Isuzu D-MAX AT35 launches in UK, but still no hero for Oz

Isuzu UK has given the world its first look at a pumped-up, range-topping D-MAX in the form of the £47,999 ($A85,619) Isuzu D-MAX Arctic Trucks AT35, but at this stage it seems the brand’s local division still has no interest in offering a hero ute to battle the Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior.

Decked out with chunky 315/70 R17 BFGoodrich mud-terrain tyres, widened tracks, tailored Bilstein dampers, a bespoke suspension lift kit and a tweaked body with suitably flared wheel-arches, the Arctic Trucks AT35 is based on the UK’s top-spec D-MAX V-Cross – the equivalent of our X-TERRAIN – and is being sold in by Isuzu UK as the ultimate D-MAX variant.

Questions surrounding the possibility of a more capable flagship D-MAX have been circulating in Australia ever since the new-generation pick-up arrived here in August 2020, to which Isuzu Ute Australia (IUA) has long said it would attentively monitor the market.

With more and more manufactures, including challenger brands like SsangYong, rolling out or announcing flagship ute offerings, carsales asked IUA exactly what its 18 months of market observation had uncovered.

According to sales and marketing director Koichiro Yoshida, the Japanese brand is fully aware of the increasing demand for highly-specified, go anywhere out-of-the-box utes, but for now the answer was to enhance the range of genuine accessories available to customers.

“IUA can appreciate the appetite for accessorised variants and have recently expanded our selection of Genuine Accessories which have been engineered specifically for the D-MAX,” he said.

“But at this moment, we are not in a position to comment on future model plans.”

Fresh additions to the accessories range include ClearView compact and Next-Gen towing mirrors, an electric roller cover with LED lighting, Backbone platform racks and heavy-duty canvas seat covers, but there’s still no sign of an adjustable suspension upgrade like the one offered by Mazda Australia for its own Mazda BT-50 4x4, which is based on the latest D-MAX.

Developed in collaboration with ARB and Old Man Emu, two different suspension packs are available to BT-50 owners and buyers; each designed to better tailor the driving experience to the owner’s preference and primary usage.

While improvements in ground clearance are negligible, reviews and drive impressions from around the industry have lauded the dealer-fit set-ups on account of the improved ride comfort and composure off-road.

Fit one of these packs to the already decked-out BT-50 Thunder and add some all-terrain rubber and the flagship Mazda ute rapidly closes in on Navara Warrior territory in terms of off-road credentials, accessories and capability, if not quite price.

For reference, the more modern Thunder retails for $68,190 before on-road costs in manual form – plus between $6720-$6790 for the suspension upgrade – compared the Warrior’s $67,490 starting price.

The existence and subsequent UK release of the Isuzu D-MAX Arctic Trucks AT35, not to mention the full factory-backed warranty, shows there is scope for a significantly enhanced D-MAX and that such a project is entirely possible.

Like the Navara Pro-4X Warrior, the D-MAX Arctic Trucks AT35 is the result of a third-party collaboration and not an entirely in-house operation like the one that produced the Ford Ranger Raptor.

Of course, IUA hasn’t definitively ruled out a hero-spec D-MAX, with Yoshida reiterating the brand is “constantly monitoring the Australian market to ensure that any product updates to the D-MAX range in the future, meet the Australian market’s requirements”.

But with the second-gen Ranger Raptor effectively rewriting the hero ute rulebook, there’s now a glaring hole in the market currently filled only by the Navara Warrior given Toyota has just stopped taking orders for its high-end, high-volume Toyota HiLux Rugged X and the more recreation-focused Rogue.