Isuzu D-Max vs Ford F-350

What's the difference?

There’s a lot to like about the regular D-Max in terms of standard features, driver-assist tech, and all-round driveability – it’s an impressive 4WD with plenty of appeal as a daily driver.

And the Blade is even better – but not by a lot.

Walkinshaw’s work on the Blade has bolstered that appeal with conversion work, engineering upgrades and fitment of accessories and all of those elements are the kind of sensible changes an experienced 4WDer would usually make to their own stock-standard vehicle via the aftermarket.

And that’s a crucial point with these type of factory-modded vehicles: some people prefer to do the research, sourcing, purchasing and even the fitment of mods and accessories themselves rather than buy a ready-made adventure machine.

However, there’s no denying the convenience of a factory-backed and -accessorised 4WD ute or wagon, and Isuzu and Walkinshaw have proven, in the same way that Nissan and Premcar have, that these kinds of collaborations can yield positive results.

Do you need a Blade? No, and an LS-U+ might better suit your lifestyle. But do you want a Blade? Many a D-Max fan would say “Yes!” without hesitation.

If you’ve got something really heavy to tow and you have the budget to do it in grand style and with minimal effort, then a Super Duty could be just what you’re looking for. Its gargantuan proportions make it impractical for daily driving in Australian city and suburban traffic, but as a heavy-duty tow vehicle, particularly for long-haul open highway work, you’ll feel like king of the road.

Vehicle supplied by Harrison F-Trucks.

The Blade’s distinctive look builds on the D-Max’s most recent refresh treatment, in which the ute received new headlights, a bigger grille, redesigned wheels, and three-tier LED tail-lights.

In terms of dimensions, the Blade is 5308mm long (with a 3125mm wheelbase), 1810mm high and 1910mm wide (excluding wing mirrors).

In comparison, the LS-U+ is 5285mm long (with a 3125mm wheelbase), 1790mm high and 1870mm wide (excluding wing mirrors).

So, the Blade is longer, taller, wider (with wider wheels and wheel tracks, and 23mm-wider wheel-arch flares), beefier and more imposing than its standard stablemates.

Also, at a listed kerb weight of 2204kg, this ute is 89kg heavier than the LS-U+.

Exterior Blade extras (all of these are satin black) include front grille with ‘ISUZU’ lettering (and integrated, tinted 112-watt lightbar), front bumper cladding, fender flares with integrated air curtains, ‘BLADE’ lettering across the tailgate, tailgate badging, decals on the front bar, bonnet, doors and tailgate, tubular sidesteps, and a one-piece extended sports bar with integrated stop lamp.

It also gets widened mud flaps, an individually numbered 'BLADE' identification plaque in engine bay, 'Basalt Black' tailgate and door handles and door mirrors.

Inside there are ‘BLADE’ embroidered head rests, 'BLADE’ embroidered floor mats, 'BLADE’ embossed scuff plates, and an individually numbered 'BLADE' identification plaque on the transmission selector surround.

Everything looks good, except...

This vehicle would be a whole lot more appealing without the cheesy katana-style stickers everywhere and the huge ‘BLADE’ emblazoned on its rear end. The ‘Blade’ mentions on the scuff plates and on the front-seats head-rests are about all the decoration it should have.

The decals are shaped to bring to mind the blades of samurai swords I guess, but they look more like ice hockey sticks to me – and they shouldn’t be there.

This ute would benefit from more of a subtle look – it’s chunkier-than-thou appearance speaks for itself, so there’s no need for garish tarting up of any sort.

Needless to say, the MY18 F350 Super Duty 4x4 is a monster, even in this SWB specification. The massive 4059mm wheelbase is 839mm longer than a Ranger Wildtrak, which is also dwarfed by the Super Duty’s 6350mm overall length (961mm longer). The F-Series’ 2032mm width is 182mm wider than the Ranger, and its 2065mm height is 217mm taller. It's like a Ranger that's been fed heaps of fertiliser.

Underneath is the kind of heavy-metal hardware needed to justify a Super Duty badge. Ford claims its massive fully-boxed steel ladder-frame chassis is up to 24 times stiffer than the previous generation, along with improved corrosion resistance. The cargo tub is made from military-grade aluminium with the dual benefits of less weight and no rust. A tough spray-on cargo tub liner boosts dent and weather protection.

Live axles are used at both ends, suspended on huge leaf spring packs at the rear and softer-riding coils up front. Steering and four-wheel disc braking are both power-assisted, of course, and there’s a choice of trailer-towing hitches available.

As you would expect, cabin space for both front and rear occupants is palatial, with even tall adults feeling dwarfed by its enormous dimensions. Rear passenger leg and shoulder room even for tall adults is limousine-grade, although headroom is reduced (but still adequate) due to the lower roof lining surrounding the full-length sunroof.

