Range Rover vs Isuzu D-Max

What's the difference?

The Range Rover Autobiography long wheelbase is an outstanding SUV that is not just beautiful to drive but makes family practicality a priority, too, 

The price is reasonable relative to the competition, the features list is long and complementary servicing offers peace of mind.

If you don’t need the third row, I’d consider the standard wheelbase Autobiography even if it does reduce legroom, there’s still plenty of space.

My son stopped short of giving the Range Rover Autobiography full marks "because there are no massaging seats in the second row".     

The new engine makes the D-Max a much more likeable ute than it already was, which is high praise.

It’s smoother and quieter and makes for a more pleasant drive. The added efficiency is a bonus both for your wallet and Isuzu’s emissions credits.

The 3.0-litre engine will probably remain the favourite, but anyone who test drives a 2.2L might even be tempted to opt for the smaller unit. Isuzu sure hopes so.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

This fifth-generation Range Rover debuted in 2021 and despite its smooth, modern styling this SUV retains the familiar traditional Range Rover look with the short squared bonnet, flat roofline and tall windows.  

Let’s talk about the wheelbase, because it has a huge impact on passenger space.

We had the long wheelbase which is 3197mm between the front and rear wheels - that’s 200mm more than the standard wheelbase. 

Just look at those stretched rear doors in the photos - this is a go-anywhere limousine, or go-anywhere daycare centre in my case.

The overall length of the long wheelbase Range Rover is 5252mm. That’s big, but the design of this SUV doesn’t make it appear enormous.

What I don't like are the retractable door handles. They take a while to pop out and they look and feel cheap. Land Rover has used these on its other SUVs and if I had time I’d pen a letter asking the company to please stop. I’m sincerely hoping this review will do the same thing. I await your response JLR.

I think the tail-lights are pure genius. The pencil thin design is such a brave move away from the norm where brands are going over the top with LED lighting, and the simplicity is refreshing.

Inside, a traditional-looking Range Rover cabin awaits you with the flat dashboard, the low window sills contrasted by super modern touches like the displays and fully digital dials.

It’s sumptuous, luxurious, but not over the top. Again some people are looking for bling and gimmicks, but you won’t find them here - and I like that. This interior feels solid and substantial, but plush. 

The look of the D-Max depends on the grade you end up with, but the 2.2-litre SX and X-Rider variants down the lower end of the model-run are still pretty standard-looking utes. Inside and out.

You get fairly rugged styling that fits in for both work and play, and the interior is functional, if getting a little outdated. 

The black trim (and extra features) that comes with the LSM X-Rider as opposed to the SX is worth it if you’re keen to get a 2.2-litre-powered D-Max for the family rather than one for a fleet as it just elevates things slightly.

Inside, it also means nicer cloth, and not having the vinyl flooring looks a little less ‘farm ute’.

Range Rovers have been a family favourite for decades and they’ve been doing school runs and trips away long before other brands even thought about producing SUVs for families.

So what you’re buying is Land Rover’s decades of knowing how to make a family SUV and you can tell by little things such as, how wide the doors open, how easy it is to get in and out of (even for little kids), the flat floor, the good visibility (thanks to low window sills), and then there’s the space and cabin storage. Stuff other brands seem to be still working out.

The second row seats in the Autobiography have electric sun shades, dual-zone climate control and the window seats are power adjustable and heated.

My eight-year old couldn’t resist playing with his electric sunshade and the seat adjustment, but fortunately the driver has an override switch which let me turn off his 'seat privileges’ as he called it. 

Being the long wheelbase means the rear doors are long and heavy. So while the eight-year old could open them, he had trouble closing them. 

The long wheelbase offers unrivalled legroom in the back and that meant my wife and I could put our own seats back further for our own comfort -even with a baby seat behind us.

Enormous door pockets, a giant centre console storage area, cupholders in all three rows, USB ports, wireless phone charging and in our case an optional domestic power outlet ($130) made this a comfortable, roomy, well equipped cabin.

Sure, the third row isn’t exactly spacious, but I’ve never met one that is. 

The intelligent seat folding system is remarkable. From the boot or side doors you can electronically adjust the second and third rows - either to raise them or lower them so they are flat for storage.

