At the entry point to the popular Isuzu D-MAX range, the 1.9-litre SX single-cab is a commendable blue-collar worker
- How much does the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis cost?
- What equipment comes with the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
- How safe is the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
- What technology does the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis feature?
- What powers the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
- What is the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis like to drive?
- Can the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis go off-road?
- What is the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis like inside?
- Should I buy an Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
The marketing departments at car companies are working overtime trying to come up with ever more evocative names for their high-end 4×4 utes. Raptor, Warrior, Rogue… At the other end of the scale are humble worker bees like the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 4×2 Single Cab Chassis. There is absolutely nothing here that is frippery, extravagance or added on for no good cost-effective reason. Sounds boring – sure. But stripping a ute back to its load hauling basics can have its benefits too, as we’ve found after living with the workhorse for an extended period.
How much does the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis cost?
The 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX Single Cab Chassis will set you back $34,200 plus on-road costs when the 1.9-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine is combined with a six-speed automatic transmission and 4×2 driveline.
That’s $2000 more than the six-speed manual version, which is the cheapest D-MAX you can buy.
Our test D-MAX added a $2888 tray, a $1075 tow bar and tongue kit, a $359 tow bar harness, $820 electronic brake controller and $120 rubber mats as well as on-road costs and stamp duty to drive out the showroom door priced at $43,904.70.
That’s a fair whack for a basic workaday vehicle, especially as the manual D-MAX 1.9 has been offered on a $31,990 drive-away deal price for a while now.
As part of a 2023 model year update the Isuzu has recently expanded its D-MAX SX 1.9 offerings to include Crew Cab Chassis 4×2, Crew Cab Ute 4×2 and the Crew Cab Ute 4×4. All have six-speed autos standard.
Visually, this update includes a minor change to the grille but no price change for the vehicle we’re testing here.
Opposition for the D-MAX SX Single Cab 4×2 come from the likes of the new Ford Ranger XL (from $35,930 plus on-road costs), twin-under-the-skin Mazda BT-50 XS (from $33,950) and Mitsubishi Triton GLX (from $30,740). The top-selling Toyota HiLux offers a petrol engine as its price starter, the WorkMate kicking off from $24,225 plus ORCs.
What equipment comes with the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
Fitted with basic black mirror housings and door handles, and rolling on 17-inch steel wheels (with a full-size spare slung under the rear floor), there’s no mistaking the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX’s working class intent.
Accessed by remote keyless entry, inside you’ll find manual air-conditioning with a slide adjuster for recirc (just like Dad’s HR Holden), power windows with one-touch up-down for the driver, power external mirrors, a urethane (bleagh) steering wheel with tilt and reach adjust, and vinyl flooring.
No fancy electric park brake or push-button start-stop here. Pull on the lever and turn the key, folks.
The D-MAX SX comes with a six-year/150,000km warranty, service intervals spaced at 12 months or 15,000km and a capped-price service plan that comes out at a bit over $3000 over seven years.
How safe is the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
The big equipment upside for the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 is the amount of high-end safety equipment that’s included.
Grouped under the Isuzu Intelligent Driver Assist System banner is autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with turn assist, adaptive cruise control with stop-go capability (auto only), lane departure warning and prevention, lane keep assist (auto only) and emergency lane keeping.
There’s also blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert systems, which with the latest update are automatically disabled when a trailer is hitched up to a dealer-fit tow bar. That’s a direct result of feedback from customers, including tradies.
The AEB system is more capable than the systems in some more expensive vehicles. It operates between 8-160km/h and can detect vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, day or night.
The D-MAX SX will also display traffic signs, monitor driver fatigue, diagnose and stop mis-acceleration, apply post-crash braking, trundle downhill at a set speed and provide hill start assist.
A reversing camera with low-res muddy resolution is standard, but there are no front or rear parking sensors.
Headlights are auto high beam halogen and the windscreen wipers are also automatic.
The single-cab is stuffed with eight airbags including a centre airbag to prevent front passenger head knocks and comes with a maximum five-star ANCAP rating based on 2020 protocols.
What technology does the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis feature?
A basic 7.0-inch touch-screen mounted within the dashboard of the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX Single Cab Chassis provides access to wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto.
While AM/FM and digital radio is fitted, there is no embedded sat-nav. Nor is wireless smartphone charging provided.
As part of the 2023 update, a second USB port is added to the cabin.
The instrument panel is orthodox two-dial analogue including a hopelessly optimistic 220km/h speedo.
A 4.2-inch digital screen mounted in the centre includes a digital speedo and a trip computer.
