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By Jonathan Crouch

Should your next Isuzu D-Max be all-electric? Jonathan Crouch drives the D-Max EV.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 31

Isuzu tries its hand at an electric pick-up with this D-Max EV. The compromises are quite impressively few over the diesel version, but the price is high and range is limited.

Backgroundword count: 101

Pick-up makers know they'll eventually have to create purpose-built EVs - but we're not seeing many of those just yet. We are starting to see a full-electric versions of existing diesel models though - and one of these is the pick-up we look at here, Isuzu's D-Max EV. It looks virtually no different to the black pump-fuelled version, sits on exactly the same ladder-frame chassis and has virtually the same interior. And it can tow and lug around the same amount. Of course beyond that, there are fundamental differences here, not least the vastly increased price. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 447

Perhaps because the diesel engine in an ordinary D-Max is so rumbly, it seems particularly strange to set off in this EV model in near silence. So what kind of EV drivetrain do we have here? Well as you'd expect, it's a dual motor system with a motor on each axle - we've had 2WD electric pick-up trucks, but they're not much use to anyone. Here, this AWD set-up delivers a combined output of 200bhp (62bhp at the front and 139bhp at the rear). There's 348Nm of torque (115Nm at the front and 233Nm at the rear), so the grunt that you'd expect from the diesel version is also in evidence here. Those motors are energised by a 66.9kWh battery under the floor, which is smaller than you might expect - as (despite the special low rolling resistance Dunlop tyres) is the range figure; 163 miles on the combined cycle and up to 224 miles in city traffic. Getting near to either of those figures requires permanent engagement of the provided 'ECO' mode and proactive use of the four-stage paddleshift brake regen system. That drivetrain we've just briefed you on - badged 'eDL40' - is the only one available to EV folk wanting this Isuzu and powers this truck to 62mph in 10.1s on the way to just over 80mph. The important engineering factor here though - and the big feature that rival EV pick-ups will envy - is this Isuzu's bespoke new DeDoin rear suspension (which replaces the diesel model's leaf springs). This not only allows this D-Max to retain the diesel model's one-tonne payload and 3.5-tonne payload but also has dynamic benefits in terms of ride and handling. You shouldn't expect too much in terms of handling of course: no ladder-framed pick-up contender in this class can properly replicate the car-like drive dynamics of an SUV and this one certainly doesn't. There's quite an unsettled ride on all but the smoothest surfaces and if, rather unwisely, you push on too much through tighter turns at speed, there's plenty of the sort of body roll you'd always expect from a pick-up, that leaves you sliding around on the flat-bottomed seats. What about off the tarmac? Well Isuzu talks of a lack of off-road compromise here and, as with the diesel model, there's a dedicated 'Rough Terrain' mode for what the Japanese maker calls 'extreme off-road capability'. But the reality is that because of the battery pack's positioning beneath the carry-over ladder-frame chassis, ground clearance has (very obviously) been reduced from 235mm to 210mm. But you can still wade through water up to 600mm deep. And Isuzu quotes approach and departure angles of 30.5-degrees and 24.2-degrees respectively.

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