With all seats in place there is 229 litres of cargo space still left in the boot, but with those back seats folded flat you have 713 litres of capacity - and that’s just up to the cargo cover. 

The Range Rover Autobiography has air suspension and this means the SUV can lower itself to an 'Access' height to make it even easier to get in and out.

The D-Max remains straight-forward inside, given nothing has changed with the update aside from the 2.2-litre engine and the addition of stop-start - there’s a button for that now.

The interior and usability of the D-Max, especially in the lower-end variants where the 2.2L engine is available, is focused on the basics.

Tech remains at a relative entry point, where the 8.0-inch screen and its software feel outdated but do everything you need. Plus of course there’s the phone mirroring workaround.

The D-Max is comfortable and spacious enough, there’s also physical buttons for everything including media and climate settings, and adjustability in terms of the seating position means not needing to reach.

In dual-cab versions, there’s enough space for an adult to sit in the second row behind another adult, so the D-Max also holds its own as a family hauler. Tick.

Importantly, Isuzu is now able to claim a 3500kg braked towing capacity across the full D-Max range thanks to the new 2.2-litre engine.

Pricing is up across the board for D-Max (and its MU-X sibling) regardless of drivetrain, but we’ll stick to the 2.2-litre variants here to stay on track.

Most of the lower-level D-Max variants are $1500 more than the previous equivalent, and with the manual gearbox dropped, the cheapest grade is the 4x2 single-cab chassis SX with a 2.2L engine at $36,200 before on-roads.

You can get the SX in crew-cab with a chassis or ute back in either 4x2 or 4x4 with a 2.2L engine, which is also available in the LSM X-Rider 4x4. 

That one will set you back $59,500, which is still far from the most expensive D-Max around. That’s still the Blade, with a 3.0-litre engine and 4x4 only, but it’s now $80,900.

Back to the 2.2s, and the SX grade comes with the basics. Cloth upholstery, polyurethane steering wheel and gear selector, vinyl flooring and even halogen lights.

There’s basic air-conditioning, but it does have a HEPA filter, and rear vents for crew-cab models, plus there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, auto wipers, and USB-C power ports as well as a USB-A port.

The central multimedia touchscreen is 8.0 inches, but the driver display is a little 4.2-inch unit between physical dials.

Stepping up to the LSM X-Rider brings with it auto-levelling LED headlights and LED daytime running lights, black styling trim, nicer cloth trim upholstery and gloss black 17-inch alloy wheels.

The rest of the D-Max line-up is 3.0-litre-only, and remains as it was before.

The 4.4-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 is a perfect match for the Range Rover Autobiography.

There’s enormous power at 390kW and a colossal 750Nm of torque, but it’s delivered so smoothly and without sounding like Armageddon is beginning.

You might here the engine referred to as the P530. That signifies it’s petrol and makes about 530 horsepower. 

All that grunt means that despite weighing more than 2.7 tonnes, this SUV can hurl itself from a stand still to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds. 

An eight-speed automatic sends the drive to all four wheels. And making this SUV incredibly capable off-road is an excellent four-wheel drive system with a low range gear, plus a maximum ground clearance (thanks to the adjustable air suspension) of 283mm and a wading depth of up to 900mm.

There is a six-cylinder diesel, but if you decide on that instead of the V8 then it's all over between you and me. That’s how good this V8 is.

The new 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder comes with 120kW and 400Nm, that’s 10kW and 50Nm more than before. Isuzu also says there’s 60 per cent more torque ready from near-idle at 1000rpm.

An eight-speed auto replaces the six-speed, but the brand has also culled the manual options that remained in the line-up.

As ever, that sends power and torque to a part-time 4WD system capable of 2H, 4H and 4L with a rear diff-lock.

Now, you’re going to use a lot of fuel. But that’s okay because this will probably be your last petrol car and the next one will be electric so let’s go out with a bang - last drinks at the petrol bar! Land Rover says you’ll use 11.8L/100km.

After a week of punishing my Range Rover with school drop offs, shopping centre car parks, hilly suburbs, motorways and rural roads the petrol pump told me we’d used 19.8L/100km.

I’m not shocked by that consumption. This is a 2.7 tonne all-wheel drive twin-turbo V8 SUV that was almost always ferrying around four people with a pram, garden supplies and shopping in bumper to bumper traffic. A real world fuel test. 

There is that six-cylinder diesel and a hybrid version of the Range Rover, but this V8 engine suits the character of the SUV perfectly - anything else and it’s like eating reduced fat ice cream.

The biggest advantage for the new drivetrain from Isuzu’s perspective is that it’s more fuel efficient.

The old engine’s 6.9 litres per 100km become 6.6L/100km in the new engine, in part thanks to a new stop-start system. That system is also now on the 3.0-litre engine, where 8.0L per 100km drops to 7.1L.

With its 76L diesel tank capacity, the D-Max should theoretically be able to travel more than 1000km on a single fill, although that comes down to a lot of variables - that 6.6L figure was achieved in almost lab-like conditions.

Driving the V8-powered, long-wheelbase, 2.7-tonne, Range Rover Autobiography is a lot easier than it sounds. Really, it’s the Range Rover’s height above sea level which will strike you first.

You’ll lord it over other cars. The length doesn’t come into it - even for parking because the visibility is so good, the steering is so light and the engine is civilised and smooth.  

This is truly an easy and enjoyable SUV to drive, with power and performance whenever you need it. 

There are several drive modes from a 'Dynamic' sporty one, which makes the engine more responsive and suspension firmer, to off-road settings.

Most of the time I left the Range Rover in 'Comfort' mode for the softest ride, but with 530 horsepower lurking in the background ready to jump out and eat up hills and overtaking.

The front seats are wide, comfortable and supportive even after hours of driving. 

Let’s start with the most important part of the updated D-Max. The new 2.2L is smooth. 

It feels so much more refined physically, but it's also quieter. Paired with the new eight speed, it makes the D-Max a much more likeable ute than it was with the rattly 1.9L.

At the launch, Isuzu had a bunch of MU-Xs to drive (keep an eye on a review coming soon), and the new drivetrain actually suits that big family SUV down to a tee.

The power and efficiency changes are second to how much it changes the characteristics of the thing.

If anything, the D-Max sits in a slightly higher gear than necessary, probably to try and eke as much out of the diesel dual-cab as possible in terms of fuel efficiency, but put your foot down and a more appropriate gear is close-by, and without much fuss.

There's also a relatively good stop-start system. It's not seamless but it's better than some. You take your foot off the brake and the engine rattles back to life, rather than waiting for you to put your foot back down.

The rest of the D-Max’s behaviour is pretty standard ute stuff, as it was before.

The steering is on the light side, but accurate enough even though it has a slightly doughy spot dead-straight. It’s not anything you wouldn’t expect from a ute.

Similarly, the brakes are a bit spongy but predictable, and once you’re used to where the ‘bite’ point is it’s easy to live with.

The suspension is a bit busy, but easy to keep on top of and doesn’t jostle you around. 

Isuzu has done well to include pretty much the full range of safety features across all its variants, with the SX only missing out on rear parking sensors - it still has a camera though, obviously.

Key features like rear cross-traffic alert with braking and adaptive cruise control are standard, plus the D-Max achieved a five star crash safety rating from ANCAP, even though that was under slightly easier testing back in 2020.

The biggest (but only) gripe on-test with the D-Max’s safety gear was its lane-keep during adaptive cruise. There seemed to be a need for the ute to sit close to either the centre line or shoulder during cornering, which led to some discomfort on fast country roads.

The warranty is good with five-years and unlimited kilometre coverage.

There’s also five years roadside assistance and a complimentary five-year/130,000km service plan.

Yep, that's complimentary, as in free servicing for five years. I didn’t believe it myself and called Land Rover to check and was told that it does indeed mean free-of-charge.

Isuzu’s six-year/150,000km warranty covers the D-Max, which could do without the limited distance, especially for a workhorse.

There’s also five years of flat-rate servicing every 12 months or 15,000km, costing $469 each time.

That’s gone up about $20 per visit since the update, with total cost over the five years at $2345.

There are 164 Isuzu dealers across the country, so finding somewhere to service shouldn’t be a challenge.