MAX*D Issue 30

MeettheMiniD-MAX

WELCOME

HELLOANDWELCOME to another edition of MAX*D magazine! I hope you have been staying safe and are looking forward to this holiday period to close out another year. Once again, I wanted to thank you for your ongoing support. We continue to navigate unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19, but we are delighted and grateful that you chose an Isuzu as your companion to help you get the most out of your journey ahead.

2022 proved to be yet another exciting year for the Isuzu UTE brand. We welcomed

some milestones on the sales charts, with Isuzu UTE spending most of the year as a top-10 selling brand and the D-MAX and MU-X remaining as strong performers in their relevant segments. Couple this success with several accolades, including the D-MAX winning the ‘Best Ute’ category at the 2022 Drive Car of the Year awards and the brand achieving recognition from Canstar Blue and Roy Morgan for our commitment to customer satisfaction, and the entire brand is on track to achieve ongoing success.

So, while we wait for the final sales results of 2022, we are looking ahead at what is to come—celebrating this holiday period by encouraging Australians to Live Their Own Way! After all, if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s to make sure we are living our lives the way we want. And what better way to do that than with the introduction of the new 2023 Model Year (23MY) vehicles?

We value your opinions on our vehicles, which is why we are proud to say that our 23MY D-MAX and MU-X have been

developed with your feedback in mind. For example, our Isuzu engineers have simplified the towing setup process by automatically disabling Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert when a trailer is hitched and detected via the genuine trailer wiring harness— something we know is important to those who tow regularly. In addition, our wheel designs have been updated to reflect your feedback. And a new feature, Tailgate Assist, has been introduced to all D-MAX ute variants, making for easy one-hand

operation of the tailgate. The 23MY MU-X received similar updates too, with the addition of a hands-free powered tailgate across LS-U and LS-T variants, offering similar levels of convenience when operating. Other additions to the D-MAX range see the SX grade hosting three new variants, all powered by Isuzu’s frugal 1.9-litre turbo-diesel engine. So, you can see your feedback does matter to us as we continually strive for product and service improvement.

From all of us here at Isuzu UTE Australia,

we hope you have a wonderful holiday period, stay safe with any travel plans you make and, as always, enjoy this latest issue of MAX*D magazine.

Happy reading & motoring!

Managing Director, Isuzu UTE Australia

READERS’RIDES

Disclaimer: Non-genuine aftermarket accessories and modifications are not recommended or endorsed by Isuzu UTE Australia. For detailed information on ‘what is’ and ‘what is not’ covered by the Manufacturer’s Warranty please refer to the Warranty and Service Booklet.

DAVID GLEESON-PAYNE

LIVES: PORT MELBOURNE, VIC

DRIVES: 2021 D-MAX 4X4 X-TERRAIN

Our X-TERRAIN is the essential support vehicle for my family activities, every weekend—and during the week, too. We've taken the D-MAX from Victoria to Tasmania twice, including an epic caravan holiday at Port Arthur and Huon Valley. On most weekends the D-MAX is busy hauling a bicycle or two in the back as my friends and I take the chance to leave the city behind and peddle around regional bike trails. The D-MAX also comes in handy for a big warehouse shopping trip, including the safe delivery of a very large new TV!

LIVES: KURRI KURRI, NSW

DRIVES: 2021 MU-X 4X4 LS-T

We bought our MU-X a year ago—her first trip was to the Snowy Mountains when she was just a week old, then a few trips to the North Coast on some rescue missions during floods. A friend of ours was trapped on a roof for three days up in Casino before being rescued by the SES, and so we took up supplies and collected her. This shot is from a trip last week to the NSW South Coast, where we went to Kiama, Ulladulla, Batemans Bay and Tomekin. We own a caravan and I needed something to tow that with—my old car really struggled up hills—but now you don’t even feel the van on the back! The MU-X has a lovely, quiet cabin and it’s just a joy to drive. We get away as often as we can and we can’t wait to get out and see even more!

There’s nothing better than going your own way. Tell us about it—and win.

ANGELA RITTER

GRANT CHALMERS LIVES: NEWCOMB, VIC / DRIVES: 2022 D-MAX 4X4 X-TERRAIN

This is our second D-MAX! We had a 2010 model, which was fantastic, but I just love my new Mercury silver and black! I mainly just bought it for towing my 5.65m boat—we head up to Bermagui every year in February with a couple of mates, chasing the marlin. We’ve been doing it for about five years! What do I love about marlin? I’ll tell you when I finally catch one! Mostly I just love the relaxation of being out on the ocean, even if you don’t hook anything. I spend a lot of time driving a B-Double for work, so it’s nice to be able to get behind the wheel of something comfortable of my own. It’s a pleasure to drive this ute every day and I enjoy the new six-speed auto transmission—it’s so quiet and impressive.

I’ve got a fishing shack up in Kyalite, on the three rivers—the Edward, the Wakool and the Murray—and we get up there quite often. There are seven or eight of us who have converted an old school bus into seven-bed bunk accommodation and we love to get away and chase Murray cod. It’s kitted out with a big kitchen and pantry, and fridges and a Coonara Wood heater. I tell you what, you need the heater in winter time! Otherwise, I use the ute for work. I’m not a tradie—I work for a corporate uniform company—but the tray is really handy for throwing everything into. I took my previous D-MAX in for a service earlier this year and when I found out that there was a Cobalt Mica Blue model available for immediate delivery I upgraded straight away—even though I loved my old model! It’s a great ute.

TREVOR AND HILDA WATTS

LIVE: TOOWOOMBA, QLD / DRIVE: 2022 MU-X 4X4 LS-T

You cannot fault this car—I was 10 years in trucks and the technology is just amazing. I’m a motor trimmer of over 50 years and, as they say, you have to make one seat to fit 1000 bodies, but these seats are just incredible. Even the lumbar support! We’ve just come home to Toowoomba from Hervey Bay after our maiden voyage with our new MU-X and I can’t tell you how happy we are—and our previous car was an expensive luxury European SUV! This is better, and more comfortable, and its towing capabilities are exactly what we were hoping for. I just rave about it. It delivers totally outstanding fuel economy with just on three tonnes of van on the back of it and the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel is just brilliant. You couldn’t ask for more.

PETER STEVENS LIVES: PEARCEDALE, VIC / DRIVES: 2022 D-MAX 4X4 LS-U CREW CAB UTE

THEFIXER

NAME: DARRENWRZESIEN

control and the rest is labour hire. We’re out there working with anyone from small companies to large government agencies, helping them with all aspects of traffic control on projects of any size.

How many D-MAXs are in your fleet?

We’ve taken delivery of about 40 or 50 single-cabs this year, with another 35odd sitting down at the dealer waiting to be fitted out. And we have another 30-something on order already to come through next year. Oh, and that’s not including the dual-cabs! We have 16 of those, too. The single-cabs are all SXs, the dual-cabs are all LS-U or higher because they’re the managers’ cars.

It’s nice to be a manager. What do you do?

About 95 per cent of our business is traffic

Currently we service anywhere from North Brisbane out to Rathdowney, all the way down the eastern seaboard. Then we’ve got Victoria and South Australia, where we’re actively working. And out west we have a depot at Moree and another at Dubbo. I look after 340 vehicles and I have to stay on top of the condition of every one of them.

So, why the D-MAX?

The company shifted to Isuzu around two years ago because they were looking for an automatic diesel, and the Cab Chassis 4x2 was exactly what they needed. In this line

of work you quickly work out that manual utes go through clutches like there’s no tomorrow once you put a different driver in them every day. We looked at automatic petrol models from other brands, but they just use way too much fuel!

On any given day of the week our utes have about 800kg on the back and the D-MAX’s fuel economy just left everything else in the dust.

So reliability is important, then?

My role is just keeping them on the road, from flat tyres and flat batteries to anything else. That’s where the D-MAX’s dependability makes my job easier.

When your job means keeping 340 trucks and utes on the road, reliability is crucial.

That 3.0L engine is one of the most reliable and efficient engines you can buy—I think they’ve built over 26 million of them worldwide, the 4JJ1, and now with the 4JJ3. And then there’s the build quality! Some of our utes do a lot of kilometres— one of our area managers has a dual-cab and he’s already had his 45,000km service. That’s after just four or five months.

Do you sell them on afterwards?

Oh no, we don’t ever offload them. Never. But in saying that, we have had five vehicles written off this year. A kangaroo jumped out in front of one guy who was doing 100km/h on the highway to Glen Innes,

and he swerved off the road to miss it, for example. He was okay! But other times it’s just bad luck. We had one parked on the side of the road and a member of the public fell asleep at the wheel and took out the car. They were okay, too!

So, you control hundreds of utes that are shared randomly among hundreds of tradies. What’s the feedback?

So far it’s that they all love their D-MAXs that they’re driving! When they sign on for a vehicle, it’s the D-MAXs they want. But I know what the utes are like and I know why they want them! It’s just a good, reliable truck.

