Isuzu D-Max AT35 Got a pose truck? Best take it laning on the Plain, then

AT35 is a great bit of kit, but it’s so wide that the lanes in most parts of the country are no-go. Or at least if not no-go, they’re certainly no fun because you spend the whole time stressed out about damaging its huge wheelarches.

These cover a set of 317/70R17s all-terrains on heavily offset rims, which are the starting point for its build spec. Most will be familiar with this by now, but to to recap they stand around 35” tall – hence the vehicle’s name. To fi t them, it has a combination of chassis and body lifts plus a set of lavishly fl ared high-clearance arches. All this is engineered and fi tted by Arctic Trucks, which specialises in building extreme-terrain vehicles for covering the frozen wastes of the Icelandic interior.

Arctic Trucks is headquartered in Warwickshire these days. It still does its thing back home in Iceland, but no-one’s denying that people who buy an AT35 in Britain are doing it for the vehicle’s appearance. To most of them, it’s a second or third car, not an essential off-road tool. Hence the lavish use of decorative badging that’s part of Arctic Trucks’ spec – on the body, the front seat headrests, the company’s own heavy-duty side steps, you name it.

In the case of our test vehicle, being bright orange did it no harm in the eye candy stakes either. And sure enough, during the few days we spent with the AT35 it got loads of attention. It’s a car park conversation starter for sure – more so even than our own D-Max GO2, which is almost as tall but, crucially it would appear, is a) slimmer around the tyres and, b) not orange. Perhaps we should get it wrapped.

Anyway, back to the story. During our brief fi rst drive of the new AT35 a few months back, we remarked that it’s now more refi ned on the road than the old model. That’s a D-Max thing rather than an Arctic Trucks thing, but mainly it’s a thing and it’s a good one. Whether cruising on the motorway or carving our way around the mean streets of town, and we did plenty of both, it’s pleasingly quiet in the cabin. Even on such big tyres, you don’t get vibrations coming back at you through the pedals or steering wheel, and it sits steady at speed without needing to be kept on course with constant corrections. In other words, it’s like driving a standard one.

Mainly, at least. On the previous model, we noted an element of

Monogrammed headrests? Of course there are. Badging sewn into the carpet mats? You wouldn’t expect anything less.Range-topping interior appointments? Not strictly necessary in a vehicle built to rule the world off-road, but it goes pretty well with the whole king-of-the-highway image

Even at the height of a freakishly dry summer, Salisbury Plain’s infamous valley bottoms can stay very wet. The AT35’s wide tyres should be ideal for fl oating over the soft stuff in the middle, but one of the mods it doesn’t come with is a winch and ground anchor so we steered well clear. In other areas, one of the joys of testing a vehicle is that you can take the worst (aka most entertaining) line over the terrain in the name of seeing how it responds. What we found is that compared to the old-generation AT35, it’s much less likely to need the rear locker which, ironically, the new one is equipped with as standard

jouncing that’s a characteristic of the suspension. That recent fi rst drive suggested this was gone, but a longer session behind the wheel did yield a bit of it. It’s fi ne on the motorway but the fi rm jolts are still there on poor road surfaces, whether running unladen or, as we also tried, with about a quarter of a ton in the back. It’s well damped and certainly wouldn’t be a deal-breaker, unless you mistakenly expect your truck to ride like a Roller, but it’s there.

Interestingly, though, while we noticed it on the road we didn’t on the trails. Even on the bumpier ones, the AT35’s ride is very well controlled. Perhaps if anything, when a sharp rise in the ground tries to launch the nose upward, the effect is a little more dramatic than in a standard one, but again if that’s going to put you off you need to think twice. We’d also add that with the extra weight of a winch over the front, we’d expect it to settle very nicely into its spring and damper rates.

Our AT35 didn’t have a winch, so we stayed well clear of the valley bottoms for which Salisbury Plain is infamous. Even at the height of a very dry summer, some of these were still wet; we’d expect those big, wide tyres to fl oat over the soft ground pretty effectively, but much as we’d have enjoyed testing the theory, we weren’t about to risk bogging it with no-one for miles around.

