Kelly Fisher reckons the Isuzu D-Max is the ideal vehicle for a busy Marketing and Communications Head
I drive a Fiat Panda. I love my car, but ever since I started a new job earlier this year it hasn’t been the most practical of vehicles.
For background and context, my day job title is Marketing and Communications Head. I fulfill this role at a company that is relatively small – you could call us a start-up. What that means for our team of 14 people is that when there are events – of which we do our fair share during the course of the year – you do anything that needs to be done. There’s no big marketing department with helpers. It’s myself and one other person – that’s the whole Marketing and Communications department. And we lean on our colleagues to assist where needed. I know you’re wondering where this is going. I promise I have a point.
When it comes to events, it means that we cart a lot of what’s needed for events in our own vehicles if the event is held off-site. This includes lollipop stands, banner walls, wine, water, boxes of t-shirts, name tags and more. Needless to say – my Fiat Panda is not equipped to handle this. So, imagine my excitement when during a week of a three-day event for us, an Isuzu KB double-cab rolled up on our driveway for us to test. I was more than happy to grab the keys and use it as the carrier of everything. And it was more than up to the task.
When it comes to heavy lifting, the Isuzu D-Max LS was impressive. Every time another box needed to be added, we managed to move some things around and squeeze it all in. The load bay is able to handle a payload of 1 120kg, so we could have loaded if needed (vertically because we’d maxed out the floor space).
I’m going to be honest and say that when it comes to a bakkie, I’m not looking for anything flashy or super quick. Just a reliable workhorse, which this Isuzu turned out to be. That being said, I’m sure some of you reading this will want the details on all the other things this KB offers beyond carrying boxes to events. For one, it’s great for carrying bikes, too, if you have a suitable bike rack. It was often used to get to the MTB trails.
Under the bonnet lies a 1.9-litre, 4-cyl, turbo diesel with 110kW and 350 N.m of torque. The test unit we had came with a six-speed auto. The combination was great and felt comfortable in any situation. For a bakkie – especially if you plan on towing or driving with it fully loaded often, an automatic, in my opinion, is the better option as you won’t have to fight with a clutch and gears depending on the weight of the vehicle or what you are towing.
In terms of nice-to-haves, there’s a seven-inch touch-screen infotainment system. With this comes Bluetooth connectivity USB ports in the front and a screen for the rear-view camera. Admittedly some aspects like a standalone key make it feel more dated than its competitors, but it’s not a make-or-break deal. Not for me at least. As of writing this, the cost is R603 800 for this high-end one, but a lower-specced auto is around R50k less. For comparison, a similar Hilux will cost between R620 000 and R650 000.
In a nutshell, I thoroughly enjoyed driving the Isuzu KB. I’d be happy to have it as my vehicle of choice, especially if events are now going to play a big role in my life.