Isuzu D-Max V-Cross First Drive Review

India, as a market, has not warmed up to the idea of pick-up trucks for personal use. Despite Tata and Mahindra having a go at the segment with the Xenon XT and the Scorpio Getaway, they were unable to fully capitalise on the opportunity. Much of the apprehension among buyers is the fact that farmers use pick-ups to transport goods, and mimicking a farmer’s lifestyle isn’t exactly the ‘in’ thing. The Isuzu V-Cross though has tremendous road presence, and as we found out in the real world, it draws appreciate glances from the young, the affluent as well as the fairer sex.

Its nose is characterised by a butch and high bonnet, and a massive grille with the Isuzu logo on it. The headlamps look contemporary too. A wide air dam then splits the fog lamps on the rounded bumper while the flared wheelarches bring in the much-needed visual drama. The large alloy wheels look nice and the roof rails exemplify the off-road look. There’s a nice flow of the pick-up design too from the double-cab section to the cargo bay. Our test car had a chrome package, which included embellishments on the headlamp, cargo door, door handles and mirrors to name a few. This is an optional extra.

The driver’s seat offers a commanding view of the road thanks to the forward tilt of the cab, and the height adjustable driver’s seat. The instrument cluster has a simple set of dials split by a digital screen and all the buttons on the centre console are concentrated around the auto air-con’s controls. Behind the gear lever is a rotary 4WD dial.

Quality levels within the cabin are comparable to cars at the same price point; the only exception being the plastic, which doesn’t looking premium enough; it looks hard wearing instead. At the front, the fabric seats are big and comfortable and offer good thigh support. The cabin too offers good leg, head and elbow room upfront.

Occupants in the rear are welcomed by a large bench that’s well cushioned with decent knee and head room. The thigh support from the seats here, though, is limited. And some might even find the backrest angle a bit upright as well. Also, the rear bench squab lifts upwards in a 60:40 manner to reveal two small enclosures; one of which is used to hold the jack and tools. Cargo carrying capability is taken care of by the bed that measures 1485mm x 1530mm x 465mm (L x W x H) which is also customisable.

Features that are standard on the V-Cross include projector headlamps, roof rails, shift-on-the-fly 4WD system, auto air-con, electric windows and electric folding mirrors. There’s also keyless entry, ABS with EBD, dual airbags, ISOFIX anchorages for child seat, immobiliser, defogger and fog lamps. The touch screen infotainment system, chrome package, side step, bed liner, sport bar (roll bar), and a D-box (hydraulically operated bed lid) you see on the test car, however, are all optional extras.

Powering the D-Max V-Cross is a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel motor that puts out 134bhp at 3600rpm and 320Nm between 1800rpm and 2800rpm. It is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. Twist the ignition and the engine stutters to life with a noisy clatter on the outside. Inside though, occupants can hardly hear anything at idle thanks to impressive cabin insulation. NVH levels overall are well suppressed until the time you rev the engine close to its redline.

The V-Cross comes with a tall gear lever with a long throw that has a rubbery feel to it. The best part about this transmission however is the smooth transitions between gears. This, coupled with a progressive clutch, makes driving the V-Cross easy within city limits, however, you’d expect this pick-up to at least come with rear parking sensors if not a parking camera because backing it up is a huge challenge.

Now, 134bhp may not sound like a lot on paper, there’s 320Nm of torque that comes in early which makes driving this pick-up truck relatively effortless. It pulls strongly off the mark and picks up pace in a linear and non-sluggish fashion. As the gear ratios are stacked close to each other, it helps the vehicle to easily lug loads from low speeds.

With a long wheelbase (3095mm), the V-Cross displays great straight-line stability especially on highways, even at high speeds. The ride too is surprisingly flat for this SUV-plus sized vehicle at speed, which is partially thanks to the absorption from the large 70-profile tyres. It is only when the roads turn bumpy that the ladder-frame setup becomes obvious. The V-Cross doesn’t manage to suppress the up and down movement over uneven or patched surfaces well. The soft front suspension will forgive you if you miss a speed breaker, but if the cargo space is empty, the rear leaf springs will get the vehicle to hop to an extent that will make the occupants uncomfortable. Meanwhile, a shift-on-the-fly 4WD system with 2WD, 4WD-High and 4WD-Low options allow for some potent off-roading.

The V-Cross’ steering is on the heavier side and slow off dead centre with lots of turns lock-to-lock. It can be a handful while parking, at slower speeds and tight winding roads, which is further amplified by the exterior dimensions. Since the wheelbase is long, don't expect it to carry your intended line for the whole vehicle on tight winding roads, and expect a fair amount of body roll too. Nevertheless, the brakes have decent bite and the V-Cross even holds the intended line under hard braking.

The V-Cross has good build quality, go anywhere capability, a reasonably strong engine, and a spacious cabin in its favour. And we feel it can work as a replacement to SUVs available at that price point. For one, it will turn more heads. And then you will carry the ‘adventurous’ aura with you everywhere you go. The real downside to the V-Cross though is its size, especially if you live in crowded cities.

The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross comes in one fully loaded 4x4 variant that retails at Rs 12.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai). While the Mahindra Scorpio Getaway in 4WD form undercuts the V-Cross by a fair amount at Rs 9.85 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai), Tata’s Xenon XT 4x4 is also cheaper by a lakh at Rs 11.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai).

Pictures: Sanchit Arora

Isuzu vehicles in Andhra Pradesh to get five-year tax break

Isuzu starts testing the MU-X on Indian roads

Isuzu Thailand updates the D-Max V-Cross