There are a lot of D Max utes out there towing vans and most owners seem pleased with them. I didn't find them particularly comfortable for me so bought a Ranger. To try to answer your questions. I don't see how a lighter comfort spring pack is going to carry the same load capacity as the heavy spring pack. I would be investigating this further and not with the salesman either. The trans cooler could jeopardise your warranty unless Isuzu recommend one and have a kit that you can get from them. Manufacturers will use any excuse not to honour a warranty claim so tread warily. The turning circle is larger because of the long wheelbase as you have already twigged. Not sure that the DMax is necessarily more reliable than their competitors. They are a good ute but not totally free of issues, same as most products, never perfect. The DMax's are known to have some issues with cracking around the front suspension turrets. Just something to be aware of.

Hi warren pat

I bought my dmax new in 2017 its a spacecab and i removed the tub and put on a 2.5 mm full aluminium canopy  and put the fridge in and a toolbox and almost turned the springs backwards i dont know how they can give it a one ton payload with the standard suspension.You can reset your rear springs and add 1 or 2 heavy duty springs to suit your towing weight without compromising your ride to much as most reputable suspension dealers can help you with this but izuzu will not warrant any changes to the vehicle as it should be covered by the company who changed the suspension.If you are reg in nsw or vic you can get a gvm upgrade on dmax to 3.6 tonne and a gcm uprade to 7.1 tonne through lovells suspension .ironman and pedders and some other companies can give you gvm upgrade only on the car as well.I would never fit airbags to a leaf spring suspension you will be asking for trouble. If you get an oil cooler fitted by an Izuzu dealer it will not effect the warranty and longer wheelbase do need a larger turning circle in most vehicles i have just done the 700000 km service and replace oil and filter every 10000 km and so far the only problem i had was the low range 4wd would not activate so i took it to north east izuzu in adelaide as i travel and the guys down there picked up the problem straight away and i would recommend any dmax or mux owner to check your transmission using the correct procedure going in and out of low range before you hit the dirt cheers

Hi Warren and Pat.

I own a Navara but 2 friends own D Maxes. We all got these cars in the same half of the year

I complain about what I have spent on maintenance ie. new rotors at 70 000ks, intercooler at 100 000ks that was $2000 not from Nissan they were a lot dearer and the same thing would rare its head again. The suspension on my car was very soft and $2200 later fixed that and now the car is a awesome bit of gear. Money well spent there. Another $1400 to get rid of a engine management code connect to the egr valve. My actual maintance is possible little  cheaper then one of DMaxes as we get them serviced at the same business. Inside knowledge there, thats another story. We both servive our cars at 10 000ks

Second D Max goes into a dealer and goes by the book, he is never happy with the end bill, he not sure if they do everything, has trouble getting them to change filters and so on. Their car is comimg up for a major service and he is talking $1600 not sure of the kilometres but possibly around 60 000ks. (I am starting to think my Navara is cheap).

We ride in the second car regularly, I have noticed how much dust ingress the car gets and the owner originally brought it to our attention (he is a clean freak) when travelling on unsealed roads, our Navara stays fairly clean inside as a comparison, the ride of his standard car in my opinion is not as good as ours for what my thats worth. Bit bias there.

First D Max runs heavier grade tyre and is possibly heading for better then 100 000ks, the second one and I run lighter grade tyres and get better then 60 000ks which adds to a softer passenger ride.

My car didn't need a transmissions oil cooler as it has one from new, the first Max has fitted an external one as an extra, tows 3 tonne and second owner believes it not needed towing his 2 tonne caravan.

Just to add to this we have a 3rd friend with a Amarok, has a lot more ks, no hiccups, just regularly servicing getting same sort of tyre wear tows a 1600kg Goldstream camper on lot more dirt roads, car gets a bit of dust inside, only a bit and has hinted he may replace it in 2020 with another, its the cheapest car by far out of the 4. Those people have carefully wrote down every cent spent from day one, my purchase price for our special Navara V6 was higher then there total expenditure to run the car. I must ask the other 2 was is there tital expenditure.

I hope my thoughts will help in this major decision.

My Isuzu MU-X just had its 70,000 Km Book Service, purchased new in September 2017. The engine oil and filter change schedule is every 20,000 Km but I have mine changed every 10,000 Km.

The only warranty item was fixed in Darwin 2018, a leaking hydraulic steering connector.

Original not great Dunlop A/T tyres still have at least another 10,000 Km left but subject to the wear on the outer edges which is worse than the main tread surfaces. Probably Goodyear Wrangler A/T for replacements.

It tows a single axle Jurgens Skygazer caravan comfortably and easily.

I have added Airhawke comfort seating cushions for the driver and passenger.

-- Edited by Knight on Saturday 17th of August 2019 08:56:06 AM

If you havent purchased you car yet, I'd be considering a 6-8yo Ramg Rover for a similar price. No gambling with comfort and towing capacity 3500kg Tony

I agree with Aus-Kiwi,
But Stick with the Toyota,Nissan,Ford or Isuzu.
European cars may be ok in the big smoke, get away out bush service back up is ?.
Mechanical knowlege in the bush is non existent ask any Fiat/Renault motor homer.
Trust VW i do not.
Ge

-- Edited by Ge on Saturday 17th of August 2019 03:18:19 PM

Aus-Kiwi wrote:

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Eaglemax wrote:

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If you havent purchased you car yet, I'd be considering a 6-8yo Ramg Rover for a similar price. No gambling with comfort and towing capacity 3500kg Tony

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 Sheesh from what I gather ? They are hell expensive to service .,  Guess depends on engine combo ? https://youtu.be/DKthwTfM-j8

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Maybe Aus-kiwi

Maybe not.  Say $2600 for 3 years? What is expensive? It's subjective. Any 4x4 in my financial world is expensive to buy and run so I don't run one. But also IMO all 4x4's utes in particular are bone rattlers. Ok, some might not be so much but many are- compared to other vehicles.