MAX*D

Locked Bag 327 Balmain, NSW, 2041 smartasmedia.com

PUBLISHER

Smart As Media smartasmedia.com

ISUZU UTE AUSTRALIA

MANAGING EDITORS

Mark Harman, Dave Harding, Maddy McCoy maxd@iua.net.au

EDITOR Ben Smithurst ben@smartasmedia.com

SUB-EDITOR Paul Rodger

ADVERTISING SALES Nicole Prioste nicole@smartasmedia.com

New2023D-MAX&MU-Xhavelanded!

ISUZUUTEAUSTRALIAhas continued its pursuit of automotive excellence in revealing its new 2023 D-MAX and MU-X models to the Australian market.

Illustrating the brand’s commitment to listening to its owners, several updates based upon customer feedback have been introduced to the 2023 lineup, along with new variants to the trade and fleet-business focused SX range. Additions include a simplified towing setup process, which automatically disables Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert when hooking up, and Tailgate Assist, a gas-strut system that allows for easy one-hand operation of the tailgate. There’s also a new Tyre Pressure Monitoring System on LS-U, LS-U+ and X-TERRAIN variants, sharp new wheel designs and a host of stylish interior and exterior finishes.

Having already received high praise from the automotive media, the new 2023 models are on sale at your local Isuzu UTE dealership now. See our introductory feature from page 20.

Disclaimer: The information included in this magazine is intended for interest only. The opinions and views expressed in this magazine are provided in the writers’ personal capacities and are their sole responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of Isuzu UTE Australia or Smart As Media and must neither be regarded as constituting advice on any matter nor be interpreted as such. The reproduction of advertisements in this publication does not in any way imply endorsement by Isuzu UTE Australia or Smart As Media of products or services referred to therein. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A selection of the images featured in this publication has been sourced from iStock Images.

MAX*D magazine is proudly printed in Australia using renewable resources.

Hanno Gloss is an FSC Mixed Sources

Certified paper, which ensures that all virgin pulp is derived from well-managed forests and controlled sources. It contains elemental chlorine-free bleached pulp and is manufactured by an ISO 14001 certified mill.

IronSummitreturns

ISUZUUTE’S ‘Iron Summit’ has been a crowd favourite at field days and events across the country since its smash-hit debut at the Melbourne 4x4 Show in 2015. Part carnival thrill ride, part performance-prover, the Iron Summit sends passengers over an imposing 45-degree incline and descent. Temporarily retired during the pandemic, the Iron Summit recently made its return at the Coolangatta Gold event on the Gold Coast. Scheduled to make its next appearance at the Brisbane 4x4 Show in March, keep an eye out for it at an event near you in 2023.

NewI-Venture Clublocations inthepipeline

HAVINGFINISHEDthe year with two more sellout events, our I-Venture Club is gearing up for an even bigger 2023. With new locations in the pipeline, along with the return of instructional towing events and some longer multi-day trips, there’s sure to be an I-Venture Club event that suits every Isuzu owner, whether you’re a first-timer learning the ropes or an experienced and seasoned 4WD adventurer. Keep an eye on the I-Venture site at isuzuute.com.au for details and to register for our upcoming events.

is published on behalf of Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd by Smart As Media

Summer’sback—andsoaretheflags

WITHTHEWARMERmonths upon us, Isuzu’s red-and-yellow D-MAXs and MU-Xs will again be prevalent on beaches across the country thanks to our partnership with Surf Life Saving Australia. Now in its second year, our sponsorship provides patrol and support vehicles, which play an essential role in daily surf lifesaving operations to help keep our beaches safe—and deliver the vital equipment needed to save someone’s life at a moment’s notice. With 300 million beachgoers visiting the Australian coastline every year, our surf lifesavers and lifeguards are vitally important, performing 10,000 rescues last year alone—so please take care and always swim between the flags.

IsuzuUTEA-Leaguekicksofftobigcrowds

WITHAUSTRALIA’Spreeminent football competition hitting its stride, fans have flocked to watch their favourite teams battle it out in the opening rounds of the 2023 Isuzu UTE A-Leagues season. In a boon for the Championship, crowd numbers are averaging double that of last year, with spectators treated to some incredible action and nail-biting matches. For those who can’t get to the ground, two games per week are broadcast live and free on 10Bold and live streamed on 10Play. All matches are also streamed on Paramount+ so you needn’t miss a minute of the action. Now in full swing, this season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in Australian domestic football history.

‘MyIsuzuStory’–TheIndigenous LiteracyFoundation

TOHIGHLIGHTour partnership and raise awareness of the work of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF), Isuzu UTE has produced new content for the ‘My Isuzu Story’ series. Already viewed by over 30,000 people, the video explains the incredible work of the Foundation and how the ILF’s Isuzu D-MAX plays a part in delivering books and literacy resources to remote communities out of Katherine in the Northern Territory.

With no infrastructure such as libraries or bookstores, access to any reading material—let alone books produced in Indigenous languages by First Nations writers—is extremely limited in remote areas. To date, the ILF has stepped in to deliver over 600,000 books to over 400 remote community organisations and schools, with at least 50 per cent of titles featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and illustrators.

You can view the Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s My Isuzu Story by scanning here or visiting our YouTube channel at: youtube.com/isuzuute

TOUGHSHADES

Going

1MAKO CAST 9611 M01-G2H5

Some products betray their maker’s history at first glance, so it’s no surprise to learn that Mako began over a quarter of a century ago with roots in fishing and boating. The brand’s lenses feature oleophobic (oil repellent) and hydrophobic (water repellent) coatings, effectively protecting them from the sort of stuff likely to get on your sunnies when there’s bait residue on your fingers and salt spray in the air. Mako’s Cast Glass lens shades feature a six-base frame—a measure of curvature that provides brilliant everyday sun protection—and are superbly sculpted to offer ample side-light protection. makoeyewear.com RRP: $315

2

RIP CURL GLIDE TRI-PEL

Made in Italy, the global epicentre of stylish specs, these are men’s versions, but the iconic Victorian surf brand has equally fetching—and tough—models for women. Crafted from natural bio-plastic created from castor oil, they have crystal clear polarised lenses that cut reflective glare while boosting depth perception, sharpening colour contrast and reducing eyestrain. You also get anti-slip rubber nose pads that grip your skull even as you peer into the depths with a gaff. They feature premium five-barrel stainless steel hinges and come with a two-year warranty. ripcurl.com/au

RRP: $220

3MAKO DIVER 9525 M19-P2S1

Created with long days on the water in mind, Mako’s lightweight Diver sunglasses feature the brand’s signature fog resistance in a distinctive, semi-rimless wraparound style. With polycarbonate lenses and lightweight design, they’re ideal for anyone who can grow weary of the ‘heavy’ feeling across the bridge of their nose after long hours wearing sunnies in glary conditions. Or, equally, by those who become irritated by the arms of their glasses pinching them behind the ears. Their brown lenses have a HD filter that makes colours pop and boost contrast, while also blocking UV light and stopping heat transfer. makoeyewear.com RRP: $210

4THE MAD HUEYS OFFSHORE MIRROR

These Mad Hueys are lightweight but durable, with a green mirror lens designed to cut glare, enhance contours and reduce eye strain while fishing or boating. Founded by Gold Coast surfers a decade ago, the Mad Hueys’ unapologetically all-fun, all-the-time approach may seem flippant, but these polycarbonate-framed and optically correct smoke polarised lenses are deadly serious. Offering 100 per cent UV protection and crafted in collaboration with active lifestyle specialists Liive sunglasses, these are a great cut-price option for anyone whose lifestyle revolves around having fun in and on the water. www.bcf.com.au

RRP: $59.95

5 MAKO GT IN PRESCRIPTION

Prescription sunglasses are crucial to pursuing your passions even if your eyes aren’t what they once were. It’s also handy to have a reasonably stylish pair for the days—or weeks—you’ll inevitably wear them inside when you’ve lost or broken your much less hardy reading specs. Apart from helping you impersonate Ray Charles on those occasions, Mako’s polarised GT offers the other attributes for which the brand is known (e g. hydrophobia), while also being perfectly suited to general or specific uses such as fishing, golf, bushwalking or hiking. makoeyewear.com

RRP: from $490, depending on prescription

your own way in the great outdoors sometimes requires hardier eyewear.

BIGTHINGS, SMALLPACKAGES

With fuel prices up, efficiency and operating costs are crucial to businesses and families alike. Isuzu has a 1.9-litre turbo-diesel solution. WORDS

MARKHARMAN

You might call it ‘the little engine that could’. Arriving in 2022, the D-MAX SX Single Cab Chassis 4x2 boasted an intriguing 1.9-litre heart. Isuzu’s frugal RZ4E-TC turbo-diesel engine quickly earned its stripes as a fuel-efficient and robust powerplant—one that arrived at the right time, just as diesel found itself on the wrong side of the $2.00-per-litre mark.

With those runs on the board, Isuzu has now made the pint-sized oiler available across a wider range of models—expanding to four variants from 2023 onwards.