The overall fit and finish of the dashboard, following Harrison’s local RHD conversion process, displays quality workmanship. However, some DNA from its Kentucky birthplace remains in the control screen’s software, which, for example, displays 911 Assist instead of 000, and a left-side driver’s seat icon for the massage control. We also noticed that the AM radio station display only moves in 10kHz increments without the ability to tune between them (too bad if you like talkback).

There’s also no driver’s left footrest and the parking brake pedal seems overly high, requiring the raising of your left knee above steering-wheel height to get your boot on it.

Isuzu could never be accused of ever sacrificing substance for style in the D-Max and that remains true in the Blade. 

Not a lot separates the LS-U+ and Blade in terms of functionality or comfort because they share essentially the same interior with only a few differences.

The interior here is at heart a workhorse’s cabin with no fancy-schmancy elements that might spoil this ute’s primary purpose: work … and a fair dose of play, of course.

The latest round of D-Max upgrades brought with it enhanced interior materials, a new 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system as well as upgraded functionality across all dash tech, and more charging spots for smart devices.

And the Blade treatment doesn’t add anything other than the aforementioned style tweaks to that – which is fine.

The cabin has a pleasantly familiar feel about it and it’s an easy space in which to swiftly become comfortable and to figure out where all controls are (on-screen and real switches, buttons and dials) and how to use them. 

The interior is adequately spacious with nicely supportive seats upfront and a reasonably comfortable bench-style pew for the three people at the rear. 

The Blade has leather-accented upholstery, but there are expanses of durable plastic surfaces to cope with real-life mess.

Charging options are numerous – a mix of USB-A, USB-C and 12V upfront, and USB-A for the second row – and storage places include recesses for your everyday carry gear, a suitably deep centre console, as well as dual cupholders upfront and cupholders in the fold-down armrest, and bottle holders in the doors.

Back-row passengers get USB ports, directional air-con vents and shallow under-seat storage.

The tub is 1570mm long (at floor level), 1530mm wide (1122mm between the wheel-arches) and 490mm deep. It is a double-walled tub, with an under-rail tub liner, two cargo tie-down points, and it has tailgate assist.

Tub options for D-Max owners include a tonneau or roller cover (which offers at least some degree of security from thieves, and protection from rain, mud, snow etc), or an Isuzu or aftermarket canopy, although a canopy impacts the versatility of the load space because once it’s an enclosed area it makes it more difficult to carry long, awkward and/or large loads in the tub.

Our F-350 test vehicle with its F-250 downgrade results in a 700kg decrease in both payload and tow ratings. In other words, based on Harrison’s figures, in full F-350 specification it has a 1700kg payload capacity and 9700kg GCM, which means it can legally tow up to 4510kg of braked trailer with a full payload or up to 6210kg without. In our F-250 form it offers a 1000kg payload with 9000kg GCM, and can legally tow up to 3810kg of braked trailer with a full payload, or 4810kg without.

The huge cargo tub has a load floor length of 2080mm and width of 1700mm, with 1283mm between the wheel arches allowing ample room for a standard 1160mm-square Aussie pallet. There’s a total of eight tie-down points, overhead and internal lighting plus key fob operation of the tailgate, which houses a handy fold-out step and grab handle for easy cargo tub access.

The sumptuous cabin has plenty of storage options, including a single glovebox, and a bottle holder and two storage bins in each front door. The centre console has an open storage cubby at the front, another open storage bin and two bottle holders in the centre, a cavernous box behind that with a padded lid which doubles as a comfortable armrest, and two more bottle/cup holders at the back.

Those in the rear seat also get a fold-down centre armrest with two pop-out cup holders and each rear door has a bottle holder and two storage bins. There are also flexible storage pockets on the rear of both front seats and the 60/40-split rear seat base cushions swing up through 90 degrees and lock into position, revealing a huge full-width storage area underneath.

Our test vehicle was the MY18 F350 SWB Crew Cab Platinum 4x4 pick-up, downrated to a 4490kg GVM rating (same as the F-250) to allow it to be driven with a normal car licence. According to Harrison, Ford achieves this by simply removing an additional booster spring and block in the rear suspension, resulting in the lower ratings. It was also fitted with Ford’s FX4 off-road option (rear diff lock, skid plates, special shocks, hill-descent control), bringing the drive-away price to an eye-watering $165,990.

The Platinum is one of six grades in the Super Duty range, and one of three only available in the Crew Cab, in which it represents the middle tier above King Ranch and below Limited. Although Harrison can import most of the Super Duty model grades, it claims the Platinum delivers the best ‘bang for buck’ in terms of features and trim level, riding on stylish 20-inch polished alloy wheels and LT245/75Rx17E all-terrain tyres with a full-size spare.

