Isuzu's pick-up is turned into a mean machine

The D-Max is Isuzu's bread and butter when it comes to commercial vehicles, as it's by far its bestselling model. It has lots of off-road capability, a tough diesel engine, several body styles and is a rugged business workhorse.

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Now to make it even more hardcore, the Japanese firm has teamed up with Arctic Trucks to make it stand out on both city streets and a muddy field. So how good is the Isuzu D-Max AT35?

WHAT'S NEW?

Icelandic firm Arctic Trucks specialises in turning vehicles like the D-Max into very capable off-roaders - and here it's given the truck larger 35in all-terrain tyres, underbody protection, boosted the Bilstein suspension, widened wheel arches and extended side steps to make it stand out.

There's a choice of body styles - our test car has a Double Cab and Truckman rear canopy.

UNDER THE BONNET?

The AT35 has the same standard D-Max 1.9-litre turbocharged diesel engine. This setup produces 161bhp and 360Nm of torque, while 0-60mph takes 12.5 seconds and the top speed is 112mph. Isuzu claims the truck will manage 32.5mpg on the combined cycle, although we have been averaging around 30mpg, and the emissions are 227g/km of C02. All variants have four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox.

WHAT'S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?