Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X may get more power and hybrid

Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA) says it will deliver both electrified and more powerful versions of its new Isuzu D-MAX ute and upcoming Isuzu MU-X seven-seat SUV, if Aussies demand them.

Launched today before it officially goes on sale next Monday (August 2), the second-generation Isuzu MU-X is powered by the same new four-cylinder 3.0-litre turbo-diesel as the latest D-MAX released last year.

Isuzu is a world leader in diesel engine tech and the extensively upgraded ‘big-bore’ 4JJ3-TC Hi-Power engine was largely driven by Aussie demand. Thailand and Australia are the world’s two biggest markets for the D-MAX and MU-X, and the only countries in which the DOHC 16-valve 3.0-litre turbo-diesel remains available.

Everywhere else, both models are fitted with Isuzu’s smaller, lighter, quieter and more efficient 1.9-litre RZ4E ‘BluePower’ twin-turbo diesel, which was released in 2019, makes 110kW of power and 360Nm of torque and meets the strict Euro 6 emissions standard without needing ‘AdBlue’ selective catalytic reduction (SCR).

The upgraded 3.0-litre engine in our D-MAX and MU-X is only Euro 5-compliant, but employs a diesel particulate filter, new block, head and fuel-injection to pump out a healthier 140kW and 450Nm.

That’s up from 130kW/430Nm in the old D-MAX/MU-X, but down on the circa-150kW/500Nm outputs offered by the top-selling Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger and their SUV spin-offs, the Fortuner and Everest.

Nor is a ‘tough-truck’ version of the latest D-MAX available, leaving Isuzu without a rival for popular top-end dual-cab 4x4 utes like the Nissan Navara Warrior, HiLux Rugged X and Ford Ranger Wildtrak and Raptor.

All that could change if there’s sufficient demand from Australian ute buyers, however, according to IUA’s general manager of product planning Takeshi Imanari.

Asked during the launch of the new MU-X whether IUA will release more powerful ‘hero’ versions of the D-MAX and MU-X, Imanari-san said: “We can't talk about future model plans.

“However, we understand some competitors are offering such higher-output models … but we will keep watching Australian customer demand and if we can find demand to develop or to introduce … we will do it for the Australian customer.”

More muscle isn’t the only thing on IUA’s radar for the dramatically more upmarket new D-MAX and MU-X.

As the world marches towards ‘zero net emissions’ and countries begin effectively banning non-electrified engines and even internal combustions altogether via tighter CO2 regulations, hybrid power is now a prerequisite for ute-makers to remain relevant.

The next-generation Toyota HiLux due around 2024 will be available with hybrid power and Mitsubishi is studying plug-in hybrid powertrains for its next Triton ute, which launches next year and will form the basis of the new Nissan Navara by 2025.

Ford has stated its next-generation light commercial vehicles – including the all-new 2022 Ford Ranger, which will spawn the second-generation Volkswagen Amarok and the 2023 Ford Everest – will be available with an electrified powertrain.

GWM has also promised an all-electric version of the GWM Ute, and a range of pure-EV full-size US pick-ups are on the way from GM, Ford, Tesla and Rivian.

Now it appears Isuzu will be ready to join the electrification drive at least with its D-MAX, which underpins the Mazda BT-50, with IUA sales, marketing and fleet director Koichiro Yoshida confirming that hybrid and EV powertrains are both under consideration.

“We cannot talk about the future model but basically what we can say is that Isuzu basically has technology especially in the small truck for the electric vehicle and also some of the hybrids,” said Yoshida-san.

“So we are looking for the demand in Australia of when or how, if there is demand, and whether it’s hybrid or not, and depending on that demand we need to study to introduce such a model. But at this moment we cannot talk about the future model.”

That suggests the new D-MAX and MU-X are both at least package-protected for electrified powertrains, a range of which already exist within Isuzu, but the question is what form that could take.

As Japan’s oldest automotive manufacturer and the producer of 25 million engines since 1916, Isuzu produces a range of low-emissions engines for its light truck range, including compressed natural gas (ELF CNG-MPI) and dimethyl ethel engine (DME) powered vehicles.

Isuzu is also investing significant R&D into a fuel-cell powertrain system that employs methanol, and another that stores hydrogen in a special alloy.

But perhaps the most likely candidate for the D-MAX and MU-X is a development of the diesel-electric hybrid tech that already accompanies the 4.8-litre 4HL1 diesel engine in a range of Isuzu light trucks.

Producing 103kW and 333Nm, Isuzu’s ELF Diesel Hybrid system incorporates an electric motor, lithium-ion battery, regenerative braking and a Smoother-E transmission that “allows automatic shifting in fuel-saving speed ranges”.

Isuzu says the PTO-type parallel drive hybrid system, in which the motor and generator do not share the engine crankshaft, allows the diesel engine to remain unaffected if a hybrid system failure occurs.