"  My wife does not want a "truck" & considers them all too rough for her (has a crook back) - we are in our 70s."

Even a VW Tiguan I owned from new was a bone rattler. Terrible ride.  So for the OP his wife particularly wants a comfy ride and in your 70's I would also.

Parts?  Well my Hyundai i30 hatch, one of the most common cars of today took 5 days to order and replace a serpentine belt at Katherine and there was only two available in Darwin at the time (so they said) meaning a Sydney order has they not been in stock. Most makes don't stock many parts on the shelf anymore. So I wouldn't discount other makes. The diesel Rangie is a capable tow car that will save your aging back. So what if you are stranded for one week? Two days extra?

https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-reviews/range-rover-evoque-54828

Anyway I've posted above a link that would change some peoples mind. The economy of the Range Rover diesel when not towing is extraordinary.

Tony

 

Eaglemax wrote:

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yobarr wrote:

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Ge wrote:

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But Stick with the Toyota,Nissan,Ford or Isuzu.
European cars may be ok in the big smoke, get away out bush service back up is ?.

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Aint that the truth.Cheers 

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 Please provide proof of your ownership and breakdown experience with European vehicle away from the big smoke Yobarr. Or are you assuming again?

Tony 

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After our many and varied interactions I thought that,by now,you would have realised that I deal only in facts. I have spent many years working in the back of beyond,and I can assure you that GEs quote above is,indeed,fact.That is why I bought a 79.In the  unlikely event that I need to have any work done on it,or need replacement parts,out in the bush every man and his dog has one,and knows how to work on it.Common sense is sometimes conspicuous by its absence? But do not give up....one day you may be right.Have a great day. Cheers

seems yobarr has trouble answering a question without high lighting his responses is that not like yelling any way his opinion is the only one that is correct and if you dare have another opinion then your a moron

To yobarr Could you please send me your email address as I would like to send you some information I tried to contact you on your last email but it would not go through thanks bettercut@live.com

Cupie wrote:

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travelyounger wrote:

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To yobarr Could you please send me your email address as I would like to send you some information I tried to contact you on your last email but it would not go through thanks bettercut@live.com

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 Try a PM  (Personal Message .. thru this forum)

 Perhaps you all aught to pull back from personal attacks & long held grudges.

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Tried that too Cupie,and twice I received responses,but no phone number so far.I dont hold grudges,but I do tire of presenting  the facts over and over again,only to have those facts openly challenged by those who understand little,and have little interest in learning.I think it was Boab(?) who finally furnished the facts,as provided by Lovells,but still there is disagreement.Such is life! Cheers 

travelyounger wrote:

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The dmax has a major service at 60000 I paid 465 for it I think he being ripped off you can get a printout from Isuzu on there capped services

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 Did you get what he has ask for in the service.

Print out will tell you what they were suppose to do.

Yes Blaze, storage is money. Not like 40 years ago spare part most have to be freighted.

Any car not driven to the conditions will fail, regardless of where the breakdown happens. Also having the car serviced by knowledgable people is so important especially if it is from OS. I have a Discovery 4. I do not take it to the dealer but an Indy who has been servicing LR for years. He does the service by the book BUT also advises of other things that need attention due to the fact he knows what I do with my car. People are quick to rubbish various brands of cars. Prior to the D4 I had a Great Wall X240. Not stock by any means. People constantly rubbished it. But it did the Simpson both ways, Canning stock route twice, Balfour track Gibb River OTT and many other tracks. Nothing , NOTHING ever broke nor was my car ever towed, flat beded etc. Yet I saw plenty of other brands broken down, towed, flatbeded etc. As such I didnt need to worry about outback repair back up, as nothing ever broke. Was I lucky...maybe. All brands have faults and shortcommings. Some keep trading on a past reputation that no longer exists today. Others have had such a bad history no one can see that the newer models have debunked the past. All I note is that all new cars seem to have an abundance of electronics, and you cannot say that anybody in the bush can fix a 70 series. When I bought my D4 I also bought a 76 wagon with an aftermarket Auto fitted as I thought I would use it on long trips for reliability. After 2 days towing with it I knew which vehicle I wanted to take and it was not the Toyota. Look under the bonnet of a Toyota and it is not like a simple 40 series anymore. On the Canning I saw 2 LC200 flatbeded out as the suspension had gone on one and the other the ECU had packed up. No sort of bush mechanics could fix them. From the original OP comment about his partner, I would not be looking at any small ute or twin cab if you have a bad back. Maybe the big Yank things would be more comfortable and able to tow anything. Expensive yes but so is a Rangie or Discovery but in my opinion they offer a far softer ride than any thing else on the market.and can still tow a legit 3.5t with reasonable fuel economy to boot. Perhaps Eaglemax comment about 6-8 year old RR is a bit much. But they certainly are a lot cheaper after a 3 year lease expires on most of them. And few have been abused in the bush.