As you can imagine, the sumptuous Platinum has power everything and is loaded with features that are way too numerous to list here. Suffice to say, everywhere you look there’s conspicuous luxury, from the moment the concealed power-operated side-steps smoothly extend when you open the door, and then retract when you close it.

Inside is an 8.0-inch touchscreen for the SYNC3 voice-activated infotainment system with multiple connectivity options, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, premium leather seating (with heating, cooling and even massage for the front seats), a full-length panoramic sunroof, huge power-extendable door mirrors for towing (with built-in courtesy lights), power adjustable pedals and steering wheel (which is also heated), remote-opening tailgate with fold-out step, cameras everywhere for 360-degree coverage and even a wide choice of changeable colours for the ambient cabin lighting.

We could go on, but you get the picture. It’s magnificent excess in the true US tradition, where too much is never enough.

The D-Max Blade has the D-Max line-up’s 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine – producing 140kW at 3600rpm and 450Nm from 1600 to 2600rpm – and it’s matched to a six-speed auto. 

Just to be clear: the Blade does not have any power or torque advantages over the standard D-Max.

This engine and auto combination form part of a proven powertrain and while this ute is sluggish when accelerating and it’s not the most dynamic vehicle to drive, the D-Max has a real tractability about it that negates most other flaws. 

It has part-time 4WD, with high- and low-range. Driver-assist tech, such as rough terrain mode, has been tweaked with the aim of making Isuzu 4WDs perform off-road even better than before.

The F350 Super Duty is powered by Ford’s common rail 6.7-litre Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel, which, with four valves per cylinder and variable vane turbocharger, punches out 335kW at 2800rpm and a massive 1267Nm of torque at only 1800rpm.

The SelectShift six-speed automatic transmission is also designed and built by Ford. Its triple-plate, two-stage torque converter offers full lock-up capability as low as 900rpm, and there’s a dedicated tow/haul mode which avoids unwanted shifts on climbs and provides powerful engine braking on descents.

The exhaust brake can also be manually selected. The 4x4 system is part-time dual-range, with auto-locking front hubs and shift-on-the-fly engagement.

Official fuel consumption for this D-Max is 8.0L/100km on a combined cycle. 

Actual fuel consumption on this test, from pump to pump, was 10.6L/100km for the D-Max. 

The D-Max has a 76-litre fuel tank so, going by those fuel consumption figures, you should be able to get a driving range of about 717km from a full tank.

Flick through a Super Duty sales brochure and you won’t find any reference to fuel economy ratings. However, for what it’s worth we crunched some figures at the end of our relatively short 200km test based on trip meter and fuel bowser readings, resulting in a reasonable 15.8L/100km.

That’s not far away from the dash read-out at 14.2, so with its big 130-litre fuel tank you could expect a driving range of around 820km.

The D-Max has never been a stand-out performer on-road in the ute segment, but it’s never been atrocious either.

The engine and auto combination yield a solid drivability rather than any liveliness, which works fine in this ute package.

Suffice to say, the D-Max is consistently middle of the pack when it comes to ride and handling or refinement comparisons, but again that suits this ute package. 

Besides, the D-Max is a body-on-frame ute with leaf spring rear suspension, so it can’t be expected to produce sportscar-like driving qualities, though the most recent upgrades to the D-Max did improve the steering and driver-assist tech.

But then came the Blade project, which wasn’t about improving the ute’s around-town driveability: Isuzu brought in the Walkinshaw Automotive Group, one of Australia’s leading automotive engineering firms, to make a version of the D-Max that was even better at off-roading than the standard unmodified D-Max.

Boiling down thousands of kilometres and man-hours of Walkinshaw’s work on the Blade into the most salient points for this yarn does not accurately reflect the effort of those involved in the years-long process … but here goes anyway: Walkinshaw has designed, engineered and remanufactured some of Australia’s most iconic nameplates, and, while the Blade reworking doesn’t introduce any new mechanical or driver-assist tech set-ups to the D-Max package, the introduction of new all-terrain tyres, wider wheel track and Aussie-tuned suspension (including Monroe 35mm MTV twin-tube dampers with lifted spring seats) has added a welcome measure of composure to this ute’s on-road behaviour.

And Isuzu big wigs must be feeling a bit chuffed at this point in time because Walkinshaw’s off-road mods have produced real results where they count most: off-road.

The standard D-Max in LS-U+ guise is an impressive 4WD ute, but the Blade version is a touch better on a variety of terrain for a number of reasons.

For starters, the Blade’s Walkinshaw-developed suspension set-up, with those 35mm twin-tube dampers in the mix, yields a more agreeable drive, with more comfort and better chassis control than a regular D-Max on fast dirt tracks and corrugated gravel roads. It manages to subdue most of the lumps and bumps you’re bound to drive over on your way to a beach- or bush-camping destination.