Instead, the order of the day was to kick up dust trails on the many parched, stony tracks around here, while taking the worst possible line over all the rough and uneven bits. All in the name of testing that suspension, of course, and nothing to do with playing it for laughs.

And, as we’ve just mentioned, this is where the suspension really comes into its own. It handles the constant, high-frequency inputs from the rough ground with real confi dence – and over the course of several hours on a very hot day, it never showed any sign of losing its edge. We were driving at socially acceptable speeds, of course, but it feels very much like it could cope with much more – Arctic Trucks also operates in the Middle East, and we don’t think the AT35 would struggle with being hammered relentlessly over steep sand dunes in the desert sun. In fact, with such wide tyres we reckon it would be in its element.

It seems better at handling extreme ground than the old model, too. On the previous AT35, we were surprised by the terrain that left it needing a rear locker. This time, we were surprised by the terrain that didn’t. So that’s looking like a clear step forward. Left in low box, it can pick its way over the sort of ground that moves its weight around constantly, lifting wheels as it goes, and we never found it getting light and loose at the back.

But, and it’s a big but, this was on trails we chose specifi cally to suit the AT35. That it gobbled them up should be no surprise. In the real world, off-road prowess is about being able to cope with anything – and in Britain, that means being able to fi t through small gaps. There’s a reason why Land Rovers had fl at sides for all those decades.

As a matter of interest, while driving the AT35 we had to stop off to collect an eBay purchase from a dead-end street. A narrow dead-end street. It wasn’t so much the eleven-pointer that turned our knuckles white as the sheer lack of space between the parked cars: at one point, those monster wheelarches were an interference fi t below the door mirrors to either side.

All too often, when you take this vehicle off-road its wheelarches will be like big targets. And the size of its tyres, whose dimensions are 34.4” tall and 12.4” wide, means it will fl oat on mud and wet grass rather than biting down into it. It’s not the fi rst glamorous 4x4 to be ill-suited to typical British conditions in this way, but when it’s presented as an off-roader this is something we have to point up. Give me tyres about me that are lean!

The market seems to understand this, anyway. When Isuzu launched the AT35 those six years back, we asked one of its execs if he thought it would sell to off-road users rather than the look-at-me brigade and he said he hoped so: more recently, the same guy confi rmed that while it certainly does sell well, it is indeed to the look-at-me brigade.

And that’s fi ne, because people certainly do look at you. As they should, because the AT35 is arguably the most spectacular pick-up you can buy. It’s very good at what it was designed to do on glaciers back home in Iceland, and as a by-product it’s very good at what people buy it for here in Blighty. It’s just that as an off-road toy, or workhorse, the D-Max is better suited to typical British conditions with different mods to this.

Did we love driving it? Hell, yeah. Would we swap it for our own D-Max GO2? Hell, no. But mainly we did love driving it, and Salisbury Plain has rarely been such a blast.

SINCE 1982

G-Wagen? G-Whiz!

by Mike Hallett

Glancing through my local paper a few weeks ago, my eye was attracted to an advertisement lurking in the corner of one page. ‘Come and destroy a G-Wagen,’ it said.

A second look confi rmed it; they actually wanted people to come and try them out on their ‘special cross-country course.’ Clover Leaf Cars of Odiham, Hants must have taken leave of their senses, I thought.

Anyway, I phoned them and yes, they would be delighted to see me and yes, I could drive any of the examples they had at the demo.

Now, just in case you don’t know about the G Series, I will try and give you an update. There were many rumours in the early 70s of a possible competitor to the Range Rover emerging from Mercedes-Benz. The name ‘Explorer’ was bandied about, conjuring up visions of something really special from Germany’s fi nest. Then it went quiet for a while.

