This bargain is the perfect pick-me-up

In recent years, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Fiat, Volkswagen and Mercedes have stopped selling pick-ups in the UK.

Leave the door wide open for isozu, which makes nothing but pick-up trucks. It’s no coincidence that sales have increased by 50 percent.

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The DMax Utility is the bargain in the company’s range, aimed primarily at the hardware store and farmer’s market but now making a more compelling offering than ever for families on a budget after undergoing a major image overhaul.

While the entry-level two-seat soloist starts at £22,000 (assuming you avoid VAT by registering it as a work vehicle) for a great price, for an additional £3.5k buy the much more practical and popular five-cylinder. seater double cabin.

While previously using the same engine as the top-of-the-line V-cross, the base utility trim only featured a manual transmission.

But Isuzu has just announced you can now get it as a car for an extra £1,500 in all but the single cab model.

The amusingly long-throw six-speed manual, however, is a retro hoot to handle in the waterproof, vinyl-floored cabin that you can literally hose down.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that this basic equipment lacks everything. OK, the D-Max Utility doesn’t have a touchscreen display like the fancier models – just a CD/DAB radio combo including USB and Bluetooth – but it does have lumbar support seats, speed-sensitive steering, start/stop, cruise control and hill start/stop control. departure aid.

Plus a range of safety systems that really excel at this level, including Traffic Sign Recognition, Intelligent Speed ​​Limiter, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Monitor and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

I’ll stop here – but you get the point. The only downside is that it beeps quite often. Compared to the last D-Max, the 1.9-litre diesel sounds just as gruff, as you’d expect. And while it’s marginally more composed on the road, it’s still not an SUV in this department.

However, it is better off-road with upgraded shock absorbers and suspension.

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And did I say it looks better? It does. Much. Inside and outside. Noble or more aggressive.

With that brutalistic, tough plastic bumper bar and stunning 18″ steel wheels, you really don’t have to pay top-of-the-line to get noticed.

Still capable of carrying a ton of payload, hauling 3.5 tons and hauling a family of five with the assurance of a five year warranty, this bargain is the perfect pick-me-up pickup.