6 minute read
Readers’ Rides
Where have you set out to go your own way? Let us know—and win!
SHAWN MORRIS LIVES: HERITAGE PARK, QLD DRIVES: 2021 D-MAX 4X4 LS-M
“No matter how much I go, I always want to get out more than I can! I love getting away from society, and especially away from cell phone reception, as quickly as possible. I’ve got a few mates with 4WDs and I’d been researching what I wanted for a while, so I waited on the new D-MAX to come out. When I compared it to the competition it was the way to go. I can’t wait to do Cape York, especially— I just need to build up the time off work. Middle of the year, everyone else is in blankets and rugs and you’re still in boardies. It sounds perfect.”
JENNA VAN DER VLIST LIVES: JINDABYNE, NSW DRIVES: 2018 MU-X 4X4 LS-U & 2019 D-MAX 4X4 LS-M
“My partner and I have ‘his and hers’ Isuzus. Originally we both had D-MAXs, but he sold his for an MU-X, which is a great fishing truck to fit fly fishing rods in. We’ve been on many trips into the Brindabellas and I love exploring the Snowy Mountains high country. We’ve even fished in the snow! We like it when it’s cold—there are fewer snakes around. Last September the roads were completely covered in white and it was amazing how well the cars handled it. We just love the freedom. It’s something I hadn’t ever experienced before owning a 4WD. I spend eight hours a day at a desk, so at the end of the week I’m stoked to get away!”
PHOEBE COFFEY LIVES: EAST PERTH, WA / DRIVES: 2019 D-MAX 4X4 LS-U
“We purchased our D-MAX earlier this year before leaving for our long-awaited three-month trip around WA with our camper-trailer. As an inner-city apartment-dwelling family we were brand new to four-wheel driving and towing but knew we wanted a safe, reliable and strong car to take our children on this big adventure! Never once did we regret our purchase. We took it through national parks, on remote beaches, over many kilometres of rocky, corrugated terrain, all throughout the red dirt of the Kimberley and on some of the roughest roads in the state and it didn’t skip a beat! The photo is taken at the beautiful Oakabella campsite just outside of Geraldton.”
JAMIE AND SIOBHAN THORNBERRY LIVES: SEYMOUR, VIC DRIVES: 2014 MU-X 4X4 LS-T
“It’s done Cape York, most of the Victorian high country, Little Desert, Big Desert, most of the Snowy—and we’ve just bought a new 24ft caravan as well! We just like to keep going and seeing more of Australia than what you just see at the coast. The MU-X has done nearly 160,000km, of which easily 70,000 were off-road. I take my wife, Siobhan, and two teenage daughters and our dog—he’s only a little fella. The girls are 15 and 13, but they’re fully into it. They love it! They’ll go, ‘Oh, we’ve been there, can we go somewhere else?’ They’re as enthusiastic about planning the trips as we are!”
JANO VAN DER LINDE LIVES: HOLLAND PARK WEST, VICTORIA DRIVES: 2017 D-MAX 4X4 LS-U
“We love just getting out and about—we do a trip at least once a month. This pic is from our first trip over to Fraser. We stayed at Orchid Beach and explored the north end of the island. We love sand driving—it’s good when it’s soft. I love a challenge and hard sand is just like highway driving! We’re planning an Uluru trip now, which is 3000km—so that’s a major undertaking. I’m an apprentice electrician, so all my tools get lugged around in the D-MAX as well. It’s great to have something I can use for both work and play. Whether we’re mountain biking, camping with a few mates or with my girlfriend, we always have a pretty good time.”
We are giving away 5 x prize packs valued at over $100 thanks to our good friends at Coleman
WIN 1 OF 5 COLEMAN PACKS
Featured Readers’ Rides will each receive a Coleman soft esky + portable chair combo
Simply send us a high-resolution image and a 100-word blurb, along with your VIN, name, contact details, suburb and model of your D-MAX or MU-X, to maxd@iua.net.au
Readers’ Rides: In Focus
MAXING OUT
Name: Mat Rogers and Chloe Maxwell Lives: Gold Coast, Qld Drives: 2019 D-MAX and 2019 MU-X
Former dual international Footy Star, Mat Rogers and Australian multimedia personality Chloe Maxwell have four children, with two—Phoenix and Max— still at home. The couple’s charity, 4 ASD Kids, helps families with kids dealing with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Your day-to-day schedule seems hectic.
C: We’re super busy. We have a very active life, so it helps that all the things we do are made easier by the versatility of our cars. M: Our daughter, Phoenix, plays for Gold Coast United in the Womens U/13 National Premier League, so we spend many weekends on the road travelling to and from soccer fields. Our MU-X has become the preferred method of travel for our daughter and her teammates. With seven seats and a screen for the girls to watch a movie on it certainly helps.
But your son, Max, prefers the D-MAX? M: There’s not a day goes by that we aren’t out in our yard working on Max’s gardens. C: He’s incredibly passionate about his fruit
and vegetables, which means one thing— constant trips to the nursery for more plants. M: And more fertiliser. And more soil. And more garden beds. I’d have to say the tray of my D-MAX has seen more bags of dirt than most, but the convenience of it makes it no hassle at all. Summertime is a great time to plant, so we are hard at it.
Do you ever get away on a family break?
C: We love getting out and visiting some of our national parks, like Purling Brook Falls or Mount Barney. It’s food for the soul.
That’s play covered. What about work?
M: That too! Our son, Max, was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder when he was two. That’s what led to us starting our charity, 4 ASD Kids, a decade ago. We’ve just produced a couple of series of a TV show called ‘Maxing Out’, which you can catch on 10 play, where we take three people and push them to their physical limits through a full-distance triathlon. C: In a roundabout way we wanted to tell the story of our journey with Max—we wanted to show the fear in the beginning, the small steps taken and belief being built through to overcoming and accomplishing something that wasn’t thought possible. M: Shooting the show on the Gold Coast, the D-MAX was crucial for ferrying bikes, camera equipment and people to all corners of the coast. COVID-19 got in the way of shooting Season 3 in 2020, but we’ll definitely go again in 2021!
Isuzu UTE Australia is delighted to welcome Mat and Chloe to the family as brand ambassadors. Stay tuned for more.
