Six ways the Isuzu MU-X takes your family’s safety seriously

For many, safety is a priority when buying a new family vehicle, and Isuzu went out of its way to make sure the latest-generation Isuzu MU-X has all the up-to-the-minute safety technology to protect you and your family. Isuzu calls it Intelligent Driver Assistance System (IDAS), technology which covers both passive and active safety systems, and is standard across every MU-X model. 

Here are the top six ways the Isuzu MU-X takes your family’s safety seriously. 

There is a whole bundle of technology working behind the scenes in every MU-X to keep you out of harm’s way. To begin with, there’s the Forward Collision Warning, which gives you a visual and audible warning if the system detects an object in your path for example, a pedestrian who might step out onto the road without checking for traffic, or a car in front which has stopped in traffic.  

Looking ahead for potential trouble and warning you about it is just the start - the Autonomous Emergency Braking automatically detects if a potential collision might occur and applies emergency braking. The AEB system is clever in the MU-X, because it also has what Isuzu calls AEB with Turn Assist, which will automatically apply the brakes if the system senses a potential collision when you’re attempting to turn across oncoming traffic. 

If the worst should happen and the MU-X is involved in a collision sufficient for the airbags to be triggered, then Post-Collision Braking activates. This system applies the brakes to help bring the MU-X to a safe stop. 

If you are keen to explore the MU-X’s substantial 3,500kg towing capacity, you’ll have the back-up of the Trailer Sway Control system, which senses if dangerous trailer sway is starting to occur and applies individual brakes and reduces engine torque to bring the combination back into line. 

There are several technologies that are designed to help take the stress and risk out of busy highway driving. The first is Lane Departure Warning, which warns you that the vehicle is starting to drift out of its lane. 

The next level up of this type of safety assistance is Lane Departure Prevention, which automatically steers the MU-X back towards the centre of the lane if it begins to veer out of it.   

If there are vehicles approaching from behind in the next lane and the system senses that there is a danger of collision, the Emergency Lane Keeping system will automatically help to avoid this by gently steering the MU-X towards the centre of the lane. 

Then there’s the Lane Keep Assist (LKA) system, designed to detect road lane markings and assist steering operation, by keeping your vehicle in its lane while Adaptive Cruise Control is engaged.  Some drivers prefer to not have these above features and so they can all be switched off in the Lane Support System (LSS) menus with the LSS switch on the steering wheel.

With the MU-X, even if you disable Lane Keep Assist, you can still use the excellent Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system. ACC is not only one of the greatest convenience features of any new vehicle, but it also saves on driver fatigue and improves safety and every Isuzu MU-X has this feature. ACC automatically adjusts your speed to match the speed and maintain a preselected distance to the vehicles detected ahead.

All the basics are covered to make tight confines much easier and less stressful in the MU-X, starting with the parking sensors front and rear on LS-T and LS-U models, while LS-M models have only rear park assist sensors. All models have a rear-view camera that also offer dynamic guidelines, which go a long way to help you get neatly and exactly into the space you want without any risk of collision.

Yet parking assist technology makes the whole process much safer and less stressful, with the likes of Misaccleration Mitigation. This technology uses the cameras to quickly work out if you’ve mistakenly pressed the accelerator, and will reduce power if the risk of collision with an obstacle is likely.

One of the greatest inventions you’ll find for city life (or anywhere you’re reversing onto the road) is Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA). This system is so clever in that it monitors not only behind you but also to the sides when you’re backing up and gives you visual and audible warnings if an object such as a pedestrian or a vehicle should approach from either side.?

The good news is false warnings when you’re towing is not a worry, as the system disables automatically when you’ve plugged in the trailer electrics via the genuine tow bar wiring harness.

It can be hard to see smaller vehicles when changing lanes or even when just moving within your own lane, so that’s where the Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) system comes in. With the visual warning lit up on the side mirrors, you’ll know when an obstacle (usually another vehicle) is approaching up into your blind spot. You don’t need to worry about BSM when towing, as it automatically disables, provided you’re using the genuine tow bar wiring harness.

It’s too easy to end up doing the wrong speed for the particular road you’re on, especially if you’re unfamiliar with it. Thankfully the MU-X also recognises traffic signs and displays the speed zone information on the dash.

When in traffic, the Stop and Go functionality of ACC holds the MU-X for up to five minutes in stopped traffic before automatically resuming.

If the worst should happen, the Isuzu MU-X’s body and ladder frame chassis has been designed to absorb energy in a way that protects the occupants. It has eight airbags, including dual front, front side, side curtain, driver’s knee and front centre airbags. Unlike some vehicles, the MU-X has the all-important side curtain airbag coverage including the third-row seats.

Meanwhile, the two second-row ISOFIX-anchor points are designed to keep child seats well secured. There’s also an intelligent seatbelt reminder for all seven of the lap-sash seatbelts, so if there’s any occupant not quite properly clipped in, the MU-X will warn you about it immediately with a visual and audible warning.

You don’t have to worry about outdated or poor crash safety for the MU-X. That’s because the MU-X has been assessed against the very latest testing regulations and has been accorded the highest rating, five stars. Independent testing by ANCAP gave the MU-X a five-star rating, and it achieves this under the stringent 2022 testing protocols.

To find out more about the safety features and technology behind the Isuzu MU-X, visit the Isuzu website.