What powers the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
The 1898cc DOHC 16-valve turbo-diesel engine in the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX is new to Australia but has been around for a while in other parts of the Isuzu world.
Making 110kW at 3600rpm and 350Nm between 1800 and 2600rpm, it features aluminium alloy head and cast-iron block, a long stroke and chain drive. The variable-geometry turbocharger is fed by an air-to-air intercooler.
Respected Japanese maker Aisin supplies the AWR6B45 II six-speed auto. It offers sequential manual shifting at the lever.
How fuel efficient is the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
The ADR combined fuel consumption claim for the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX is 8.0L/100km.
Unladen during our first stint with this long-term review, the SX managed to get close to that at 8.3L/100km.
However, we also loaded the SX up with 650kg and during that loop of urban, highway, freeway and country roads the average climbed as high as 12L/100km before settling at 10.4L/100km.
Combined with a 76-litre tank that still delivers a 700km potential range between refills.
What is the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis like to drive?
Riding on a high-tensile steel ladder-frame chassis with eight cross members, the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis has double-wishbone coil front suspension and a heavy-duty set of semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear.
The 4×2 models come with a high-ride set-up that delivers the same 235mm ground clearance as most of the 4×4 models.
Steering is electric assist and the braking system combines 320mm front discs clamped by two-piston callipers up front with 295mm rear drums.
The D-MAX SX 1.9 weighs in at 1620kg, has a 3000kg gross vehicle mass, a 5500kg gross combined mass and 3000kg maximum braked towing capacity.
The payload is an impressive 1380kg, but that drops back to 1183kg when the tray is added. The kerb weight also climbs to 1817kg.
As mentioned above, it was only appropriate we loaded up 650kg worth of ballast, and with the load onboard the D-MAX suspension compressed 37mm.
Loading and unloading is straight forward thanks to the tray’s flip-down sides and tailgate and a commodious 2.55m long x 1.77m wide floor.
The most obvious annoyance is the lack of a useable step to easily get in and out of the tray. There is a step, but it’s tucked too far underneath at the rear. The tyre becomes the logical choice.
Without a load onboard, the D-MAX SX’s engine is quite lively – if noisy – and its rear-end ride coarse and bouncy. It’s a bit uncouth compared to the latest high-end dual-cabs.
Add 650kg and more accelerator pedal is required for comparable engine response. As already noted, that comes at the cost of increased fuel consumption.
The auto really proves itself an impressive piece of work, holding gears under acceleration and dropping down through them to aid braking. It does all that without being too obvious.
More brake effort is also palpable, while the light and nimble handling becomes heavier and more stolid. The ride, even with pumped-up tyre pressures, is much more settled. The steering remains clean, too.
Importantly, the balance still feels about right, certainly better than some dual-cabs we’ve tested with equivalent loads.
The heavy-duty springs help, as does the ability to place the load close to the centre of the vehicle.
Traction is better than expected out of what is a pretty uncultured rear-end. You have to make an effort to generate wheelspin at greasy Melbourne roundabouts.
The lane keeping systems are very nanny-state but can be switched off via a button on the steering wheel.
Can the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis go off-road?
Being a 4×2, the only off-roading the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX is intended for is muddy tracks wending their way around building sites and the like.
Its high-ride suspension is a bonus here, delivering increased ground clearance over rivals like the HiLux Workmate, which claims only 174mm.
What is the Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis like inside?
Like AC/DC, the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX is back in black. Very little in the way of trim highlights alleviate the interior darkness.
This is a working vehicle, after all. And that’s also reflected in hard-wearing and just plain rock-hard surfaces and a focus on storage shelves, holes, bins and boxes. Big items go in the back.
The steering wheel adjustment range helps the driver get comfortable, as does the generously-sized but flat-sided seat. The left foot rest is an unhelpfully odd size and shape.
The readouts in the dash are often small and hard to read, while the graphics in the touch-screen are as utilitarian as the rest of the vehicle. CarPlay works better.
Should I buy an Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab Chassis?
If you’re in the market for a basic workhorse then the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX fits the bill.
If you know how to drive a manual then consider going that way because the cost advantage is huge over the auto – at least while the drive-away deal is in place.
Either way, the D-MAX SX is ute-ing stripped back to its bare essentials. It’s no rocket in the engine department, but the basic balance with a load onboard is commendable.
Add in an impressive level of active and passive safety gear and it stacks up well as a vehicle to stack gear in.
2022 Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 4×2 Single Cab Chassis at a glance:
Price: $34,200 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.9-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 110kW/350Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 184g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2020)
Keyword: Isuzu D-MAX SX 1.9 Single Cab 2022 Long-Term Review