Locally, it remains to be seen whether the updated model, available internationally since 2023, will finally go on-sale in South Africa next year.
Having entered its sixth year of production this year, Isuzu has indicated that a replacement for the current generation D-Max will, reportedly, show itself around 2027.
2.2 first, more updates after?
Unveiled as the first completely new model in eight years in Thailand in 2019, the present internally named RG D-Max will, seemingly, benefit from yet another round of updates at some stage before being replaced in 18 months’ time.
The recipient of its first, and so far only, facelift in 2023, the D-Max’s most recent change came last year with the introduction of the 2.2-litre MaxForce turbodiesel engine.
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Stemming from the same RZ family as the 1.9-litre it will ultimately replace, the unit develops 120kW/400Nm, and is mated solely to a brand-new eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Likely to be offered in the all-new D-Max, no details about the incoming fourth generation is known given its mentioned time of reveal.
“You can imagine that we are now [on an] eight-year cycle [for] changing models, so like that, we are considering,” an unnamed Isuzu representative told drive.com.au at last month’s Tokyo Mobility Show.
End of the 3.0-litre?
The uncertainty surrounding the D-Max also extends to whether it will continue to use the 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine, which has around since 2002, and likely to fall foul of looming emissions regulations.
Rumoured to be placed by the MaxForce, which received an upgrade to 162kW/550Nm in the modernised 1988 TF-based DragonMax concept shown in Thailand last year, the 3.0-litre currently makes 140kW/450Nm and remains the most powerful engine in the global D-Max range.
What about South Africa?
Locally, Isuzu South Africa has remained mum on the introduction of the facelift D-Max, which was supposed to have debuted this year, according to a report by cars.co.za.
Offered in two derivatives, the conventional D-Max and the previous generation known as the GEN 6 sold as a back-to-basics workhorse, the uprated D-Max’s arrival now looks set to only happen next year, though nothing has yet been confirmed.
Delayed as a result of the pandemic, as well as revisions for the local market, which saw sales only start in 2022, the facelift D-Max could well see the introduction of the 2.2 as a replacement for the 1.9, but only if it proved reliable in South African conditions.
This, according to company CEO Billy Tom, who told cars.co.za in October, “We’ve got a new engine – and we’re looking at when we can bring them. But we also don’t want to move too fast. We want to ensure that they’ve been tested, because we need to play to our strengths”.
At the same time, Tom revealed that tests have also taken place in making the all-electric D-Max EV available as only the country’s second electric bakkie after the Riddara RD6.
“In Europe, we recently launched the battery electric [D-Max]. So, when they are available, we will consider that – study it – but make it a point that the consumer is not worse off, the consumer is not stranded. We’ll do the right thing,” Tom said.
Watch this space
As it stands, it remains unknown as to the when the updated D-Max will arrive, but with the debut of the heavily updated MU-X in June – a model imported from Thailand rather than being locally assembled at the Struandale plant outside Gqeberha – expect more details to emerge in 2026.
