Isuzu N Series 2026 review: AWD & 4x4 – Australian first drive

If there’s one thing we should have learned from COVID-19 lockdowns is that it’s important to take your fun seriously, and take it when you can. And perhaps that explains why sales of Isuzu’s N-Series 4X4 light trucks exploded during and just after the pandemic and continue to be strong performers right now.

While the N-Series generally is this country’s best selling light truck (by a country mile) the 4X4 versions have a special appeal to the emergency services and mining and other industries in situations where a 4X4 dual-cab ute just won’t cut it. But if you venture into the Aussie outback right now, you’ll also see a swarm of 4X4 light trucks with specialist camper bodies bolted on to form a genuine go-anywhere alternative to a dual-cab ute or conventional four-wheel-drive and caravan combination. It seems the adventure travellers, grey nomads and plenty of other civilians have figured out the magic of the 4X4 light truck.

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The simplest form of the N-Series all-wheel drive is the NMS which has a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 4500kg and, therefore, can be driven on a normal car licence. With a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel and a nine-speed dual-clutch transmission, it runs part-time 4WD.

Fundamentally, this is a derivative of the sort of trucks many countries (notably Japan where Isuzu is based) use commercially as snow-ploughs and similar. While the 4WD grip is necessary, extra ground clearance and super-low gear ratios are not, so the NMS has neither of those things.

As a result, it’s a bit limited off road where the sump will eventually bottom out and it will run out of gearing on really steep stuff. That said, the nine-speed dual-clutch has a very low first gear, so it’s better at climbing hills than you might imagine.

A much better alternative, however, is either the NPS or NQS which also get a two-speed transfer-case for those low ratios, as well as bigger wheels and tyres and a higher ride height for – frankly – brutal off-road ability. The engine is broadly the same as the NMS’ including the 3.0-litre engine.

The catch is, however, that the standard 6500kg GVM means you need an endorsed licence to legally drive them. But Isuzu has a solution for that. With what amounts to a stroke of the pen, Isuzu can sell you an NPS or NQS with an official GVM of 4500kg, and suddenly, anybody with a car licence can join in the fun.

The flip-side is that your payload falls by that same 2000kg difference, but if you specify the truck carefully with regard to what you add and leave off, you can squeak in under the GVM limit. And if you need more payload in the future for a bigger camper or more water tanks or whatever, Isuzu can re-rate the vehicle to the full 6500kg GVM while you get your licence endorsed.

Of those two vehicles, the NQS probably represents the best choice for recreational users thanks to its nine-speed dual-clutch transmission that just makes life simpler in a big vehicle like this one. The NPS has a conventional six-speed manual with a very low first gear, but it’s another thing to deal with off-road and the shift is far from the slickest passenger car version of the same thing.

You also miss out on a lot of safety kit in the manual variant. Things like autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning, electronic brake force distribution and adaptive cruise control (all standard on the dual-clutch NQS) are missing from the NPS.

As it stands, The NPS gets anti-lock brakes and stability and traction controls, but that’s about it for electronic help. And in other aspects, all N-Series trucks fall short of passenger-car expectations. While you get a pair of front airbags and side intrusion bars in the front doors, the seat-belt for the centre-front passenger is a lap-only deal and pretensioners are only fitted to the two outside (three-point) belts.

You can improve this situation by checking the 'Technology Pack' option box which adds a camera system, and tyre pressure monitoring and an alarm, but overall, the truck world has some catching up to do here. Perhaps the industry is relying on the truck’s inherent mass and height advantage over passenger vehicles to take care of crash safety. Either way, the Isuzu in any of its forms has not been independently crash tested, so there’s no star-rating available.

The N-Series trucks we’re dealing with here all have a crew-cab option which ups the seating layout to six (four across the back seat). The cabins themselves feature a fair bit of hard plastic surfacing but the bigger touchscreens and more modern instrument layouts have helped make the interior feel more contemporary and less like a rent-a-truck.

There’s a single 24-volt power outlet (the N-Series runs on 24 volts, not 12) and a single USB charge-port, but the real genius is in the storage options that include overhead spaces, door pockets, cupholder and extra cubbies you’ll still be finding weeks into the future.

The switchgear is logically laid out, but a steering column that prevents left-foot braking further hinders familiarity at the wheel.

The driving experience is pretty alien with your backside perched over the front axle and hectares of glass giving an amazing forward view (critical when off-roading). The ride is a bit sharp thanks to the load-carrying spring rates, but with a load on board, it’ll be much better. It’s not terrible as it is, but you will feel the bumps.

That said, it’s the N-Series’ ability to handle those bumps that makes it a bit special. It climbs hills with ease and the dual rear tyres offer plenty of grip. Add some more off-road oriented rubber and it’d be even more formidable.

The big question comes down to whether the Isuzu fits two things - your budget and the average bush track. The former is down to your bank account and at $75,814 for the NMS, $103,206 for the NPS and $111,315 for the NQS (all single-cab, tray-backs) these are not expensive compared with a brand-new LandCruiser 300 Series and a $150,000 of-road caravan (that won’t go where the Isuzu with a camper body will) but still not cheap vehicles.

Then there’s the operating environment. Australia’s bush tracks have been shaped for the last five or six decades by old-school Land Rovers and LandCruisers. As such, they can be a bit narrow in places for an Isuzu N-Series and that may limit things in some situations. It’s not the end of the world, but something to keep in mind. Ditto underground parking stations.

Isuzu’s warranty on the N-Series is three years or 150,000km which is off the pace compared with cars, but mainstream for the truck industry. Service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km and there’s three years of roadside assistance. Servicing plans are available with a range of inclusions from basic maintenance to full packages that cover everything from wheel bearings to tail-light globes.