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Isuzu Adventure Master A few months after the blitz of the Bangkok Auto Show, Isuzu unveiled the D-Max pick-up, a product resulting from a General Motors/Isuzu collaboration. It had all the right ingredients for success: a butch and modern body, a powerful turbo diesel engine, a high rigid drivetrain, and like the Ranger, a full set of safety features. It was obvious for people that if ever Isuzu would develop an Everest challenger, it would be based on this platform. What wasn’t obvious is that Isuzu won’t be building one themselves. The Adventure Master is a product from independent Thai assembler, Thai Rung Manufacturing Limited. This is the same company that assembles the Xciter aka Frontier in Thailand. Like Ford with its Ranger, Thai Rung utilized much of the exciting D-Max design and platform to come up with the Adventure Master. The front and side profiles immediately give away the donor, while a peek under the hood makes things even more obvious. The frugal and powerful 4JH1-T series engine from the D-Max has been retained as well as the choices for a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic. All in all, it means that the Adventure Master enjoys a tad more power (118 bhp vs. 110 bhp) compared to the Everest. Isuzu will make do with the lever-style engagement of the four-wheel drive system in favor of a push-button, shift-on-the-fly system, again as seen on the D-Max pick-up. Like the Ford, the Isuzu seats 7 inside all facing forward with their own safety belts and air vents. Unlike the Everest though, Thai Rung is offering the Adventure Master with substantially better kit with features such as leather seating and wood grain paneling. Usual safety features such as dual airbags, anti-lock brakes and get this, high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps are standard on higher-end models. Though built by Thai Rung for the domestic Thai market, plans are already underway to export the CKD kits to countries such as the Philippines. |
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