Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain 2020 Tow Test

Buyers expect a lot of gear in a premium 4x4 dual-cab ute and the 2020 Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain scores a bullseye for standard features.

Positioned at the top of the D-MAX range and priced from $62,900 plus on-road costs, the X-Terrain has loads of features and most bases covered including keyless entry and start, remote engine start, leather upholstery, a power-operated driver’s seat, height- and reach-adjustable steering column, power-fold and heated side mirrors, dual-zone climate control, radar cruise control and ISOFIX child seat points.

There’s 18-inch alloy wheels (with an 18-inch steel spare), LED headlights (with dusk-sensing), a rear diff lock, hill descent control and, out back, a load area liner and roller tonneau cover.

Perhaps the only notable omission on the X-Terrain spec sheet that other top-end utes tend to have is heated front seats.

Automatic transmission is standard in the $62,900 asking price, but as tested here the X-Terrain comes with optional metallic paint ($500), a towbar kit including a 12-pin plug ($1164, or $100 less if it’s seven-pin) and the electric brake controller ($820). As tested, the vehicle stands at $65,384 plus ORCs.

The new Isuzu D-MAX is covered by a six-year/150,000km factory warranty. Service intervals are 12 months/15,000km and Isuzu offers capped-price servicing that, over a maximum five-year period, costs $2215.

The new-generation 2020 Isuzu D-MAX’s standard safety equipment is extensive, as evidenced by the fact that all models in the range come with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with day and night vehicle and pedestrian detection plus daytime cyclist detection.

And there’s plenty more: high-speed active cruise control, forward crash warning, front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera, speed sign recognition, lane departure warning, lane departure assist, auto high beam headlights and trailer sway control.

The AEB system also features turn assist, which automatically brakes the vehicle when turning left or right if it detects a potential collision with an oncoming vehicle.

Other notable equipment includes emergency lane keeping, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot warning and eight airbags, one of which is positioned in between the front occupants.

While it is an advantage to have such a high level of standard safety gear, we can’t help feel that Isuzu could’ve spent a little more development time with some of the driver assist tech.

For example, the forward collision system appears to be a little too keen to warn of a collision than other vehicles equipped with this technology, and AEB was once triggered in a slow-speed city environment where the risk of imminent collision wasn’t apparent.

Negotiating roadworks with inconsistent lane markings resulted in the lane keeping assist system frenetically tugging at the steering wheel for a few seconds.

The 9.0-inch infotainment screen will come as a revelation for previous D-MAX owners with its size and scope of features, with native sat-nav, digital radio, wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto among them. That said, it does not have the most logical of menus and we had to restart the car once after the infotainment system froze.

Overall though, allow some time to get used to the system and it is a workable and useful bit of gear.

The 4.0-inch instrument centre information menu is also a bit confounding at times, but at least the menus for disabling or reducing the number of chimes for warnings such as speed limit changes and so on can be found easily.

Isuzu’s 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine has received a slight uptick in power and torque – to 140kW/450Nm – for the new-generation 2020 Isuzu D-MAX, and off-idle lag is much reduced.

Overall though, performance appears much the same as before when towing a heavy caravan.

The engine isn’t the quietest or smoothest of the dual-cab bunch when unladen but it’s not intrusive. That changes when towing; with the engine under far more load when hill climbing, for example, it’s obvious it is working hard with a fair bit of engine noise filtering into the cabin.

Our test hill climb is in a 90km/h speed zone, and while the gradient rises gently at first it becomes more acute towards the end of the climb. The Isuzu held the 90km/h start speed up the climb in fourth gear easily, until the gradient became steep and it simply ran out of puff, the speed and revs dropping with full throttle until kick-down to third occurred.

The D-MAX’s speed dropped to 82km/h at the measuring point at full throttle in third gear with the engine spinning at about 3000rpm.

On the descent, the Isuzu pegged speed holding third gear, increasing from the 70km/h start speed to just 72km/h.

Fuel consumption on test averaged 15.5L/100km. On this average, you’d get a 440km touring range out of the 76-litre fuel tank (with a 50km safety margin).

We took the 2020 Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain to RV Connection in St Marys, west of Sydney, to pick up a tandem-axle caravan with 2615kg tare weight and a 170kg tow ball download, then headed off on our towing test loop.

With the caravan hitched up behind the D-MAX, it was not sitting completely level. However, we had previously sampled the identical caravan behind a (previous-generation) Mazda BT-50, where it sat at a similar angle and towed without any problem.

The Isuzu’s measured droop at the rear was 28mm while the front rose 12mm. These figures don’t suggest anything untoward for dynamics; it’s when the front rises by more than 20mm that it might suggest a problem for steering and stability.

However, as we reached a 100km/h cruising speed on the freeway, it became clear that the D-MAX wasn’t completely settled under tow.

Just slight steering adjustments resulted in a yawing movement. It wasn’t bad, but then we were on a smooth freeway and had no crosswinds or large trucks passing or being passed.

This isn’t the first time we’ve felt that the new Isuzu D-MAX is not entirely settled when towing; we had the same experience on the recent three-way comparison against the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

As we dived onto secondary roads, the D-MAX’s suspension handled undulations well, but on poor road surfaces it was not by any means supple.

The new 2020 Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain looks good, has more than ample features and what appears to be a relatively simple, robust engine – by no means a bad thing if you’re touring in remote areas.

As a towing proposition, it appears to be relatively fuel-efficient and performance is acceptable, but towing stability and ride quality are not perfect.

It feels much like its predecessor in that it could do with an anti-sway friction device or weight distribution hitch to aid stability when towing certain heavy trailers.

How much does the 2020 Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain cost?
Price: $62,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 140kW/450Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 207g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (2020 ANCAP)

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