down points to secure that cargo.
ALSO READ:
Ford PH adds new Ranger XL+ 4x4 to lineup; yours for P1.279-M
Next-gen Honda Pilot could finally get hybrid power to keep big families happy
Engine performance
While we wait for the new MaxForce and EV drivetrains to make their local debut, the D-Max LS-A soldiers on with the tried and tested turbocharged 3.0-liter 4JJ3 diesel engine, with 187hp and 450Nm of torque. Good for 0-100kph in about 9.4sec, a tick down on the 4x4 due to the lack of traction from the all-terrain tires. Fuel economy hovers in the 18-19km/L range, touching 20km/L on flatter portions of the highway system, thanks to the long gearing on that six-speed automatic transmission, which keeps revs down to around 1,500rpm over a wide range from 70-120kph.
Ride and handling
This generation of D-Max abandoned the wallowy feel of old for a more stable, stiffer suspension set-up. Paired with 265/60 R18 all-terrain Dunlop GrandTrek AT25 tires, it can get a bit jiggly over low-speed ruts and bumps. Outright grip is also lower than on most HT tires, but you have to be driving pretty badly to notice. Things feel better on the open road, and the precise and heavy steering builds confidence at high speeds or when bombing down provincial roads.
Around town or when maneuvering around parking lots, the heavy steering can get a bit tiring. Thankfully, you do get 360-degree cameras to assist in parking duties, but unfortunately, they aren’t very sharp. The video has a sort of washed-out feel, and there are noticeable differences in color balance between the cameras on this unit, which makes the stitched 360-degree display feel a bit cheap.
Extra Features
Those cameras are always active, however, and you can plug in a USB drive and download recent footage as dashcam evidence in case of an accident. There’s also built-in navigation and even an inclinometer display. How much you’ll use that on a 4x2 truck is debatable, but better to have it and not need it than the other way around.
Aside from that, you don’t get much else in the way of aids. No cruise control or ADAS. The HVAC panel is a rotary dial instead of the more advanced system on the LS-E, and the infotainment system feels rather perfunctory. Bluetooth phone and music integration are separate, with ‘Bluetooth Music’ sitting two pages over on the onscreen menu, which makes it confusing when you first link up your phone and can’t get the music to play.
On the bright side, there’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, and sound from the six-speaker set-up is pretty decent. While the LS-A Plus doesn’t get the eight-speaker system of the top-spec’d LS-E, it still gets USB-A and USB-C integration and a wireless charger. More than enough for most buyers.
Verdict
The Isuzu D-Max 4x2 LS-A Plus isn’t the most loaded truck on the road, but it’s also not very expensive for what you get. But if you want the best out of your Isuzu, it pays to option up to the LS-E, which gives you a more modern package and many of the features that the LS-A lacks.
From a longer point of view, while there is a chance that the potentially more frugal MaxForce or EV drivetrains may arrive later this year, fans won’t feel shortchanged by the current 4JJ3, which remains a solid, reliable performer, promising hundreds of thousands of trouble-free kilometers in the years to come.
SPECS: Isuzu D-Max 4x2 LS-A AT Plus 2025
Price: P1,560,000
Engine: 3.0-liter turbodiesel I4
Power: 187hp
Torque: 450Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Layout: RWD
Seating: 5
Score: 7.5/10
More photos of the Isuzu D-Max 4x2 LS-A AT Plus 2025:
