Ford Transit VS Isuzu D-Max

It offers a comfortable and commanding driving position, thanks to the multi-adjustable seat, two-way steering wheel adjustment and clear eye-lines to the big truck-style door mirrors with lower sections offering wide-angle views.

You don’t need to warm-up the engine to generate cabin heating - it’s instant. And when you get underway it feels more like you're riding in a tram than a van, with its muted electric hum the closest we’ve come to driving a silent commercial vehicle.

With the big battery under the floor it feels firmly planted on the road when unladen, with a low centre of gravity providing good stability when cornering.

The battery weight, combined with E-Transit’s unique four-coil suspension, iron out the bumps and provide a supple ride quality.

Acceleration from standing starts is brisk and smooth in Normal mode, even though you can sense its 2.6-tonne kerb weight's slight reluctance to get moving even with 430Nm of instant torque. At 100km/h, there’s only tyre noise and a little wind-buffeting around the door mirrors.

We drove the first 100km in Normal mode, during which average consumption was 27kWh/100km. We then switched to Eco mode, which resulted in a drop in performance without a corresponding decrease in consumption. Perhaps you need to drive it longer in Eco to harvest the benefits.

We then switched back to Normal mode for our GVM test. We forklifted 1300kg into the cargo bay which with driver equalled a total payload of 1400kg, which was still more than 200kg under its GVM limit. The rear suspension compressed 50mm with ample travel remaining, while the nose rose 35mm in response.

The compressed suspension felt firmer, as you’d expect, but the electric motor hardly noticed this load around town, with acceleration and general response remaining strong if slightly subdued. Energy consumption increased to 28kWh/100km during our load run.

In strictly city driving, which the E-Transit is aimed at, it proved to be a capable workhorse. It can do the job quite economically, too, given that during most of our testing in Normal mode it was operating in the 0-50 per cent ‘power usage’ zone which provides ample performance.

Ever since the current-gen D-Max surfaced back for the 2021 model year, it's been widely regarded as a massive improvement over the previous version, especially in refinement, safety and dynamic behaviour.

You’d never call the 3.0-litre four-pot turbo-diesel quiet or sophisticated, but it is comparatively smooth and very gutsy. Strong off the line, it pulls hard and tows with effortless ease thanks to all that torque. The auto is also a good match, and rarely puts a foot wrong. As the Blade carries on with exactly the same powertrain, nothing changes here.

But, despite leading the class with its standardisation of advanced driver-assist safety tech, the regular D-Max is only a middling effort in terms of on steering, handling and ride qualities.

While light to use and easy to place, the steering has long felt remote compared to the class best, lacking feedback and precision; the suspension helps keep the ute grounded and in control, but the ride is too bumpy and jittery, which can become tiresome.

Plus, the adaptive cruise control and lane-keep safety systems have lacked precision and nuance in their operation, with the latter pin-balling from one side of the lane to another.

Now, the 2024 facelift aimed to address some of these criticisms with a raft of electronic driver-assist and traction-control upgrades, as well as continuous Australian-road tuning, to improve the D-Max’s dynamics.

How much of these contribute to the Blade’s enhanced driveability is not certain, but the net effect is considerable and palpable. Clearly, Walkinshaw’s touch has been transformative.

The new dampers make the driver feel more connected to the road, with better steering feel and response; the suspension rides over bumps with more suppleness for improved comfort, and it feels a little bit more controlled to boot. All this translates to a more enjoyable driving experience.

The Blade brings the D-Max closer to the class-best Ranger, if not quite close enough to be considered amongst the leaders. Still, it's a much better compromise than before.

But, what’s the newest Isuzu like off-road? After all, this is what the mods have been designed for.

Tested out at a 4x4 track in Adelaide, the Blade builds on the D-Max’s already impressive off-road ability, with that little bit of extra lift and ground clearances allowing for the ute to go that much further over challenging terrain.

Though it lacks some of the fancier features you find in some more-expensive machinery like under-vehicle camera views and automatic electronic 4WD mode selection, the basics are all there for serious 4WDing.   

Where the Blade stands out compared to regular D-Maxes is in its more comfortable and controlled ride, since the suspension seems to do a better job in dealing with the rough stuff while isolating its occupants from it.

This is quite remarkable considering that proper off-road tyres are not fitted, just Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac RT all-terrain rubber. They feel like an effective compromise for on- as well as off- road use.

All-up, then, the Blade is a better D-Max from behind the wheel.