ALLTORQUE,ALLBITE

Good things often come in small packages and, with an 80mm x 94.4mm bore and stroke, the 1,898cc RZ4E-TC punches well above its weight. It generates a respectable 110kW of power at 3600pm and 350Nm of torque from 1800–2600rpm—but as ever, the real story is the width of the torque band.

The maximum torque output is delivered across a quarter (26.6 per cent) of the

rev-range, with 300Nm spanning 71.6 per cent of the same rev-range, between 1550rpm and 3700rpm. That wide band across the 2150rpm mid-range results in near-instant torque on demand, with associated benefits in driveability and performance, particularly when carrying a decent payload or towing.

BUILTTOLAST

Evolving from Isuzu’s proven 4J-series 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine, the RZ4E-TC is the 4JJ3-TCX’s little brother in every sense of the word. Engineered with commercial operators in mind, the 1.9-litre features a relatively low 15.9:1 compression ratio for engine lifespan longevity and utilises a cast-iron upper-block for strength and aluminium lower-block (crankcase) for lower mass.

Just like the durable 4J, each cylinder bore is treated and strengthened with Isuzu’s induction-hardened melt-in liner. That significantly improves strength and lowers friction for longevity and efficiency,

without the need of an additional heavy steel bore liner. Each lightweight aluminium piston features a tapered internal combustion chamber for efficient air-andfuel combustion and internal cooling passages for heat dissipation, longevity and lubricity. Each piston skirt is treated with a low-friction coating for improved durability, lower friction and thermal management.

An offset gudgeon pin keeps the connecting rod at the optimal angle during the power stroke—increasing internal efficiency, while reducing friction, wear, noise and power loss. The carbon steel crankshaft is soft-nitriding treated for durability and strength, while each connecting rod and crankshaft bearing are constructed with a special, patented aluminium alloy for longevity. The cylinder head is constructed using Isuzu’s patented aluminium alloy for the optimal blend of durability and lightness, while the valvetrain features double overhead camshafts, with each cam lobe also

induction hardened. Roller bearing rocker arms actuating the 16-valves feature an automatic hydraulic lash adjuster, which maintains optimal valve clearance at all times, meaning less maintenance and lower cost of ownership. A robust, maintenance-free steel timing chain keeps the pistons, crankshaft and valve-train in time, which also reduces servicing costs.

To generate power and torque, an engine requires efficient combustion of air and fuel. Fuel delivery is precisely controlled by a DENSO high-pressure direct injection fuel system. It’s the same hardware used by the 4JJ3-TCX and pressurises diesel fuel to over 250MPa before it is atomised precisely into the combustion chambers atop each piston by the Gen-4 8-hole direct injectors.

The RZ4E-TC breathes through a new forward-facing air intake system that feeds the electronically controlled Variable Geometry System (VGS) Turbocharger. That system features constantly variable

exhaust vanes within the exhaust turbine housing to control boost pressure, maximise efficiency and reduce turbo-lag. The pressurised intake air is then passed through a high-mounted aluminium air-to-air intercooler, which cools the charged intake air for maximum efficiency before entering the combustion chamber.

The high-mounted position of the intercooler not only minimises the intake tract for improved engine response, it keeps the aluminium core away from potential debris-strikes while off-roading. Mounted on the back of the VGS Turbocharger is Isuzu’s tried and proven Diesel Particulate Diffuser (DPD), a maintenance-free design that utilises high exhaust temperatures for efficient operation that aids in longevity.

GOFURTHERFORLESS

As innovative as the hardware is under the bonnet, the end result is efficiency and durability. Going longer without the need for stopping at a bowser has its merits,

both in time saved and to the hip pocket. And with an official combined-cycle fuel consumption return of 6.7 to 7.0-litres/ 100km, these RZ4E-powered utes boast the ability to travel upwards of 1000 kilometres on a single tank of diesel.

So, is the RZ4E-TC the little engine that could?

Perhaps. But while that title does have a certain ring to it, Isuzu’s 1.9-litre wonder feels a bit more willing—and definitely more decisive. You might call it ‘the little engine that could’. But you’d be closer in saying that, day-to-day, year-to-year, the RZ4E-TC is the little engine that does.

SMALLINSTATURE, BIGINBENEFITS

As of 2023, Isuzu’s 1.9-litre RZ4E-TC turbo-diesel engine is available in the D-MAX 4x2 SX Single Cab Chassis 4x2, 4x2 SX Crew Cab Chassis, 4x2 SX Crew Cab Ute and 4x4 SX Crew Cab Ute.

D-MAX MEETTHEMINI

‘CUTE’ISNOTusually a word that’s used to describe the D-MAX X-TERRAIN. But the ute that delivered the match ball for the kick-off at each game of last season’s Isuzu UTE A-League Finals series wasn’t your typical workhorse.

For a start, the fact that there was literally nobody behind the wheel did not seem to bother the match officials or players in its path, even as the D-MAX hit full speed. And secondly, the four-wheel-drive in question topped out at around 40km/h. Also, it weighs just 15 kilograms.

Meet the Mini D-MAX.

A painstakingly hand-built 1/6th replica of the real thing, it’s one of just four in existence. Each was crafted simultaneously by a team of film industry prop veterans over a marathon 10-week period last year—just in time for the pointy end of Australia’s domestic football season.

“Luckily enough, I have some experience in the film industry and so the first thing I did was reach out to some people I knew from my stunt driving career,” says project manager and detail obsessed I-Venture Club instructor Matt Taylor. “I’d worked with one of the guys [on Mad Max: Fury Road]—he’d built some of the fibreglass

boulders that were used for the really, really tight shots when we were driving in the canyon scenes.”

The first issue, says Taylor, was determining the X-TERRAIN’s bones.

Underneath the fibreglass body of each Mini D-MAX—there are four in total—is an Axial SCX6 Rock Crawler Chassis, a popular choice amongst hobbyists. Then came issues. Finicky technical ones.

“It was a complex process of 3D scanning,” says Taylor. But because remote control cars are generally not to scale—typically running far oversized tyres, for example— the story was only beginning. After a great deal of trial and error, CAD manipulation, and swearing, the final version runs 1/10th scale wheels, a 1/6th chassis, and a fibreglass body that, according to Taylor, is precisely 6.137:1.

Time was also a factor.

“There were three guys who basically worked full-time for nine weeks on this project,” says Taylor. “At the end, the guys in the workshop basically went four days straight with one hour of sleep to make the deadline.”

“I can tell you that they were absolutely cooked afterwards.”

How much work could it possibly be to build a 1/6th replica D-MAX to deliver match balls to the A-Leagues?

In order to deliver the models to the finals in time, Taylor and his team drove the mini D-MAXs from Burleigh Heads to Melbourne personally. “It was a close-run thing,” says Taylor. “We picked up the cars so fresh from the paint shop that the paint was still soft. And because you can’t take their lithium-polymer (LiPo) batteries on a plane, we set the sat-nav to Victoria.”

The final result, though, is one that stands up to any inspection—whether you’re a football fan in the nosebleeds, or, well, an extremely detail-obsessed I-Venture Club instructor.

“I created a 10-page PDF for the guys to explain all the different paint codes on

lots of fun at parties. “For example, there’s a section of the rear step on the ute that’s matte black and other bits that are gloss black, and there’s a dark grey and a light silver, and then there’s the Volcanic Amber. Just to tape up and mask each mini D-MAX took about six hours of labour per shell!”

Overkill, surely? Taylor disagrees. “No!” he says. “NO! I was determined that it was going to be exactly right! The craziest little detail is, on the sailplane on the back of the D-MAX there are very, very little red decal stickers.

“The 1/6th scale version has really, really, really small decal stickers—they’re about

TWINPEAKS

PEAKS

The refreshed 2023 Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X have arrived—bringing a swag of extras.

LOTSOFTHE things we love most get worse over time. Hairlines recede. TV series lose the plot. One day your toddler thinks you’re a sort of god, the next they’re a teenager and they’ve pinched your keys and driven to Timor.

And then, of course, there’s Isuzu’s hardy siblings: the D-MAX and MU-X.

Isuzu’s ultra-reliable D-MAX ute has been getting better all the time, like the Beatles song, with each iteration and update for two decades. In 2013 it became so irresistible that it produced an SUV offshoot: the mighty MU-X. Bucking trends, both have gone from strength to strength ever since.

Each vehicle is synonymous with dependability, both in terms of general quality and through the lens of continual improvement. So when the updated D-MAX and MU-X models were teased, the question wasn’t so much whether they’d be better than their predecessors. It was more about how much better they’d be.

The answer, in a nutshell, is revealed via a raft of evolutionary changes and refinements, each packaged with an Australian audience in mind. Major updates include improved functionality, new variants and a refreshed exterior design and colour palette (welcome to the team Granite Grey, Galaxy Blue and Neptune Blue).

