By Charles E. Buban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
“PUSH the 4L button, shift to first gear then take your feet off the accelerator and the clutch,” commanded our Thai navigator. And before we could even argue with his order, he smilingly repeated the instruction and added, “Trust me, you’ll both be surprised.”
Surprisingly indeed, the pickup did not stall and in fact, continued to drive uphill to the amazement of Bam Olivares (of the Daily Tribune) and this writer.
As if we were not yet amazed, Jirayuth Adhidhebnarangkura of Isuzu Operations Thailand even ordered to shift to the second gear and just steer (again, while keeping both feet off the accelerator and clutch).
The event was the Isuzu D-Max 4×4 Driving Clinic held last Friday at Canyon Woods in Tagaytay City.
Isuzu Philippines Inc. invited Adhidhebnarangkura’s team to lead the driving clinic and asked local off-road expert Beeboy Bargas (also Landcraft Adventures Inc. managing director) to design a 3.4-km course inside Canyon Woods.
“This event was meant to reveal more of the global D-Max 4×4’s best attributes. Launched late last year, we decided for this event so our media partners could experience for themselves why this pickup is the top choice in the region,” said IPC president Keiji Takeda.
He added that the event is the best chance for the motoring media to drive the global D-Max 4×4 on an off-road course that is similar to those found in the countryside.
“We want to convince buyers out there that if they are looking for a pickup that they would want to bring every day to some of the most toughest terrains, the global D-Max 4×4 is the one that would probably fit their requirements,” assured Arthur Balmadrid, IPC vice president for corporate business division.
In explaining about the pickup’s special ability, Bargas said the global D-Max 4×4 has one of the lowest transfer case gear ratios as well as the lowest final drive ratio in the market (which would explain why the pickup would keep on rolling even if the accelerator and clutch are not depressed).
“With these attributes, you won’t unnecessarily stress the engine during tough climbs or while going through rough terrain. This is crucial if you want a pickup that could be depended on and should last long enough,” Bargas explained.
Like its 4×2 counterpart, the global D-Max 4×4 is also powered by a 3.0-liter, common-rail direct-injection diesel engine with turbo intercooler (in manual and automatic variants, priced at P1.265 million and P1.325 million, respectively).
Additionally, the course that Bargas designed is meant to exhibit the pickup’s limits: drive laterally up to 48 degrees; climb uphill up to 55 degrees; test its approach angle of 37 degrees as well as departure angle of 29 degrees; and go through obstacles no higher than 22.5 cm.
“Well, with this specification, you could almost go anywhere here in the Philippines,” Bargas assured.
