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The 2.5-litre engine feels robust
Performance – The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross is powered by a 2.5-litre VGT diesel engine that belts out 134 HP of power at 3600 RPM and 320 Nm of torque 1800-2800 RPM. The oil-burner comes mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Talking about the engine first, it has excellent torque at low RPMs and thus the pick-up feels very easy to drive in the city. In 2nd gear, it can easily accelerate from 0 km/hr and in most cases, downshifts aren’t required as there’s good punch even at 1000 RPM. The turbo kicks in at around 1800 RPM but there is no power rush since it is delivered in a linear manner.
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Adequate power on tap, good cruising ability on highways
The punchy diesel engine is noisy, old-school but feels tough
The mid-range is strong but the engine doesn’t love to be revved too much and hence powers starts tapering down once it reaches the 3500-3600 RPM mark. The D-Max V-Cross is a lovely cruiser and power is always adequate for quick bursts of acceleration too. In 5th gear, 100 km/hr comes in at 2100 RPM. You also get a shift-on-the-fly 4WD system wherein you can switch between 2H, 4H and 4L easily through a rotary knob near the handbrake.
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The gearbox is notchy and throws are long
The 5-speed gearbox has long throws and it feels very notchy. It also vibrates a lot all the time. However, what really helps matters is the super light clutch but it does have a long travel. NVH levels on the car are decent but since this is a typical UV, there are quite a lot of vibrations. In terms of fuel efficiency, we managed to extract around 12 km/l while cruising on the expressway and around 9-10 km/l in city traffic conditions.