That the new models are a step forward is no surprise. Equally satisfying, though, is that both continue to be

WORDS RHYSCOLLINS

packaged with customers’ requirements top of mind.

“In a market where some brands have removed features to meet delivery timeframes, we’ve listened to the feedback from customers and the media and have introduced new features to keep both the D-MAX and MU-X towards the top of the segment,” says Isuzu UTE Australia Managing Director Hiroyasu Sato. “Features that appeal to the modern ute driver, and the towing and touring adventurer.”

All will find improvements to satisfy their purposes. But let’s begin with the changes that target the trades.

First, the addition of three SX Crew Cab models means the 2023 D-MAX range now offers a grand total of 24 variants. Each features Isuzu’s versatile and fuelefficient RZ4E 1.9-litre turbo-diesel engine, paired with a bulletproof 6-speed automatic transmission.

For those seeking a little more grunt across the board, Isuzu’s famed 3.0-litre engine remains available across all models and body styles—including the value-packed top-of-the-range D-MAX X-TERRAIN. Producing a potent combination of 140kW of power and 450Nm of torque, it’s the largest-capacity four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine available in the ute segment.

MAXHALL OFFAME

The 2023 D-MAX and MU-X stand on the shoulders of giants. Meet some of their legendary forebears—and get reacquainted with a couple of legendary one-offs.

THEISUZUWASP

Only 122 of Isuzu’s 1500cc first-ever ute officially made their way to Australia. Curiously, all were fitted with bench seats.

THEISUZUFASTER

Called the P’up in the US—and the ‘Isuzu KB’ in Australia, despite those initials being shared with a then-dominant variant of Tooheys.

THEORIGINALD-MAX

And then a hero comes along. Originally rebadged as the Holden Rodeo locally, the D-MAX emerged as its own entity in 2008.

THESECOND-GEND-MAX

A new era arrives. It heralds a decisive upgrade in style, but is as robust, commanding and functional as ever.

THEFIRSTMU-X

Australia was one of just three launch markets for the MU-X, which was met with much acclaim by journalists when it was released.

THED-MAXPOPEMOBILE

His Holiness Pope Francis liked his D-MAX Popemobile, built for a visit to the Philippines, so much that he took it on tour around the globe.

CONCEPT-X

Described as “the ultimate double act”, two extremely jacked and wildly mutated Isuzus—a D-MAX and an MU-X—were released as working (and internet-breaking) concepts in 2018.

THETHIRD-GEND-MAX

A brilliant example of model evolution saw an all-new D-MAX precede an all-new MU-X, maintaining muscle and adding next-level tech and comfort.

Many of the refreshed D-MAX and MU-X’s exterior refinements are subtle, but the overall effect is a more commanding and more resolved presence.

Isuzu’s iconic signature horizontal bar grille has been massaged and is now sculpted to meet the swooped leadingedge creases of the bonnet and the chiselled front bar fascia. The new grille design’s finish varies between variants, with two-tone black on the SX, two-tone black and grey on the LS-M, two-tone grey and chrome on the LS-U and LS-U+, and two-tone dark grey on the halo X-TERRAIN.

Completing the look, the LED rear combination lights are newly trimmed in dark grey metallic, rather than chrome.

Responding to customer feedback, new alloys also debut, from 17-inch light grey six-spoke versions on mid-level LS-M models to 18-inch machined alloys on LS-M and LS-U+ variants. The X-TERRAIN mirrors the latter template, except finishes it in a tasteful dark grey metallic.

To maximise traction and tyre life, all 2023 variants sporting 18- or 20-inch boots feature a new Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) that relays vital information

back to the driver in real time. Another enhancement is entirely external and everyday practical. Tailgate Assist is a gas-strut system on D-MAX ute variants that makes lowering and raising the rear tailgate effortless, and allows easy onehanded operation. There’s also a handsfree powered tailgate across LS-U and LS-T variants of the MU-X.

Then there’s inside the cabin.

The third-gen D-MAX and second-gen MU-X were immediately lauded for their superb interior comfort, technological integration and thoughtful design from

scratch. The 2023 models build on that offering with updated seat upholstery, ranging up to leather-accented trim and signature red stitching on the X-TERRAIN.

With more families than ever opting for a D-MAX as their sole vehicle, SX Crew Cab Ute and Crew Cab Chassis models add an additional USB port to the second row. Matching the offering in the other grades, it’s a boon to backseat device users, whether they’re apprentices buried in Instagram on the road between jobs, or kids being kept schtum by Disney+ on the annual Christmas pilgrimage up the coast.

TOWYOUROWNWAY

The MY23 D-MAX and MU-X have made towing even easier.

You could think of it as streamlining. Nearly half of all D-MAX owners say pulling prowess was a decisive influence in their choice of ute. And with MU-X buyers also enthusiastic about hauling vans, boats and trailers across the countryside, Isuzu is constantly on the lookout for ways to improve functionality.

To that end, engineers have simplified the towing setup by independently disabling Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert when required in 2023 models. This adjustment happens without need for manual intervention whenever a trailer is hitched and detected via the genuine trailer wiring harness. And while it had been straightforward to manually toggle off that functionality via the controls on the steering wheel—precluding the safety systems accidentally being triggered by the proximity of the trailer—the updated system works automatically.

It’s a further refinement to the already impressive towing setup, following the introduction of the Lane Support System Switch a year ago, which allowed drivers to toggle lane-keeping functions on or off with the push of a button.

FAMOUSLY TOUGHMAXES

It’s a powerful name, but does every ‘Max’ live up to the billing?

MAXBAER

Who? Hard-punching American heavyweight boxing champion between the wars. When asked if he wanted the house doctor while ill in a hotel in 1959, he said "No, dummy, I need a people doctor", then laughed and died.

If that pilgrimage includes towing—and it does for a huge proportion of both D-MAX and MU-X customers—the setup has also been simplified (see previous page).

Do most things you cherish diminish in quality as time marches cruelly forward?

Some do. But not everything.

Love can deepen. Birdsong becomes sweeter to experienced ears. TV shows might jump the shark, but TV sets grow ever larger, flatter and harder to burgle.

Coffee today is light years ahead of 1940s Nescafé Blend 43.

Arriving in Australia in late 2020, the third-generation D-MAX has been an unequivocal local success story. With more than 50,000 utes delivered to Australians since that date, despite international

supply issues across the auto industry, the D-MAX has wowed punters and press alike.

Landing shortly after the D-MAX, the second-generation MU-X doubled down on its sibling’s combination of toughness and tech. It’s now been the leading ute-based SUV in the country for a decade, with more than 10,000 MU-Xs making their way into Australian driveways in 2021 alone.

That’s a daunting record for an updated model to live up to. But it’s also a foundation on which to continue momentum.

Featuring a raft of incremental improvements and a handful of more substantial changes, the 2023 Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X don’t just stay the course. They stay ahead of the game.

What? World’s finest ute, with a lineage stretching back to the Isuzu Wasp in 1963. Though tougher than ever, the modern D-MAX and its sibling MU-X feature unprecedented performance, comfort and safety.

Toughness rating: 5/5

MAXROCKATANSKY

Who? Titular character and handsome anti-hero protagonist of the George Miller postapocalyptic film series Mad Max. Key skills include desert survival, gang minimisation and taciturn voiceovers.

Toughness rating: 5/5

MAXIMUS

A fallen general turned gladiator played by South Sydney Rabbitohs executive Russell Crowe, who flirted with acting before realising his true passion: rugby league administration.

Toughness rating: 4/5

THEPETERSMAXIBON

What? Frankenstein-esque ice cream sandwich invented in Italy in 1989. Has since mutated into at least 10 different varieties, all of which go to liquid in the face of the Maxibon’s kryptonite: mild warmth. Toughness rating: 1/5

COORONG MAKES ARITE

A rite of passage, that is. There’s no better place to catch the 4WD bug than the Coorong in South Australia.

They say that there are moments in one’s life that cast the stone on your destiny. Visiting the Coorong National Park 50 years ago did just that for me. This is the place that awoke my interest in all things 4WD, the place that taught me so much about wild spaces. The Coorong draws me back time and again. It’s a place that’s super-special in a world when mere ‘special’ is criminally overused.

MANVERSUSNATURE

The Coorong is a coastal lagoon ecosystem and one of the world’s longest beaches. It’s a pristine and primal ribbon of sand stretching from the Murray mouth at Goolwa and southwards to just shy of the crayfishing town of Kingston, at a place known as The Granites. It includes the mighty 90 Mile Beach and is the ancestral home of the Ngarrindjeri people.

The area is officially the Younghusband Peninsula and is unique in the world in having a series of saline lagoons, wedged between the typically roaring Southern Ocean and the scrub adjacent to the Princes Highway. To get there is a 2.5-hour journey from Adelaide, via Tailem Bend then Meningie, to Salt Creek.

WORDS DAVIDWILSON

Those lagoons are protected critical wetlands by international treaty and are a haven for migratory birds, some of which fly in from Alaska. They are linked to the ocean from the mouth of the Murray but low flows of freshwater in earlier times had early European settlers nervous about how far upstream the saltwater might go, rendering irrigation useless. A brutal solution was found.

In the 1930s, barrages were constructed— a man-made barrier of steel shutters and locks preventing saltwater intrusion into the Lakes (Albert and Alexandrina and their feeder rivers). This was a time when ecology played second-fiddle, with the result that freshwater was prevented from flushing the mouth and recharging the Coorong forever. That likely wouldn’t happen today.

HISTORY(ANDHOVERCRAFTS)

My first Coorong visit was as a teenager back in 1974. I was a city kid and my parents had to drag me along on a visit to some of their friends, who were park rangers. Thank heavens they did.

Imagine the bragging rights I got at school the following week with my tales of shooting my first rabbit(s) and driving the

National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS]

4WD! Not to mention leaping off dunes while standing on the back of a V8 spaceframe beast—in a section claimed by the local dune buggy club!—plus catching lots of Coorong mullet, and joining a ranger on patrol … in a hovercraft.

Back then the NPWS had decided that wheeled vehicles in this landscape posed too many mobility problems as tracks were few. Greater access would be gained, they hoped, by one of those new-fangled hovercraft thingies. Well, there were good hovercraft days and bad. The good days would see us effortlessly skimming over the water in the lagoons, and across the pipeclay. But for bird-spotting? Forget it. The combined racket of the engine and fan was like trying to sneak up on a poetry recital when you’re an AC/DC concert.

BOOMANDBUST

The Old Coach Road (now known as the Loop Road or Old Coorong Road) was the main thoroughfare when en-route to Melbourne from Adelaide and carried a mix of horse-drawn passenger coaches, bullockies and drays. It also became a thoroughfare for Chinese immigrants en route to the 1850s Victorian goldfields.

European diggers on the fields resented the influx of Chinese and lobbied the Victorian Government to do something about it. Their reaction was to levy a

then-whopping £10 poll tax on anyone who landed in a Victorian port. The immigrants’ reaction, unsurprisingly, was to disembark at Adelaide and later Robe instead, then take the long march overland to Bendigo and Ballarat, hundreds of kilometres away. There are reminders of that slog. Chinaman’s Well (another name unlikely to be coined today) is one, built by a stonemason to provide reliable fresh water in all weather. It’s near Salt Creek.

Salt Creek is also where you’ll find the original NPWS HQ built in the 1970s and now used by SES and CFS fire crews. There’s also a monument to another commercial endeavour in the form of a replica oil rig. A chance discovery of a bituminous algae sludge called coorongite in 1892 was mistaken for oil, mining leases were issued and companies bankrolled to drill for it. All for nought. Naturally occurring near fresh water lakes, coorongite is flammable, but it wasn’t ever going to power a horseless carriage, especially our new MU-X.

WHERETOGO

Driving into the park from Salt Creek and following the Old Coach Road, the first point of 4WD merit is the link track to access Tea Tree Crossing (TTX). This is a stunning way to get to the magnificent beachfront and is at the safest end to start for the run down to 42 Mile Crossing. Usually from November until around

The beach sands along the Coorong are deceptively soft and quick changes in direction are often required to avoid a potential stranding.

May you’ll be able to navigate the lagoon’s crossing to TTX. An orange-tipped row of markers defines the route and the depth of the water. It’s salt and it’ll be closed when the water is deeper than about 100mm, like it was on our visit this Spring.

If it’s open, you be able to navigate the pipeclay to the beautiful TTX campgrounds (no facilities) where a plain of grasslands is hemmed by the melaleuca fringing the lagoon and the acacia holding the fabric of the sandhills together. It’s a great place to get out of the wind, and I guarantee you’ll see emus and kangaroos grazing nearby.

The jump-up dune behind camp will be your first trial. If it has been warm you can expect the sand will be dry and tricky, and a big tyre pressure dump will be required to get you up and over. I’ve had some visits need as little as 15psi/100kPa

to make it look easy. Try either first gear high range or third or fourth in low and don’t be afraid to use some welly!

Once over that little obstacle the track winds its way west easily and to the beach through beautiful sandhills steeped in Aboriginal history because this is a place of plenty. It was home to some of the densest populations in the continent before the white man arrived, and foragers have for thousands of years collected Goolwa pipis, or cockles, for big cook-ups in the dunes.

The Ngarrindjeri left plenty of evidence of these feasts with their midden heaps, piles of shells revealed by the winds and re-covered over time. In case you were wondering, Coorong is an English derivation of Kurangk, the name the original locals called the place.

Aplainofgrasslandsishemmedbythemelaleuca fringingthelagoonandtheacaciaholdingthe fabricofthesandhillstogether.

BEWARETHEMURRAYMOUTHU-TURN

Once you’re on the beach there’s a T-junction. Turn right (north) and you’ll bump into the Murray mouth in a couple of hours (be warned, there’s no exit at the other end so you’ll have to retrace your steps) or turn left (south) and you’ll run down the beach towards 42 Mile, the easiest section, as the trail stays mostly up above the high tide mark. Beware: beyond this point, it doesn’t.

This beach isn’t for the fainthearted. The sands are particularly difficult at any time of the year as they contain a lot of shell grit and it forms in waves, scoured by the action of the sea as it bashes up against the foredune. At high tide, the beach will be non-existent in places and there are precious-few escape routes.

With grip harder to find than an oat milk latte and further complicated with a steep side slope to the water’s edge, it’s all about plenty of engine-speed, straight steering and low tyre pressures. Plenty of cars have been claimed by the sea between here and The Granites. Best not to join them.

Don’t be dissuaded from having a look,

though—the other tracks that comprise the crossings of 32 Mile, 28 Mile and The Wreck will get you from the highway, through the lagoon hinterland to the beach for a stickybeak that’s worth the effort.

If you’ve got a camper or a caravan there are several designated campsites. NPWS has spent plenty of money there in recent years upgrading the facilities since COVID’s descent put plenty of locations under stress—and it shows. On the other hand, if bush camping is your preference, you’ll find plenty of alternate serenity.

You’ll also find motel accommodation nearby at either end of the park—Meningie to the north and Kingston in the south—but I like to mark my endpoint in Robe. Just like the hardy disembarking Chinese prospectors of the 1850s, Robe marks the start of another epic journey, although this one is of a 4WD kind. The beaches of the south-east, including the stunning Nora Creina and the magical Beachport, are worth their weight in gold.

Beware, though. Drag your children there at your peril. You may doom them to a wonderful life of off-roading addiction.

MOREON THECOORONG

WHEREISIT?

The Coorong National Park is located approximately 200km southeast of Adelaide and accessed via the Princes Highway between Meningie and Kingston SE.

WHENTOGO

Any time of the year will reward visitation but if it’s a wild and woolly week with a raging southwesterly blow you might like to postpone. My preferred time is late-Summer to Autumn, from February to May, when the winds are usually calmer and the skies blue.

LEARNMORE

Visit the NPWS website for details on camping and fees. Campsites are booked online: www.parks.sa.gov.au/ parks/coorong-national-park

You’ll have to go around this to get to 42 Mile Crossing and across to the beach.

You little ripper

BIG AUSTRALIA’STHINGS BEST

Improbably outsized Big Things are the heartbeat of many an Australian road trip. Here are some of our best.

Electricity bills and heart attacks aside, bigger is almost always better. Humans have always been attracted to giant stuff—and not just because of gravity. From Edmund Hillary to Uluru’s 250,000 annual visitors, mankind yearns to get close to things that are a good deal larger than other, comparable things.

Regional councils and businesses figured out how to capitalise on this in the 1960s. Unveiled in that decade, many of Australia’s original Big Things are still around today, such as Adelaide’s Big Scotsman [1963], and Coffs Harbour’s Kong-sized Big Banana [1964].

Like Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams baseball diamond, few of this nation’s XXXL things makes sense on paper. But build them we did—and come, tourists (mostly) have. Today, Australia boasts over 150 bona fide ‘Big Things’, with the number stretching to over 300 if you allow a more flexible definition of, well, ‘big’. Here’s our definitive list of the 15 outsized highway-adjacent attractions that ought to be on your bucket list. How many have you seen?

THEBIGBOGAN

Where: Nyngan, NSW

Why it’s great: The hub of the Bogan Shire in western NSW, Nyngan had for years watched bemused as tourists stopped for selfies with various local signs: the Bogan River, the Bogan Lolly Shop, etc. Built to leverage this phenomenon in 2015, the Big Bogan—a six-metre chap sporting a mullet, southern cross tatt, and double-pluggers—caused some controversy when proposed. “The Big Banana is [there] because they grow bananas,” local café manager Robin Harris told reporters. “The Big Crayfish is because they cultivate crayfish. Are we going to be a town known for cultivating idiots?”

Google review quote: “Never seen something so beautiful in my life.”—Patrick P

THEBIGBANANA

Where: Coffs Harbour, NSW

Why it’s great: One of Australia’s oldest Big Things, the 13-metre concrete banana on NSW’s Mid North coast was once a merely disappointing trifle built by the owner of an adjacent banana plantation, lined with brochures. It’s now an award-winning fun park with a giant slide, mini golf, ice skating, laser tag, a toboggan ride and a water park. The meganana is a deadset icon of roadside bigness, although beware—a day out here isn’t necessarily cheap. Google review quote: “Be warned. It’s not a quick stop kind of place if you have kids. So much to do.”—Kerrie B

THEBIGLOBSTER

Where: Kingston, SA

Why it’s great: Despite designing both Medindie’s Big Scotsman and Kingston’s Big Lobster, legendary South Australian Big Thing architect Paul Kelly remains, cruelly, Australia’s least-famous famous person called Paul Kelly. Larry the Lobster, the great man’s design in Kingsford, was ranked No. 1 ‘Best Big Thing’ in a recent ABC Rural poll. It’s 18-metres high, made of steel and fibreglass and houses a properly good old-school takeaway joint in its tail. Perfect—and a bit scary. Google review quote: “Lovely food, huge portions, juicy fish and squid rings.”—Tanmay Basrur

THEGIANTMURRAYCOD

Where: Swan Hill, Vic

Why it’s great: There are three ways to tell north-western Victoria’s Big Cod from the real thing: first, at 11 metres, the statue is over six times the length of the living fish; second, the Big Cod is made of fibreglass, whereas the sentient cod is made of cod; and third, unlike the actual fish, the statue was built as a prop for the forgotten 1991 Australian film Eight Ball. Also, they are nothing alike. A pleasant stop for a cuppa, albeit without much else nearby to recommend it.

Google review quote: “Wonderful sculpture, we stopped in to the Swan Hill market beside it afterwards.”—Haydan Blackwell

THEBIGPENGUIN

Where: Penguin, TAS

Why it’s great: Erected in the heady delirium of the centenary of the Penguin township in 1975, Penguin’s three-metre fairy penguin bears an uncanny resemblance to the star of 1980s Swiss children’s TV Claymation series Pingu Depending on the date, you may see the Big Penguin dressed in fatigues (Anzac Day), pink (for Breast Cancer Awareness Month), or as Santa in December (reason unknown).

Google review quote: “You know you’re in Penguin.”—Mere Nepia

THEBIGGALAH

Where: Kimba, SA

Why it’s great: Towering eight metres above the arid earth a couple of hours north of Port Lincoln, Kimba’s colossal pink-and-grey cockatoo looms over the horizon like an Alf Stewart cheese dream.

The slightly terrifying bird stands guard outside a combination servo and bakery that marks the halfway point across Australia.

Google review quote: “Beautiful bird, with even more beautiful artwork.”

Sakina Vohra

THEBIGPOTATO

Where: Robertson, NSW

Why it’s great: In July 2022, the ABC reported that the Southern Highlands’ Big Potato had been declared Australia’s worst Big Thing by a comedy website, seeing off “stiff rivalry from Queensland’s Nazi-saluting Captain Cook” and “Kalgoorlie’s ‘World’s Tallest Bin’”. But the four-metre high Sebago, built in 1977, is cherished by Robbo's 1200 locals. Either way, the town is worth visiting for its even more iconic Robertson Pie Shop (which predates the spud by 16 years).

Google review quote: “Though you can’t go inside it anymore and experience the traumatic life of a potato, it still has a magnetism to it.” —Betty

©

Karen Carr

THEBIGBOXING CROCODILE

Where: Humpty Doo, NT

Why it’s great: Giant crocodile statues are surprisingly common—there are at least three rival concrete crocs in Queensland and another in WA. But Humpty Doo’s is something special. And not least because it goes the extra mile to scare tourists by implying that as well as eating you, the saltwater croc may first go the biff. That’s not the only reason Humpty Doo’s 15-metre fighting reptile doesn’t make sense—for example, it was unveiled in 1988, to celebrate Australia’s win in the America’s Cup yacht race. In 1983. By a yacht that had a boxing kangaroo on it. Cycloneproofing the build cost $137K.

Google review quote: “Had a fight with him.”

—Hayley Pedler

THEGIANTKOALA

Where: Dadswells Bridge, VIC

Why it’s great: Not to be confused with Victoria's other large marsupial— the Big Koala in Cowes—Dadswell Bridge’s version is a 12-tonne, multistorey monument in steel, fibreglass and bronze. It dominates the landscape with a combination of red-eyed, 17-coffee stare and a semicubic head that resembles nothing so much as that of former LNP Attorney-General George Brandis. Its expression indicates that it's just realised there’s a gift shop in its groin. Would beat Cowes’s koala in a fight.

Google review quote: “Care has been taken by the artist to create the perfect texture of the skin and hair. Especially the ear hair.”

Manikandan Sigamani

THEBIGCANETOAD

Where: Sarina, QLD

Why it’s great: “When you’re on a good thing, stick to it” was a fair summation of Queensland’s State of Origin selection policy in the late 2000s. It’s the same attitude evolution has taken with their namesake cane toad (Latin name: Bufo marinus). Fossilised toads dating back up to 11 million years have been found in South America that are identical to the modern beast. ‘Buffy’, on the Bruce Highway, began life as a paper mache float for a sugar festival in 1983. Later cast in fibreglass, she now lives in Sarina, at a shaded picnic area. Google review quote: “Everything you’d want in a giant ornamental toad and more.”—Ellie Moses

THEBIGLOLLYPOP

Where: Ravensthorpe, WA

Why it’s great: Holding the (possibly uncontested) title as the world’s largest freestanding lollypop since 2019, Ravensthorpe’s megapop was built by the owners of the adjacent Yummylicious Candy Shack. Measuring seven and a half metres tall and four metres wide, the multicoloured ’pop was built after a two-year approvals process resulted in a council green light. “I’m in shock,” said owner Belinda McHurg, in 2019. “I’ve been waiting so long for this and fought hard for it.”

Google review quote: “What a magical gem this place is.”—Tom Harper

©

38 MAX*D GOYOUROWNWAY THELIST

THEBIGNEDKELLY

Where: Glenrowan, VIC

Why it’s great: A stirring tribute to a hairy Irish murderer/iconic oppression-battling larrikin, Glenrowan’s six-metre, two-tonne bushranger was unveiled (if not de-helmeted) in 1992. “Big things seemed to be all the rage at the time,” said Ned Kelly memorial museum owner and local Chris Gerret, “so we decided to build a Big Ned Kelly to keep up.” Ned himself famously made his brave last stand nearby in 1880.

Google review quote: “Kitschy and totally awesome.”—Sharene Voss

THEBIGPINEAPPLE

Where: Woombye, QLD

THEBIGMERINO

Where: Goulburn, NSW

Why it’s great: Over 15-metres high, 18-metres long and tipping the scales at a stupendous 100 tonnes, Goulburn's Big Merino was opened in 1985. It was then moved 800m southwest in 2007 when a bypass left 'Rambo' stranded in no man's land. (The council took the opportunity to construct three new legs and a "more complete, free-standing" underbelly, giving the ovine colossus a truly three-dimensional shape.) Pop into the gift shop, bone up on the history of wool and buy an ugg boot or two. Or just climb to the top to look out through the jumbo ram's eyeholes at the local area, like a Scooby-Doo villain peering out from a painting.

Google review quote: “My Kiwi cousins can’t stop talking about it!”

–Joris Bohnson

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THE RANGE TO TAKE YOU FURTHER

THEHENTY-CHARLESCLAN

Typical volunteer families like Adelaide’s Shauna and Josh, and their kids Keeley and Elka, are the lifeblood of Surf Life Saving Australia.

What got you into lifesaving?

Shauna: I’ve been involved for 35 years! I started in under-11s. I was rowing surf boats when I met Josh—not literally—then we had kids, and Josh finally did his Bronze Medallion [the official qualification to work on surf patrol]. Now he’s boat captain. Josh: Adelaide women have a way of convincing you to do what they want!

Did your kids have a choice?

S: No! Nope, nup. We live at the beach. Our youngest just loves running around with all her friends and getting into the water, although her competitive streak is coming out a bit more now.

J: Our eldest is a medallist at state titles. She’s very determined. What’s it like to row out in carnivals when the surf is big?

J: The beauty of rowing a boat is that you don’t see it, because you’re facing the shore when you’re heading out—the sweep does. You just judge how big it is by his eyes. If they’re like dinner plates then you have to hold on!

S: I used to love it when I was in my twenties, I was fearless then. I love the adrenalin and how the boat goes up, then goes down … and then you go down after.

Why are surf clubs are such a big part

of Australian culture?

S: Because a club is like a family. It’s the community: doing Nippers, going back and having a barbecue and a beer, having a laugh, keeping fit, it’s summer…

J: Shauna grew up with it and I didn’t, although I was from the beach in Queensland, and my dad was a lifesaver in the ’70s. I only got involved in my thirties! But playing footy, I always thought the guys with a surf background were well-rounded people. Everyone’s a volunteer, and you’ve got boy and girls growing up on the beach together, oldies

SEACLIFFSLSC WHERE?

