UTES, pick-ups or bakkies… call them what you will, there is no denying that the uncovered LCV is an integral part of South African motoring culture.
With several new contenders having being launched in the bakkie arena over the last year and a bit – namely the Ford Ranger/Mazda BT-50 twins, Mitsubishi Triton and SsangYong Actyon Sports – Isuzu felt it was time to give its one-ton range a mid-life refresh. A veritable plethora of engine, transmission and bodystyle options were introduced late in 2007, producing more than twenty different derivatives of the KB. On test here is a unit powered by a 2,5-litre version of the new D-TEQ range of diesel powerplants, mated with a manual transmission and mounted in a double-cab body.
Most noticeable of the revisions is the sleeker styling. A new bumper, grille and headlamps make for a brand new face, with a far more angular appearance.
In keeping with the macho theme, the LE spec models, like the test unit, do not sport colour- coded bumpers and fender trim. Alloy wheels measuring 15 inches in diameter help to maintain the butch image. At the rear, there is a full width step that boasts a tow-bar as standard. Pick-ups have come a long way in the past few decades, and gone are bench seats and under-facia handbrake levers. The KB has two individual bucket seats up front, and the parking brake mounted between the front seats to create an environment that is more akin to a car than a commercial vehicle. The driver’s chair even has height adjustment, once the preserve of passenger cars. Even the steering wheel is adjustable, though only for rake. With this range of adjustment, it is easy for drivers of any shape or size to find a comfortable driving position.
The appearance of the plastics and the design of the interior does leave something to be desired, but the materials employed do come across as practical and tough, if devoid of style and perceived quality. Although there have been some upgrades to the interior, we feel that the treatment still trails that of some of the KB’s rivals.
Instruments are well positioned and legible, with little to criticise in this regard. A double-DIN (that’s twice regular height) CD/MP3 player with purple display takes pride of place on the facia. Just below the audio layout are the controls for the ventilation system. These are easy to use, simply laid out, and have a very solid action. The air-con in particular must have been designed with the SA market in mind, as it is extremely effective at wafting out chilled air. On the other hand, the size of the air vents seems slightly at odds with the large “feel” of the bakkie, and could surely have been enlarged.
In keeping with the tendency to emulate their passenger car counterparts, KB models of LE specification and higher have dual front airbags and threepoint seatbelts for all five passengers. Front passenger belts have height adjustment.
The power-assisted steering is quite light in feel, but other driving controls, such as the clutch, throttle and shift action are quite meaty.
We were impressed with the ride and handling, too. There is a fair deal of grip, relatively speaking of course, though the Firestone rubber does protest vocally when you get a tad overenthusiastic. The ladder frame construction is evidenced by a little shimmy when encountering larger road imperfections.
Ventilated discs up front and drums acting on the rear axle are responsible for retardation. Pedal feel is strong and easily modulated, but the actual braking performance is less than sterling. This 1,9-ton vehicle took an average of 3,42 seconds to come to a complete halt from 100 km/h. And that’s completely unladen. All LE models are equipped with ABS brakes with electronic brake-force distribution. Having said that, ABS hardly made its presence felt during our brake test routine because of the slow rate of deceleration.
The 2,5-litre D-TEQ engine is all-new for the facelifted range, and boasts power and torque outputs that are on par with the older generation’s 2,8-litre unit, that is to say 85 kW and 280 N.m. Unfortunately, the engine uses a turbocharger and intercooler to achieve these outputs, and with it comes the unwanted sideeffect of turbo-lag. Such is the torque deficiency at low engine speeds that several times different members of our team were convinced that they had pulled away in third gear, instead of first. Below 2 000 r/min there is very little oomph, which means that one has to constantly row the gearbox to keep the engine speed above this point. With long throws, the gearchange action is certainly very commercial in feel, as is the vibration that is passed from the drivetrain through to the gearlever.
Our subjective feel was confirmed when the bakkie was put up against the clock. It took an unhurried 17,07 seconds to complete the zero to 100 km/h sprint. This is several seconds slower than its competition. Even more sedate were the in-gear overtaking times, outlined in the test data panel.
TEST SUMMARY
If you are interested in a bakkie, it seems that you can have any engine/transmission/bodystyle configuration you could possibly desire within the new Isuzu KB range. We somehow suspect that this 2,5-litre double-cab will be quite a popular option, given its long specification sheet, commendable ride, and competitive price. Our major concern, though, revolves around its power delivery, particularly at low revs.