The Blade’s wheel track – at 1602mm, 32mm wider than the LS-U+’s 1570mm – gives this ute a slightly more planted posture than its standard stablemate for improved stability and handling.

And while the Blade’s tyres aren’t gung-ho mud-terrains or something similar, its 275/65R17 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac RT all-terrain tyres do work sufficiently well on-road and off.

For low-range 4WDing, the Blade has all of the D-Max good stuff – including a tractable engine with plenty of low-down torque and a recalibrated off-road traction control (part of the most recent D-Max upgrades) – but its ground clearance (244mm vs the LS-U+’s 240mm) and off-road angles (29.2° approach, 19.2° departure and 25.2° breakover vs the LS-U+’s 30.5°, 19.0°, and 23.8°) don’t represent as much of an improvement over its stablemate as you’d expect in a vehicle touted by Isuzu as “an off-road ute without compromise” and “an unparalleled combination of off-road performance and rugged reliability”.

The Blade feels vulnerable to underbody knocks from rocks and the like, but it has 3mm-thick steel bash plate protection so there’s no need to lose any sleep over a few ‘rubbing dirt’ moments.

Its tubular sidesteps at least seem hardier than the standard D-Max’s sidesteps and seem able to cop knocks from rocks without crumpling.

If there’s any need for a vehicle recovery, the Blade has eight-tonne load-rated recovery points (with bracing between chassis rails for torsional rigidity) to work with.

Also, if you’re thinking about using your Blade as a touring platform, at a listed kerb weight of 2204kg, it is 89kg heavier than the LS-U+, and its payload is 896kg (down form the LS-U+’s 990kg). GVM is 3100kg, GCM is 6000kg.

Towing capacities remain at 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked).

You sit up nice and high in very comfortable seats, with a commanding view of surrounding traffic and the road ahead. We quickly adapted to the width and height of the Super Duty, but the major issue in city and suburban driving was its oil-tanker length, which required later turn-in on tight corners to provide kerbside clearance. We also needed to check that there was ample reversing room when choosing a space in a parking lot, to ensure we didn’t get wedged when trying to leave.

With the big turbo diesel V8’s 1267Nm of torque being tapped at only 1800rpm, it provides spirited getaways from traffic lights, and easily keeps up with normal city and suburban traffic flow with your big toe barely touching the accelerator pedal.

The ride quality without a load is quite good on smooth surfaces, with its massive 3.5 tonne kerb weight feeling like the tyres are leaving indents in the bitumen. However, over rougher roads and larger obstacles like speeds humps, it starts to bounce around more and can feel quite ponderous at times. However, this is to be expected in an empty vehicle with such high payload and tow ratings.

The steering is surprisingly direct and firm in feel. It’s also quite linear in turning weight regardless of road speed, without the more noticeable changes evident in its little brother Ranger, which is very light at parking speeds but gets noticeably firmer as speeds increase.

Braking is reasonably responsive but like other giant US pick-ups we’ve tested, you have to get them quite hot to make them really bite. That’s because their pad compounds tend to be on the hard side, given they have to cope with the high temperatures generated by heavy-duty towing.

The engine exhaust brake is surprisingly quiet and very effective at slowing the vehicle, aided by more aggressive downshifts in the six-speed auto.

No ANCAP rating, but for what it’s worth the 2017 F-250 Super Duty SuperCab and Crew Cab 4x2 models earned the US government’s highest five-star safety rating. Passive safety includes driver and passenger front and seat-side airbags plus side-curtain airbags. All three rear seat positions have top tethers for child seat restraints but no ISOFIX.

Dynamic safety does not include AEB, but there’s adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support, (BLIS) blind spot information system with trailer coverage and cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping alert, reverse sensing system, rain-sensing wipers, automatic high beam headlights, hill-start assist, trailer sway control, tyre-pressure monitoring, SOS post-crash alert system and lots more.

The D-Max has a six-year/150,000km warranty and seven years of roadside assistance when you have your D-Max always serviced at a participating Isuzu ute dealer. That warranty is okay in terms of years, but unlimited kilometres would be a welcome sweetener.

Service intervals are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs soonest.

Capped-price servicing covers the first five scheduled services for 24MY and later vehicle models (up to five years/75,000km - whichever occurs first) – at a flat price of $449 for each service.

Harrison F Trucks provides a four-year/130,000km warranty, which it claims is the same as the Ford warranty with standard exclusions. Harrison also provides four-year premium roadside assistance.

Scheduled servicing is 12 months/10,000km with costs ranging between $495 and $1400.

Harrison says servicing can be done at any certified service department in Australia, with direct communication with Harrison’s service manager if required for diagnostics and advice.