In the City of Holdfast Bay local government area in the south-western coastal suburbs of Adelaide. Surf conditions are typically exceptionally small and safe thanks to the shielding effects of the Yorke and Fleurieu Peninsulas, Kangaroo Island.

SHOULDIVISIT?

Yes. Its café bar and restaurant offer some of SA’s best beach dining and new members are very welcome.

MORE: seacliffslsc.com.au

who’ve patrolled for 30 years, younger ones coming through …

Could you imagine doing a rowing rescue before clubs had IRBs (Inflatable Rescue Boats)?

S: I don’t know how they did it! But the biggest change has been the involvement of females. I started in 1987, and females were only allowed to do their Bronze in 1984. The change is huge. Other surf clubs may still be male orientated, but it’s definitely the other way around now at ours!

Your beach doesn’t get big—or any— waves. Is it safe, then?

J: No waves means no rips, but it gets very windy. When you’re helping an exhausted windsurfer or paddleboarder back to shore from a kilometre out— and it’s a bit sharky out there—they’re pretty happy to see you. And once we had a kitesurfer who got whipped into the air and dropped onto the beach

from a height with straight legs. He did both ACLs at once. It was pretty grisly.

S: Then another guy landed nearby just after him, except flat on his back instead of on his legs! Two ambulances on the same day—that never happens! Isuzu proudly provides D-MAXs and MU-Xs to SLSA. How are 4WDs used?

J: For everything! Towing trailers full of nipper boards, carting stuff between the club and the tower, launching surf boats, for carnivals. We really use the utes.

Okay, final question: Trevor Hendy or Grant Kenny?

S: Trevor Hendy is more my era. But what about Coolongatta Gold, with Grant’s sexy bronzed thighs and golden locks?

J: Grant grew up near me! His old man taught my mum to swim. But you didn’t join a surf club until you moved south. Why?

J: I’m a terrible swimmer! Grant’s dad

never got his hands on me! It’s actually a good thing that I’m on a boat.

S: I can swim. That was my thing as a junior. I went to boats later. How much of the appeal of rowing surf boats is being able to Borat your togs up your bottom without social repercussions?

S: Mine comes out as soon as I’m off the boat, I promise! Although my brother was a rower, too, and he was really into it. Some guys just love putting their bathers up their bum.

J: But most people don’t! People come down to try it out, and most of them say, “No, I won’t be doing that!” Ha! We explain that you need to do it or the friction is too much—nothing slides on the seat of the boat like bare skin. Otherwise after 15 minutes you’re on fire. I mean, if modesty wasn’t such a thing we could do it nude.

S: I don’t think so, Josh.

OUTBACKPIZZAANDFLATBREAD

“I’MQUITEOPINIONATED when it comes to pizza—probably more so than I should be,” says ‘adventure cook’ (and Australian YouTube sensation) Harry Fisher. “I have some pet hates and there are rules I think you should definitely abide by. Crazily, for something that so many of us love, it’s easy to get it wrong.”

Pizza in the bush is quite a treat, not least because it’s hard to make them in bulk. This is a great meal for a long afternoon of grazing around the fire, making and eating one pizza at a time. Start with the flatbread, which is a brilliant dish in itself. Then use it as a basis for pizza.

Recipe1: HARRY’SFLATBREAD

A batch of my flatbread should be enough for four or five camp-oven sized pizzas, depending on how thick you like them. It’ll take two or three hours for the dough to rise, so start early.

Serves: Four to six Prep time: 15 minutes (plus at least an hour for the dough to rise) Cooking time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups of baker’s flour (550g)

• 2 teaspoons of dry yeast (7 grams)

• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

• 2 teaspoons of salt

• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

• 380ml of water

• 3 teaspoons of honey

GEAR

• Rolling pin (a wine bottle works)

• Grill plate, frypan or wok

GEAR

1. Place flour, yeast, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix well. Dissolve honey in hot water, add cold water to make 380ml, add the olive oil.

2. Mix the wet and dry ingredients in the bowl to form a sticky dough. Knead it in the bowl or on a clean, smooth, unfloured surface until the dough is

smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to anything. In the bush you’ll have to earn your supper and do it by hand—there are no dough mixers out here.

3. Plonk it back into a lightly oiled bowl and leave it to rise until it’s doubled in size. In a warm environment, this could be one to two hours. If you’re prepared, do it the day before and put it in the fridge to rise slowly overnight.

4. After it has risen, roll the dough out until it’s about 3 or 4mm thick (1/8th of an inch) and about 20-30cm in diameter, like a big, uneven pizza base. Alternatively, divide it up into smaller portions and roll it to the same thickness.

5. Throw it on a hot BBQ plate, frypan or wok, or any other hot surface you have (even straight on the coals), adding a bit of olive oil or butter to prevent it from burning. Flip it once you see the dough getting bubbles and cook it until both sides are golden brown. It should only take a few minutes.

6. Serve piping hot, with lashings of butter and golden syrup, like you would damper. Or enjoy it as a wrap, with dips or even use it as a great pizza base.

TIPS

Prepare the dough at least two hours before you want to eat it to give the yeast time to work through the

WORDS HARRYFISHER

Serves: Four to six

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Sauce recipe

• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

• 1 clove of garlic

• 400g of tomatoes, crushed (or pureed)

• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

• 1/4 cup of fresh chopped basil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Toppings

• Semolina flour (for under the base)

• Mozzarella

• Cacciatore

• Fresh chopped chilli

• Basil

GEAR

• Medium pot

• Large camp oven or bedourie

• Aluminium foil

• Baking paper

1. Once the dough is ready, add the olive oil and garlic to a pot and fry it on medium/high heat until fragrant. Drop in the pureed tomatoes and oregano, bring it to the boil and let it simmer for five minutes before dropping in the basil and cooking for another

still be tangy with some raw tomato flavour.

2. One of the hardest things about camp oven pizza is getting it in and out of the camp oven without making a mess of it. Tear a piece of aluminium foil long enough to sit inside the camp oven and overhang the top on both sides. Then, tear off a piece of baking paper about the size of the camp oven’s base and put it on the foil. The foil becomes your sling to get the pizza out and the baking paper stops it from sticking to the bottom.

3. Flatten out the dough to a size that fits the base of your camp oven. I prefer to use my hands for this rather than a rolling pin. I also prefer my pizza bases thin, but if you like them thick, that’s on you. If you have it, sprinkle some semolina onto the baking paper to prevent the pizza from sticking (regular flour will work in a pinch) and place the dough on it.

4. Make the pizza in this order: dough, a thin layer of sauce, cheese (you don’t need full coverage), cacciatore (or whatever toppings you use), salt and pepper.

5. Place the camp oven over your fire on high heat with 40 per cent underneath and 60 per cent on top. Bake it for about seven minutes, or until the base develops some structure and the toppings are crispy.

6. Add chopped chilli (optional) and sprinkle on fresh greens—in this case, basil—then eat it immediately while making the next one.

RULES

Absolutely do not put the cheese on top; it makes the toppings soggy and doesn’t present nearly as well. Don’t overload the pizza with all sorts of toppings. Cheese and one or two extras are all you need for a great pizza. And don’t use those pre-made pizza sauce sachets, please!

STATE SECRETS

From the open ocean to wild trout in highland tarns, Tasmania is an angler’s paradise. The local lads from Hook, Line and Sinker spill the beans.

There’s no doubt Tasmania is currently the ‘in’ place to visit. I spent the best part of the last two decades being the butt of jokes whenever I told ‘mainlanders’ that I lived on the Apple Isle. These days the reaction is different. More often than not people ask me if they can come and stay!

That’s right, Tassie is an angler’s paradise!

The Apple Isle is a perfect road trip destination, but beware: it’s bigger than it looks. That means that, along with itineraries for fine wine and modern art, it pays to make plans if you’re heading down here to fish our pristine waters.

If you bring your boat (or even book a few charters/guides), the rewards are even greater, allowing you full access to some of the most stunning locations in the world.

Here are three spots (and species!) to add to your Tasmanian bucket list.

1 SouthernBluefinTuna EaglehawkNeck

The Tasman Peninsula is just a 90-minute drive from Hobart. The deep water comes right in close to the coastline, which is made up of massive sea cliffs. The most popular place to launch your boat is at Eaglehawk Neck. This boat ramp offers you nearby access to many of the Peninsula’s tuna hotspots including the Hypolite Rocks, The Lanterns and Tasman Island. This place is unique in the world because you can catch giant Southern Bluefin Tuna just a few metres off the rocks as the sea cliffs tower a hundred metres above your head.

The fishing is easily done in a trailer boat, but there’s also a couple of really good charter operators who can take you out if you don’t have a boat. The most popular method for catching these tuna is trolling lures. You’ll need to make sure you have

strong gear as they can grow to more than 150kg in weight, although the average fish you’ll catch will be about 20kg. Best time to catch them is from March to July, although you can realistically catch them year-round these days as the population seems to have exploded in the past 20 years.

