The best looking bakkie off the road, it’s shocking on it
Suppose it was a touch of irony that it was forty three degrees outside the day they delivered Isuzu’s Arctic-tuned D-Max 3.0TD double cab AT35. Built for the snow and crossing the Arctic, it starts off pretty well out of its depth in sunny South Africa. But while it’s a compromise indeed, there is more than one reason why the more avid bakkie man should not take a look. Beyond just its looks.
Talking looks, some may consider it a touch over the top. But most love those brute Arctic looks. Something of a collector’s bakkie for avid off-roaders and adventurers looking to polish their marble in a unique special edition hand-built at its Port Elizabeth plant, Isuzu’s old-school-cool Artic AT35 is a pretty impressive sight to behold. Monster wheels, fat arches and the poise to stop a schoolkid chewing his gum to stare at it, this one looks way beyond the part.
A proudly South African effort, the D-Max Arctic AT35 is hand built from the ground up to exacting Isuzu standards on the same production line as regular D-Max bakkies. The chosen few are diverted off the Port Elizabeth production line to a special hand build area. There, the body conversion is carried out by a team of hand-picked technicians who craft the bigger wheel wells and arches to accommodate the larger tyres and enhanced suspension, before the vehicle returns to the regular line and paint shop.
AT35 is hand built in Port Elizabeth
Once painted, your AT35s is once again pulled from the line to fit a set of trick dampers, those chunky Arctic wheel arches to accommodate 17 inch AT alloy wheels and 35 inch BF Goodrich All-Terrain Tyres. Add heavy duty mud flaps, before a 245/70R16 spare wheel and an emergency ResQ Puncture Repair kit are packed in to ready every AT35 for the final quality checks and inspection before being shipped.
Those changes see to a 120 mm climb in vehicle height to accommodate AT35’s impressive 48 mm taller 268 mm ground clearance, and a 11 8mm enhanced 718 mm wading depth. Approach and departure angles also climb significantly to 36 degrees and 28 degrees respectively. Break-over angle is also up from 22 to 32 degrees.
Isuzu promises its flagship bakkie is at home both on and off-road as AT35 takes that legendary D-Max toughness and off-road capabilities to new heights. AT35 indeed delivers enhanced 4×4 performance and the ability to traverse technical and soft terrain with minimal ground or vehicle impact for ‘unsurpassed off-road capability’.
AT35 brings exceptional off road driving ability
Off-road ability really is unsurpassed. You barely ever need to engage 4×4, and diff lock will handle most situations. So if you do a lot of dirt driving, then this bakkie really is for you. Or if you’re a poseur, then it’s just as good. Because that’s the only other reason you’d want this bakkie outside of extreme driving needs… you dig the looks enough to overlook the huge compromise this kit makes on just about everything else.
Powered by the standard three-litre four-pot, the Isuzu D-Max AT35 still produces the standard 140 kW at a relatively low 3,600 r/min peak. Offset by a chunky 450 Nm torque in a decent band between 1600 and 2600 rpm. Those wheels’ extra rolling diameter and rolling friction however simply destroy performance.
AT35 is over a second slower than the regular D-Max to 100 km/h. Two seconds off the pace by the speed limit, it did not manage 160 on our test strip. Which the standard bakkie did at a canter. It’s a second and a half and 10 km/h slower over the quarter mile. And way worse off in elasticity too.
Arctic Isuzu Proves Newton’s Laws of Physics
AT35 is also less economical. Isuzu’s own precisely calculated 8.6 litres per hundred fuel claims are some way off the stock D-Max’s 8.1. But you should still manage 900 km from a full 76 litre tank of diesel at a push. What’s more, re also considerably worse than standard. It’s noisier and significantly less composed. And feels far fatter and flabbier on the road than the standard is the bakkie too.
All of which goes a long way to further proving old Isaac Newton’s Laws of Physics. But it’s not all bad. Just compromised. AT35 still has comfortable Isuzu seats, and a pleasant, spacious driving environment. Its extraordinary off-road capabilities are probably even more impressive than how this bakkie looks. Serious.
In the end, if you live in Bryanston, Bellville or Ballito, then the only thing this thing has going for it, is looks. For the rest, all those lovely standard every day D-Max advantages are compromised. But if you’re on the farm, drive mostly on the dirt or engage 4×4 more often than not, then the Isuzu D-Max AT35’s alter ego bursts to life.
Isuzu AT35: the King of Compromise
Price is another moot point. You pay for exclusivity, they say. And considering all that heavy hardware, it’s not too expensive. Even at its two hundred and sixty grand premium. Which leads is to conclude that Isuzu’s bold Arctic crafted D-Max AT35 is simply a statement as much as it’s a compromise
Its killer looks are the best on the bakkie market. And those tyres make it pretty darn unstoppable on the dirt. But its road manners are horrible, its much slower and heavier on fuel and feels terrible on the road. If ever there was a case for measuring up compromises, the Isuzu D-Max 3.0TD double cab AT35 4×4 is the undisputed King. Snow good? You bet! – Michele Lupini
Images: Giordano Lupini
Road TESTED: Isuzu D-Max 3.0TD double cab AT35.
Engine: 140 Kw 450 Nm 3.0 litre turbodiesel
Drive: 6 speed automatic 4x4
Load Capacity: 1100 kg
Braked Trailer: 3,500 kg
TESTED: AT35 Standard
0--60 km/h: 4.43 sec 4.02 sec
0-100 km/h: 10.68 sec 9.37 sec
0-120 km/h: 15.60 sec 1 3.03 sec
0-160 km/h: - 25.23 sec
0-400m: 17.5s @ 125 km/h 16.1s @ 136 km/h
80-120 km/h: 8.32 sec 6.78 sec
120-160 km/h: - 12.22 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: - 185 km/h
Fuel: 8.6 l/100 km 8.1 l/100 km
CO2: 224 g/km 212 g/km
Range: 890 km 935 km
Warranty/Service: 5y 120K/5y 90K km
LIST PRICE: R1.18M
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