My experience of Vcross :
The power and torque of dmax is incredible, smooth pick with great ride quality. Since i do not carry any load i have tried different air pressure from manufacturer's recommended to isuzu forums ones. The one that worked the best for me is to keep front at 34 and rear at 33. The fuel economy is also impressive with low revs , no idle , city driving in karachi heavy trafic giving around 11-12km/l . Before this no car in my history of driving has given these figures on same routes in Karachi (corollas 2013, 2015 and city 2010) . I also ordered a genuine leather sheet and used a bit of it to sew the leather on the center armrest which looks and feels great. Internationally Dmax also has leather on door armrests , so i decided to open the door panel to see if armrest can be unscrewed only to find that they are installed with rivets so decided to leave it as it is.
The paint quality of the car is very poor. Despite getting it ceramic coated there are swirl marks and scratches on bonnet only after days of usage. I have also noticed minor stone dent on the bonnet , so be very very careful. The car has not been cleaned except with a microfiber and very carefully but it seems the paint quality of this car is the worst i have seen in any car till date. Those who buy this should be getting PPF installed asap , i have ordered mine and will be doing a DIY a try before giving it to the pros. The paint job also makes me wonder whether the ckd car was undercoated or not.
Seats are comfortable with great cushioning , the rear is also spacious. Personally the only issue i'm facing is my left leg. Enough legroom but my left ankle starts to hurt after a while. I have noticed that the center console is curved from the bottom where the ankle normally rests and is not flat so my foot remains in an awkward position throughout and i cannot seem to find a comfortable position thus far.
Steering and handling is on the harder side and requires a great amount of strength to turn . The feel of the leather on the steering is also hard , however the response is perfect with no pull and drag.
The engine is built to last for ages , some might not like the sound of it but i love the way it starts, moves and respond throughout the journey. It's wrongly speced on isuzu ghandhara website, to quote about this engine ("The 4JJ1-TC is a 3.0L common rail direct injection engine with VGS-turbo and intercooler, originally with a 17.5:1 compression ratio. Stock power in 2006 was 163 PS (120 kW) and 360 N⋅m (270 lb⋅ft) for Manual transmission/ 333 N⋅m (246 lb⋅ft) for Automatic transmission, increased to 177 PS (130 kW) and 380 N⋅m (280 lb⋅ft) in 2011 with a reduction in compression ratio to 17.3:1")
the interior might not attract a lot but it's build to serve the car for eternity. It's a pickup truck and demands to be roughed up thus the plastics that are used. I mentioned the door panel removal, just to inform you that i have never seen in any car a door panel with proper clips and installation. Most manufacturers uses adhesives but isuzu opted for clippings that simply clicks to its place without the need of any adhesive to hold it together. They don't rock nor make any sound . It's a tough built machine and i'm impressed with what isuzu has done here , aesthetics are secondary to daily damages. The exterior might not be built to take damage because of poor paint but interior shows that you can be carefree .
Grills , lights , roofrails , side steps etc are subjective so i'm not discussing them here, personally i love how the car looks both from outside and inside. Seeing pakwheels sunil bashing isuzu dmax interior recently i beg to differ on his wordings . The MID is futuristic and awesome with great graphics , the multimedia sits great in its place unlike the forceful look of the revo, Ac cooling even at 26-27 is fantastic , and recently someone pointed out the rear ac vents given at the bottom of the center console is in fact a great position as i never get complains from those sitting at the back regarding the cooling.
In my car there is no tpms built in , no cruise control but great help from our chinese friends i have installed the tpms and half way into installing the cruise control . Only have to wait for the control module already have the control buttons. I have also noticed the fake hdmi port in my car and wish others can report if there is an actual hdmi port or just a blank port there. I have also removed the plastic coverings of the usb ports as i tend to use them on my journeys and dont want them to break in future.
Using 4x4 is a pleasure , i haven't tested it thoroughly but i's fun and works as needed. This is my first offroading vehicle and the main purpose of this vehicle should be reviewed by those who are well experienced.
Minor annoyance is of the rear view mirror which comes without auto dimmer. Been a long time since i sat in a vehicle without auto dimmer and it's difficult to manage without one thus i have ordered an auto dimmer rear view mirror for dmax. I have also ordered original privacy glasses and coated front Windshield for it which is made for Chevrolet Colorado. Have installed ADAS myself and works great with both voice control and voice guidance for any obstacles or lane departure . The center armrest that i put leather on is the easiest thing to do and the finishing is even better than factory installed cars i wonder why Ghandara isn't installing this at factory.
I think this should be give a fair idea of how it is to drive the dmax. I might have missed some points , feel free to ask and inquire any questions. Those who are willing to buy a Revo, should definitely give this a thought and understand why it sells well in Australia , Thailand , Philippines , Indonesia and the USA.