2 WildTassieTrout CentralHighlands

Once you have finished experiencing the wilds of the Tasman Peninsula, jump in your D-MAX or MU-X and drive about two hours into the Central Highlands of Tasmania. The best place to base yourself is the Great Lake Hotel. There’s a pub, shop and even a hire boat service.

Once you are at the Great Lake, you literally have hundreds of different trout fishing options available to you. The thing

WORDS ANDREWHART

many visitors to Tasmania don’t understand is that pretty much every little lake, creek, river or even puddle holds trout!

If you fly fish, Tasmania is famous around the world for its wild brown trout in the shallow lakes, which are all eager to eat a dry fly over the warmer months. It’s very much a sight fishing destination, which means you can watch your trophy trout come up and eat your tiny fly, really getting the heart pumping.

But if you haven’t mastered the art of fly fishing, lure fishing with a normal spinning rod is another great option and should catch you one of the state’s trout. Basically, every river you drive over is worthy of a few casts.

My favourite place to fish is in an area called The Nineteen Lagoons, which is found in the Central Highlands and is the gateway to the Western Lakes wilderness

fishery. You don’t need a boat here—just walk from lake to lake and keep your eyes open for big cruising trout. Blue sky days are best.

3 StripedTrumpeter EastCoast

Tassie has a species found off the coast which it could be argued are the best eating fish in the world. They’re called the Striped Trumpeter and they grow to more than 10kg in weight. They also fight really well and look great, meaning they tick all the boxes from an angling point of view.

‘Stripies’ are found along both the west and east coasts, but it’s the upper east coast that is a real fisho’s nirvana. You’ll need a boat as they are found in waters from 50 to 120 meters in depth. Find some reefy area and drop down fresh fish or squid baits.

The species also eats jigs, making them really fun to catch. Once you get one, look

after it in ice and prepare yourself for some of the best fish you’ll ever eat.

As well as the fish above, Tassie is home to giant Black Bream, Big King George Whiting, Snapper and kingfish, as well as Swordfish. There’s also the Southern Rock Lobster and Abalone and … well, I’m out of space. It really is a seafood sensation!

LIVE YOUR OWN WAY

Find the balance of work and play in the 7-seat Isuzu MU-X.

WHENISUZU MADEAV12F1 ENGINEAND PUTITINAUTE

The year 1991 delivered something as special as it was strange: the V12 Como F1 Super Truck.

FORMULA1 drivers are unique. Their sport is all glamour and ludicrous speed. If punted into the Armco at 270km/h, their first emotion is annoyance. And at the end of a long, hot drive, their favourite thing is not to crack open a cold can but to firehose a couple of pals with pricey champers.

It is not very much like ute driving. And it is even less like ute building. None of that stopped Isuzu from aspiring to join the ranks of F1 engine suppliers in the late ’80s. And it was a lot more than just hopes and dreams.

Heading into the 1992 season, Lotus was looking for a new engine supplier— and Isuzu surprised everyone by

revealing a secret project: a fully built, 158kg, 3.5-litre V12 quad-cam race engine that pumped out around 562kW at 13,500rpm.

It was called the P799WE and was exactingly constructed to comply to F1’s notoriously pedantic specs. Only Japan’s historic asset price bubble collapse in late 1991 stopped the partnership from happening.

The collapse was a crushing blow to Japan’s economy and an immediate death knell to Isuzu’s F1 hopes. The company then found itself with an F1 engine ready to go, and no car to put it in … but a lot of engineers with lot of time on their hands. Who knew utes.

They decided to put it in a pickup. But not just any pickup. An unhinged, yet brilliantly engineered, marvel: the Isuzu Como F1 Super Truck concept. Boasting scissor doors (of course), a mid-mounted engine and the sleek aeros of a sort of Stig/tadpole hybrid, the souped-up, impossibly fast ute’s speed and agility were evidence of Isuzu’s engineering chops. Sadly, it was never destined for production, but the engine survives, on display at Isuzu HQ in Yokohama, Japan: a crazed mutant, too weird to live, too inspired for the dream to ever truly die. You can pop in and see it on display from MondayFriday between 9am and 5pm.

OnlyJapan’shistoricassetpricebubblecollapseinlate 1991stoppedthepartnershipfromhappening.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Armidale

Armidale Isuzu UTE (02) 6772 1566

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South Lismore Northern Rivers Isuzu UTE (ASO) (02) 6627 7999

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QUEENSLAND

Arundel Gold Coast Isuzu UTE (07) 5583 9320

Atherton John Cole Isuzu UTE (07) 4030 5590

Ayr Burdekin Isuzu UTE (07) 4783 7077

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Brendale Brendale Isuzu UTE (07) 3490 6690

Cairns Trinity Isuzu UTE (07) 4081 5030

Caloundra Caloundra Isuzu UTE (07) 5322 5655

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Dalby Black Dalby Isuzu UTE (07) 4669 8988

Dysart Inspec Industries (IASF) (07) 4941 2800

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Gladstone Reef City Isuzu UTE (07) 4971 4000

Goondiwindi Black Goondiwindi Isuzu UTE (07) 4677 8100

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Maryborough Bay City Isuzu UTE (ASO) (07) 4123 0000

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Mount Gravatt Keema Mt Gravatt Isuzu UTE (07) 3426 1500

Mt Isa Mt Isa Isuzu UTE (07) 4743 0347

Noosaville Pacific Isuzu UTE (ASO) (07) 5335 8333

Nundah Nundah Isuzu UTE (07) 3635 5100

Rockhampton Tropical Isuzu UTE (07) 4931 9333

Roma Black Roma Isuzu UTE (ASO) (07) 4624 4800

Rothwell Keystar Isuzu UTE (07) 3480 8600 Springwood Keema Springwood Isuzu UTE (07) 3884 8300

Toowoomba Black Isuzu UTE (07) 4631 4200

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Stawell Horsham City Isuzu UTE (ASF) (03) 5358 2144

Swan Hill Holts Isuzu UTE (03) 5032 1064

Traralgon Gippsland Isuzu UTE (03) 5175 8060

Wangaratta Wangaratta Isuzu UTE (03) 5722 2000

Warrnambool Warrnambool Isuzu UTE (03) 5561 6000

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Albert Park Portside Isuzu UTE (08) 8345 7450

Berri Big River Isuzu UTE (08) 8582 5200

Bordertown Wise Isuzu UTE (08) 8752 0633

Burton North East Burton Isuzu UTE (08) 8280 9899

Ceduna Ceduna Isuzu UTE (08) 8625 2999

Reynella Wayne Phillis Isuzu UTE (08) 8384 8066

Hampstead Gardens North East Isuzu UTE (08) 8261 6006

Kadina Peninsula Isuzu UTE (08) 8821 1022

Maitland Peninsula Isuzu UTE (ASF) (08) 8832 2725

Mount Gambier Mt Gambier Isuzu UTE (08) 8725 7999

Murray Bridge Murray Bridge Isuzu UTE (08) 8261 4877

Port Augusta North East Port Augusta Isuzu UTE (08) 8643 6233

Port Lincoln City Motors Isuzu UTE (08) 8682 1100

Tanunda Jarvis Isuzu UTE (1300) 13 77 74

Totness Duttons Isuzu UTE (08) 8393 8100

Victor Harbor

Victor Harbor Isuzu UTE (08) 8552 7033

Wayville Wayville Isuzu UTE (1300) 04 57 18

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Albany Albany Autos Isuzu UTE (08) 9842 5522

Bibra Lake Major Motors Isuzu UTE (08) 9331 9331

Cannington Gardner Isuzu UTE (08) 9356 9000

Esperance Esperance Autos Isuzu UTE (ASO) (08) 9071 1060

Geraldton Geraldton Isuzu UTE (08) 9964 2323

Kalgoorlie Golden City Isuzu UTE (08) 9021 1699

Karratha Karratha Isuzu UTE (ASO) (08) 9185 2100

Kununurra Kununurra Isuzu UTE (ASF) (08) 9169 4900

Maddington Maddington Isuzu UTE (08) 9492 0000

Mandurah Mandurah Isuzu UTE (08) 9587 9999

Merredin Merredin Isuzu UTE (ASO) (08) 9041 4444

Midland Midland Isuzu UTE (08) 9273 0030

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Newman Pilbara Isuzu UTE (ASF) (08) 9154 3600

Northam Avon Valley Isuzu UTE (08) 9621 4000

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Picton South West Isuzu UTE (08) 9724 8444

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TASMANIA

Burnie Burnie Isuzu UTE (03) 6431 5677 Derwent Park Jackson Hobart Isuzu UTE (03) 6277 6600 Devonport Devonport Isuzu UTE (ASO) (03) 6424 5177

Launceston Jackson Launceston Isuzu UTE (03) 6323 7000

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL