Isuzu D-Max AT35 six-month real-world review — worth the premium?
Running the Toyota Fortuner for 14 months now, 49102km on the clock including 11 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the ride quality on corrugations is noticeably better than the Hilux — Isuzu did something right with that suspension tune. I have done Sani Pass, Richtersveld and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 3.0L turbodiesel is 8L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: parts availability outside major centres is still behind Toyota. In the Richtersveld, a Hilux owner will always find a part before a D-Max owner. Also the dealer here in Durban could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: ARB Summit bull bar (R9k fitted), Dobinsons shocks (R12k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R79k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my Durban dealer was R698,500 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
4 Replies
Interesting points on the dealer experience. I had the same in Bloemfontein — 8 week wait for a service part that should have been in stock. This is why I budget for a proper extended warranty and use an independent workshop that specialises in 4x4s rather than the franchise dealer.
Running the Toyota Fortuner for 14 months now, 49102km on the clock including 11 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the ride quality on corrugations is noticeably better than the Hilux — Isuzu did something right with that suspension tune. I have done Sani Pass, Richtersveld and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 3.0L turbodiesel is 8L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: parts availability outside major centres is still behind Toyota. In the Richtersveld, a Hilux owner will always find a part before a D-Max owner. Also the dealer here in Durban could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: ARB Summit bull bar (R9k fitted), Dobinsons shocks (R12k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R79k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my Durban dealer was R698,500 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
— liezel_erasmus
On the mod budget — R80k sounds like a lot but if you are amortising it over 5 years of serious use, it works out to less than R1,000 per month. And the safety improvement in a real recovery situation is not something you can put a price on.
What suspension are you running now? I have the same setup and am looking at Dobinsons coilovers — around R17k fitted at my local workshop. Keen to know if the ride quality improvement on corrugated gravel roads is as significant as people claim.
On the mod budget — R57k sounds like a lot but if you are amortising it over 10 years of serious use, it works out to less than R1,000 per month. And the safety improvement in a real recovery situation is not something you can put a price on.