Isuzu D-Max V-Cross India

I took a long test drive of the V-Cross yesterday. The folks here at Mahavir Isuzu in Hyderabad have been very accommodating. I got to take it on the ORR (Outer Ring Road) for a short sprint.

This was actually my second test drive. I took the first test drive on the 24th of June when the test drive vehicle was just brought to Hyderabad. Attaching pix of the vehicle from then, as well as the quotation and accessories xerox.

This vehicle is very car-like to drive. I got into it (um .. climbed into it) — ignition, seat-belt, slotted the gear in — and awaay we go. I am 5’ 6” and I had thought that visibility might be a problem, but I was very quickly able to get into a nice position to drive -- with the help of the height adjustable seat, tilt steering and adjusting the mirrors. The lack of telescopic adjust on the steering wasn't an issue.

It feels a lot like the Fortuner, which I had driven around in Kerala in Feb this year, albeit very briefly. I would say the bumpy ride feeling that everyone is going on about is quite similar to the Fortuner (this was a 2009 model that had done 1 lakh + km).

Yes, the ride is bumpy, there is no getting away from that, and from whatever research I've done you cant avoid that quality of a body-on-frame truck based vehicle. It definitely feels less jarring and bouncy than a 2004 Scorpio that belongs to a friend of mine.

Did I like driving this vehicle? That would be a "HELL, YEAH!".

4X4 On my first test drive I didn’t really know much about 4x4, AWD and all such things. Between my first and second test drives I’ve been devouring youtube videos, online blogs and articles and have a little more gyaan on this whole 4x4/offroad scene.

Although I’m very much a newbie, I think i’ve learnt something in the past few days. On my first test drive I kept the 4H on even on regular roads, which is a big no-no. The vehicle felt very strained at that point. I thought that odd at the time. Now I understand that in these type of vehicles you need to keep it on 2H at all times and put it on 4H only when conditions are slippery — mud, beach, ice, snow etc. This is not a full-time 4wd system like the fortuner/endeavour/pajerosport — more akin to the Thar/Scorp.

On the second test drive I kept it on 2H throughout and it was fine. Then I did a little test of the 4L by climbing a steep slope in the showroom parking lot. You put the car in neutral. Press down and shift the knob to 4L. Slot in first gear. Leave the clutch … .. and the beast climbs the slope on its own. That was a bit of a magical moment for me.

I’m sure seasoned 4x4ers will be like *YAWN* — you should see what my Thar/Pajero/Gypsy/Landcruiser/<insert awesome 4x4 here> .. can do.

:-)

RIDING POSITION The riding position is very very comfortable for me. The seats are just perfectly bolstered and I felt I could just drive this thing all day. In actual fact I wanted to just keep driving and driving this thing. Felt bad to give it back to them. :-P

HIGH SPEED STABILITY I touched 130-140 on the ORR. It was quite stable and confidence inspiring. Maybe not as much as a low slung sedan, but given the weight and the height of the thing it was quite good. You wouldn’t want to be taking twisties or ghat sections at high speeds in this thing though …

LOW END TORQUE The overdrive article mentions this. This is my favourite feature. You can just potter around in city traffic all day in 3rd or 4th gear, using it almost like an automatic. I’m not sure if all diesel cars have this feature? There’s a youtube video with Andrew St Pierre White where he talks about how useful this feature is.

INTERIORS Not a great fan of the beige. Would have preferred black or grey. In any case not really a deal breaker for me. One thing though — beige will be less of a mosquito magnet than black. A b#tch to keep clean tho.

Acres of space inside. You can sit comfortably even if you are relatively “healthy”. It will easily seat about 5 people in Punjab, and about 14 people from interior Telangana.