Styling
Subtle revisions to the radiator grille, plus the front and rear light clusters too, are the hallmarks of the updated D-Max. To be honest, they're more noticeable at the rear, where 'Triple Shield' stacked LED signatures can be spotted either side of the Isuzu's redesigned tailgate, but on this upmarket V-Cross spec the bi-LED lights are cleaner than they were before and now incorporate the indicators to tidy up the truck's appearance. Also, the V-Cross gains a new style of 18-inch, dark-grey alloy wheels, while an additional (and tasteful) body colour of Sienna Orange mica has been added to the palette. As far as one-tonners go, there's not an awful amount of variation the designers can do with the basic shape, but the D-Max is handsome enough, if not quite as appealing nor distinctive as the highly desirable
Ranger it's up against.
Interior
There are no major changes inside in terms of the material finishing and general build quality, which isn't necessarily a bad thing given the cabin of this generation of D-Max remains a good one, but it has now been outmanoeuvred and outpaced by the plusher interiors of both the Ranger and Amarok. Therefore, the big updates here are new infotainment systems - eight-inch screens on all models as standard, with a nine-inch unit in this V-Cross - and a larger, clearer seven-inch instrument cluster for the driver, as well as upgrades to the stereo-camera advanced driver assist safety (ADAS) systems. Both the central touchscreen and the digital dials in the D-Max are OK, but they're not up to snuff because technology like this moves on rapidly these days, and what Isuzu has fitted here feels a bit 2022 (at best), not 2025. At least you can easily turn the ADAS off on the touchscreen, which is a blessing.
Practicality
Pick-up trucks like this are among the most versatile vehicles on the market, and the D-Max is no exception. Passenger space inside the Double-Cab is good enough that four adults should be comfortable inside, although squeezing five in there might be a push, and of course instead of a boot you get a load-bed that's slightly more than 1.5 metres long and capable of taking 1,085kg of assorted payload clobber. The D-Max can also tow the maximum of 3,500kg of braked trailer, wade through 800mm of water without recourse to a snorkel, and has 230mm of ground clearance along with approach, departure and ramp angles of 30.5, 24.2 and 22.9 degrees respectively. About the main drawback with its usability is its sheer size, as it's more than 5.2 metres long and 1.8 metres tall, so it's not the sort of vehicle that's going to excel when precision manoeuvring about the place in cramped city streets.
Performance
The one key area where the D-Max feels far behind its competitors is with its drivetrain. It's the same 1.9-litre turbodiesel that has been in service since the
previous generation of the truck, never mind the current one. As it was, it felt undernourished in the late 2010s; by 2025, it's positively archaic.
While Isuzu has correctly responded to certain aspects of the (private) customer demand for these double-cab trucks, namely that they look tidy inside and out, and come with the sort of luxuries you'd expect in a decent SUV, with the V-Cross flagship machine, what the Japanese manufacturer has failed to do is realise that the self-same customers want some power, refinement and performance from their heavy-duty vehicles. It's why Toyota added a 204hp 2.8-litre turbodiesel to its Hilux line-up about the same time this iteration of the D-Max landed. It's why the
minimum power output in the Amarok and Ranger twins is now 170hp, with a 204hp biturbo diesel four-pot also offered, and even a 3.0-litre V6 churning out 240hp if you prefer. Ford even goes further than that, providing the
insane Raptor derivative or the Ranger.
It's not so much that 164hp and 360Nm are numbers which are wholly inadequate for shifting about more than two tonnes of prime pick-up - they are, but there's
just enough torque that you don't have to thrash the bejesus out of the D-Max simply to keep up with regular, everyday traffic flow - but that this is such a noisy and uncouth thing these days. It's a turbodiesel that makes no effort to hide its rougher, commercial origins, emitting a terrific, clattery din if you dare to venture much beyond 2,750rpm. That the Isuzu isn't even quick if you do decide to venture up to these louder slopes of the rev band only adds to the discomfort of attempting to stoke the D-Max along at pace. There's a six-speed manual as standard, but we'd recommend plumping for the automatic with the same number of ratios and adopting a more relaxed pace in the V-Cross. It'll be easier on your ears.
