Set to share its underpinnings with the next Mazda BT-50, the D-Max, which has already been spotted winter weather testing in Northern Europe wearing heavy layers of disguise, will incorporate a more aggressive frontal appearance as rendered by the online publication, with only minor changes expected at the rear.
A big change could however be underneath where the traditional leaf-spring rear suspension could make way for a coilover setup in an attempt to strike the perfect balance between ride quality and load-hauling.
“Potentially [we would go rear coil suspension], for the next gen. It’s a bit early stage still and whether the suspension changes or remains or not will be dependent on what customers feel. If this [three-span leaf] is not enough it will be fed back to the manufacturer and go into the plan on whether we change the three-leaf or go into something totally new,” Isuzu Australia Director of Product Planning, Yugo Kiyofuji, was quoted as saying.
Speaking at the launch of the updated D-Max last year, Kiyofuji’s biggest announcement was that the newcomer would be all-new inside with an emphasis on premium materials and the latest driver assistance systems in order to obtain the maximum five-star ANCAP rating.
“I think it’s a bigger challenge with the end of life of the current generation and something we’d look at with next generation. There are some features we currently don’t have that you would need to have to move into that premium category. We’re talking about adaptive cruise control and stuff which are features you’d get on those sorts of brands,” he said.
“As we talk about next-gen, and it’s early to talk about it from my side, but having said that five-star ANCAP is something mandatory for both private and fleet customers. The rule around ANCAP five star has been moved and definitely we’re going to comply across the range, so you can tell what is going to come on top of the current safety features”.
A big talking point has been the D-Max’s engines, which, according to the article, will be a heavily revised version of the stalwart N-series truck derived 3.0-litre D-TEQ turbodiesel as Kiyofuji has previously indicated that no plans are in place to bring a V6 motor to market in an effort to rival the likes of the Volkswagen Amarok V6 TDI and the Mercedes-Benz X350d.
He did however remark that the smaller 1.9-litre BluePower motor used in the Europe and parts of Asia, could well find its way into the new D-Max as an overall replacement of the aged 2.5-litre D-TEQ mill, but added that an all-new engine could be developed in case of the 120kW/360Nm 1.9 being deemed unsuitable.
“We have to think about the whole uses of the customer, in case the 1.9-litre is too weak and it’s not a good choice for us. We’ll see what its potential is. Currently in the market Euro 6 is under discussion. Potentially (we’ll build a whole new engine), it’s still ambiguous how the Euro 6 regulation will go ahead,” he said.
A possible future edition could be an off-road focused model to rival the Ford Ranger Raptor, in spite of a conversion being offered by Icelandic specialists firm, Arctic Trucks.
“Yes, there is an opportunity. We just like to permeate the new image about LS-T (flagship Aussie spec D-Max) into the market and the customer will dictate if they want something with more bells and whistles, and we’ll decide what to add on to this,” Kiyofuji told Drive last year.
Given that the next D-Max is still being developed, expect it to debut in the middle or possibly towards the end of this year with sales commencing in 2020, at which point the BT-50, which will have the same range of engines, will become available.
