Australia needs this: 2023 Isuzu D-Max ute becomes perfect adventure companion with roof tent and kitchen

One of Australia’s most popular utes, and in fact one of its most popular vehicles, the Isuzu D-Max, has been given an adventure-focused makeover… just not here.

Isuzu UK has revealed a special show car built to display at events around the UK, with the intent of showing off the ute’s “potential for personalisation”.

Dubbed the D-Max ‘Expedition Edition’, the dual-cab has been bestowed with a plethora of upgrades from Australian 4X4 accessory brand ARB.

Highlights from the list of accessories and additions include a roof tent mounted on a canopy in a hard shell case, with the canopy and tent each being two of the more expensive additions to the ute - £3097 for the canopy and £2384 for the tent - totalling about AUD$10,500.

A £4420 kitchen set (or AUD$8449 to us) takes up a fair bit of the rear space in the D-Max, with plenty of other additions like organisers and kitchen conveniences added along with it. Of course, a 60-litre fridge is also part of the setup.

The specific, fully-equipped Expedition Edition is a one-off build for the UK arm of Isuzu to showcase the versatility of its ute, with the brand’s partnership with ARB being the jumping point for the display car.

In the UK, Isuzu buyers will however be able to option up a new ute to essentially mimic the Expedition Edition, with the brand saying it will allow customers to “purchase a vehicle pre-fitted with accessories tailored to their needs”.

While Australian ute buyers and outback enthusiasts are often pretty adept at customising a ute or 4x4 to suit their own means, the top-spec ute offered up by Isuzu here is the $67,500 X-Terrain, which uses the same 140kW/450Nm 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine as most of the rest of the range.