PERCHED at a precarious angle, I took my foot off the brake and the clutch and allowed Isuzu’s D-Max XTR to inch me slowly downwards to the level ground below.
It felt like we were almost perpendicular as we descended the steepest of a network of “roads” at the Llechwedd flint quarry in Wales, our venue for testing out this latest version of the Japanese marque’s big workhorse.
Now the technology – hill descent control coupled with low-ratio four-wheel drive – is not new but what was remarkable was how well it worked and with such a large vehicle.
The XTR is Isuzu’s gift to the lifestyle market, a section of the car-buying public that is increasingly turning its attention to pick-up trucks. What is more, they do not want just any old pick-up, they want one that is customised and bespoke for them.
They want a pick-up just like the one I am driving – with a double cab, extreme decals and plenty of interior plushness but that still boasts the capability for which the Isuzu D-Max is famed.
Enter the XTR. It sits in what Isuzu now call their Adventure range, just above the Blade. It stands higher than the regular D-Max and, in the spirit of looking different, the manual has vibrant green touches, like the nose badge, the brake calipers and logos, while the automatic has them in black.
The company is expecting to sell just a few hundred every year, well aware that the XTR will remain a niche vehicle, but what it does is gives Isuzu the opportunity to showcase just what it can do.
The extra ground clearance meant we could really shift along muddy, rutted roads and up gradients with loose and lively boulders. It fairly splashed through the water and the suspension and braking systems are upgraded to cope with such rigours.
Inside, it is like a big comfortable car, with XTR branding on the seats and beautiful contrasting stitching. It comes with heated front sports seats in suede, leather and carbon-fibre leather, as well as a D-shaped sports steering wheel.
The sat nav is easy to use and there are plenty of plug-in points for connectivity both front and back. There are lovely design features such as tinted windows and running boards that are very useful for short people like me. Those with longer legs and wider shoulders will appreciate the space inside.
The whole lot sits on 17in alloys with Pirelli Scorpion tyres and there are a range of accessories including roof bars, sports bars and a Lazer light bar. None of these design features, however, have been added at the expense of capability.
This truck proved its mettle time and again as we took it over some incredibly difficult terrain, at first steep and muddy and then with loose rocks below. The underbelly is strengthened, the bonnet toughened and it has a payload of 1.1 tonnes.
It also has a top speed of 112mph and will get to 62mph in 12.7 seconds, although none of that matters, quite frankly, when you are climbing a sheer face with loose shale and rocks below.
The 1.9-litre diesel engine delivers 164PS and, amazingly for a big boy of this size, the manual version will give you an average fuel economy of 40.4mpg, with 183g/km of CO2 emissions.
Isuzu has been making commercial vehicles for more than a century and their DNA is in the new XTR. For years, farmers have been privy to the tremendous ability of this car but now everyone else is going to take notice.
It is a big smoothie on the road in auto and an absolute champion off-road in the manual variant, even without a diff lock – which is coming down the line next. It comes with a warranty of five years or 125,000 miles and costs £33,999.
