2025 Isuzu D-Max Blade details
This rough and ready off-roader starts out as one of the best utes on sale, before being transformed into something special.
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Isuzu Australia has unveiled a new flagship model in its D-Max ute range, but for those who have been itching for a powered-up Ranger Raptor rival, there’s some bad news.
The new Isuzu D-Max Blade has no more power or torque than the standard models in the range – instead, the Japanese brand reckons it has honed the new top-spec dual-cab to be better suited to families and adventurous drivers alike.
That means it has the same old 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine with 140kW and 450Nm – well under the best in the business for a four-pot ute. It retains a six-speed auto gearbox and selectable four-wheel drive, with a rear diff lock and Rough Terrain Mode standard.
The new Blade version retains a fit-for-purpose payload of 896kg, and the class-standard braked towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes. Those numbers trump many competitors, including the Raptor – which can only tow 2.5 tonnes and has a meagre 655kg payload.
Unlike the Raptor (and the new BYD Shark hybrid ute), the D-Max Blade retains its leaf-spring rear suspension to better cope with work duties, but the shocks have been switched out for locally-tuned 35mm Monroe MTV units, and there’s a 29mm lift kit as well as new 17-inch wheels with 275/65/R17 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac RT all-terrain tyres. Tyre pressure monitoring is retained, too.
The off-road specs are promising, with 244mm of ground clearance, a 29.2-degree approach angle, 19.2-degree breakover and 25.2-degree breakover. There’s also 800mm wading capability, and a 3mm reinforced bashplate under body protection system – double the thickness of the standard set up, and recovery hooks rated to 8.0-tonnes.
It also doesn’t cost $90,000 like a Raptor, either. The promotional introductory pricing for the Blade is $76,990 drive-away, which undercuts some rough-and-tumble double-cab rivals.
Indeed, the best way to think about the Blade model is that it’s Isuzu’s alternative to a Toyota HiLux GR Sport (from $74,310 plus on-roads), Ford Ranger Tremor (from $76,590 plus on-roads), or the mechanically-related Mazda BT-50 Thunder (from $74,095 plus on-roads).
Isuzu Ute Australia managing director, Junta Matsui, said the brand has been working on the flagship model for three years, and has amassed 100,000km of testing across a dozen prototypes with expert local converters, Walkinshaw Automotive – the brand behind models like the last-gen VW Amarok W580.
“Before we even kicked this project off, we spent months speaking with local engineering outfits to determine how to best bring the Blade to life,” Matsui said. “In the end, we chose to partner with Walkinshaw due to their unrivalled local [light commercial vehicle] experience and local engineering and design talent pool – with the finished product speaking for itself,” Mr Matsui said.
The local boss openly stated that it was a long time coming, and the facelifted D-Max range launched earlier this year threw a challenge into the mix, too.
“But given that the 24MY D-Max instilled a suite of updates that directly addressed consumer feedback, it was essential that Walkinshaw based the Blade on that vehicle – improving on that specification and the overall package,” Mr Matsui said.
The D-Max Blade also follows the well-trodden path of featuring a host of blacked-out exterior elements, including a new-look grille, fender flares, an LED light-bar with up to 325m of beam throw, new black mirror caps and handles, badges, and tubular side steps.
Inside there are new floor mats and headrests with Blade embroidery, but it carries over the black leather-accented trim of the donor high-grade D-Max model.
No changes to the safety systems, but Walkinshaw Automotive execs said the brief was to ensure that all of the features like AEB, adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance work as normal, despite the more upright stance of the Blade model.
Originally published as 2025 Isuzu D-Max Blade details
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