For the last week, I have been running around in an Isuzu DMax DL40 4×4 auto double cab pick-up with an Isuzu fitted canopy (hard top over the load bed), which we had on loan for a couple of weeks (it saved me putting miles on the Discovery)!
So, as pick-ups seem a hot topic, I thought I would post a few notes I mentally made.
For starters, it is quite comfortable to drive. It had an electrically adjustable leather driver’s seat with an electric lumbar support. Also heated front seats. It did lack both lumbar support and electric adjustment on the passenger side though.
The driving position was quite high up (but not as high as the Discovery). Smaller people may however struggle to climb in though. A warning though, avoid side steps on them. The Isuzu had them fitted – as my right shin and left prosthetic will testify to! They just get in the way!
The leg room in the rear was, shall we say, limited. For anyone over 5ft 6ins it maybe uncomfortable on a long journey.
It had plenty of toys – Apple Car Play and Android Auto (although not wireless). Bluetooth etc. The built in sat-nav was be a bit slow though.
The 4×4 system was a good old-fashioned type with a rear diff lock (think series 3 military Land Rover’s). It is simple, but not refined like on the Discovery. I doubt you would get stuck anywhere in it though.
The auto-box, although an old style ‘torque converter’ type which should have been very smooth, wasn’t. It was a little laggy and quite jerky.
The load bed was huge albeit the wheel arches protruded into it a fair way. It could however get two ‘air portable’ sheepdog kennels in side by side with a bit of room to spare. However, access to the load area to the rear of them (i.e. the forward load bed) is very much impeded and was usually left empty as there is no side or front entry to this area with something loaded near the tailgate.
This could be an issue of you have a large wheelchair/scooter or two stored near to the tailgate as the area to the forward of them will be inaccessible without removing the wheelchair/scooter.
Incidentally, I don’t know if a wheelchair hoist could be fitted without some degree of re-engineering. The structural sides of the bed are only 50cm deep and the canopy hard top is made of resin type material with no hard points for a top anchor to be securely fitted.
The height of the load bed floor maybe a problem if manually lifting a wheelchair in as well. Also, although the tailgate is damped when lowered, it is somewhat heavy to lift up. Not only it’s weight but you are in effect lifting against the tailgate dampers.
Other points:
Rear visibility – no rear camera and rear visibility is mainly from door mirrors only. Even though the hard top has a polycarbonate rear screen, it is very difficult to see through it using the interior cab mirror.
Also, the heated rear windscreen works only on the cab, not the hard top rear screen – this froze over a few times and needed scraping!
Also, remember the load bed area with a hard top is not heated, nor cooled in summer if thinking of keeping pets in the rear on long journeys.
The actual mpg overall was only 25.2 mpg in mixed driving (town/farm/A roads and some motorway).
It is badly affected by cross winds at speed due to its ‘slab sided’ body.
Scheme wise, I do wonder if the vehicle would actually come with a canopy (load bed hard top) as these are actually classed as an accessory on such as the Isuzu and Ford Ranger etc and are generally in the range of £2k+ extra. If you want electrics etc in the rear bed these are again extra.
Overall, there is no getting away from the fact that the vehicle is designed as a commercial vehicle and thus not as refined as a normal ‘car’ type vehicle. Whilst this type of vehicle may suit some, there are some drawbacks.
I hope the above may help if a pick-up should ever appear on the scheme.