And your wallet. No one-tonne truck is an eco-superstar, granted, but when we can easily elicit 30mpg-plus from the V6-powered Ranger across many miles of mixed-roads motoring, the fact the 1.9 in the D-Max only gave back 26.6mpg during our on-road test drive was disappointing. Therefore, we can't help but feel that this vehicle would be immeasurably improved, if only Isuzu had access to a bigger-capacity, higher-output turbodiesel of some sort. Which it doesn't, natch. Shame.
Ride & Handling
On road, the D-Max is fine, but again lagging behind the newer Ranger and Amarok for refinement and ride comfort, and even not quite up to matching the ageing Hilux - although it'd show an
Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster a trick or two when it comes to mechanical isolation and its unladen comportment. Nevertheless, there's just a little too much of the old pick-up 'shimmy' at 40-50mph on B-roads in the D-Max to call it an unqualified success, although it does a much better job of smoothing itself out at motorway speeds. Despite the fact our demonstrator was fitted with a roof rack, strange aero options on its bonnet and windows, and a full-on LED light bar above its windscreen, it also managed to keep wind and tyre noise down to acceptably low levels, so it's not a total loss in this regard. And it also has acceptable steering, too; a little slow off-centre, sure, but weighted nicely and consistent in its responses at all times.
Where the D-Max truly earns its spurs is off-road, of course. This is not a huge surprise: it has always been a thoroughly capable thing, with 2Hi, 4Hi and 4Lo transmission settings plus a locking rear diff. But the changes for 2025 include a new Rough Terrain Mode (RTM), that layers another degree of control on top of the Isuzu's all-roads capability. It's essentially a form of torque-vectoring, sending power to the wheel with most grip and braking any of them that are spinning away the engine's efforts fruitlessly, and it does give the D-Max a real sense of sure-footedness, even in the worst claggy mud you can imagine on some seriously steep inclines. We know, because it took on a very tough off-road course with ease, so it's as strong and dependable in this regard as it has always been, and the RTM definitely enhances its abilities.
Value
There's a two-tier arrangement to the 2025 D-Max model line-up, broadly split into the Business Range and then the All-Purpose Range above. The former is squarely targeted at pure commercial-vehicle operators, with Single-, Extended- and Double-Cab body options all provided in a basic specification called Utility. Think of the Isuzus with black-plastic bumpers, steel wheels, and most likely seen on building sites and Forestry Commission land, and you'll have an idea what these are like.
Private users are going to be aiming straight away at the plusher DL20, DL40 and V-Cross specifications in the All-Purpose Range, almost all of which are exclusively offered in the Double-Cab body (the exception is one Extended-Cab DL20 variant). These are the kind of trucks that the Government has closed the loophole on, meaning you can't avail of the BIK, er, benefits (if that's not a tautologous statement) you might have before. This means you're invariably going to be paying VAT on the D-Max, which in turn results in a ticket of £47,916 for a V-Cross Double-Cab auto like our test car. But while the D-Max isn't exactly cheap if viewed in isolation, you can easily drop 60 grand on a Ranger Wildtrak with the V6 diesel and some choice options, so it's still usefully cheaper than its comparable rivals.
Verdict
Discreet upgrades to the Isuzu D-Max for the 2025 model year keep this honest, likeable and tough truck relevant, but similarly they don't push it to the top of the class. It is still chiefly let down by its agricultural drivetrain; the V-Cross might look as good as equivalent top-grade competitors from Ford, VW and Toyota, but that illusion is shattered once you get on the move and hear how raucous the 1.9-litre turbodiesel in the Isuzu is.
Nevertheless, a good level of standard equipment, impressive warranty cover, smart looks inside and out, and the sort of go-anywhere off-road ability that an SUV can only dream of make the D-Max 2025MY still worthy of some serious consideration. Fit a better engine in it, though, Isuzu, and we might be talking much more favourably of the D-Max overall...