Eventually, several years ago, a rugged, boxy-looking vehicle made its fi rst tentative appearance from a factory in Graz, Austria. Produced jointly by Mercedes-Benz and SteyrPuch (remember the Hafl inger?), the Gelandewagen had fi nally arrived (‘gelande’ meaning ‘terrain’ or, in this context, ‘cross-country’). There are a great many variations of the theme, all based around the long or short chassis, including military versions.

It was to be the NEC Motor Show last year before we in the United Kingdom were fi nally offered the G-Series offi cially – although I did know of at least one that found its way into the Helensburgh area of Strathclyde in 1979, probably as a private import.

In their wisdom, Mercedes-Benz has restricted us to only four versions. These are the 280 GE and 300 GD estates, available in long or short-wheelbase form. More of this later.

I arrived at Clover Leaf’s demonstration to be introduced to various personalities connected with the dealers and Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd, including ‘Mr G-Wagen’ himself, Wolfgang Goetz. Now there is a man who knows his product.

At last, I was turned loose on the assembled vehicles. There were 17 available, all with something different to offer but all based on the four models for the UK market.

Engine options are easy. You can have a 2.8-litre fuel-injected petrol or a 3.0-litre diesel

Pretender to the Range Rover’s throne? I think not, but I could be wrong producing 156 and 88hp respectively. Whichever engine you go for, you may also specify a manual or automatic transmission. All this in either a short or long-wheelbase estate car. The short-wheelbase has only two doors, with seating for up to seven (if you include the two astronomically expensive but optional sideways facing seats in the back at £205.82 each). The long-wheelbase has four doors and will seat a maximum of nine – once again with the optional side benches, this time at £300.89 each. Both versions have a side-hinged rear door. As you would expect with Mercedes-Benz engineering, everything is extremely functional and the fi nish can only be described as superb.

A quick look round reveals long-travel coil suspension on all four corners, with radius arms and panhard rods to locate the axles. Now, where have I seen that before…? The two-speed transfer box is remotely mounted, connected to the primary box by a short shaft. Braking is by discs at the front and drums to the rear, with the handbrake operating on the rear only.

Power assisted steering and front and rear difflocks are standard for the UK specification. So are headlamp washers, a heated rear window, towing equipment, seat belts for five and radio interference suppression kit, though no radio is fitted. This is thought to be better left to the customer as the choice of ICE is so vast, which seems reasonable to me.

For my first mount, I selected a LWB 280 GE with manual transmission and off we went to the cross-country area.

Within minutes, I felt completely at home. Every control fell easily to hand and the vehicle was a delight to handle, big though it was. The gear change felt a little wishy-washy and not at all like a traditional 4x4 but I soon came to like it. There is bags of power for road use and the ride, though firmer than the Range Rover’s, is extremely comfortable.

The cross-country course was, to be honest, a little bit tame but, as was explained to me, they didn’t want to scare the wits out of their potential customers. However, there were one or two steep ascents and descents which were almost worthy of a trials section and these the LWB romped over with ease, only banging its belly on the sharper crests.

Pulling away from rest on a 45° slope could only be accomplished with both differentials locked. But I don’t think anything else would have done it with such ease or style.

I began to look forward to trying the short-wheelbase with the 2.8 engine. But when we got back to the vehicle park, the only SWB petrol immediately available was also automatic. What a blow! Still, beggars can’t be choosers etc, so off we went again.

Wow! Excuse my enthusiasm, but when your everyday transport is a Range Rover that can only ‘A pair of black beauties’

be described as geriatric, you tend to be very impressed by a new, 156-horsepower, fuel-injected projectile that has the same affinity for chromium shovels as a certain variety of manure. What is more, it does all the work for you, its 4-speed auto-box switching smoothly up and down with only the slightest jerk if you press-on really hard.

Off the road it comes into its own. I pulled every trick in the book on that vehicle, short of being downright dangerous. Clover Leaf’s man may not agree with that as his knuckles became progressively whiter and his grin more sickly. I thought he was going to get out at one stage when I asked if I could leave the designated course and try it out in other parts of the quarry. Still I was unable to find anything that would bring it to a halt, except the brakes of course. I would very much like to try it out in deep mud and water, none of which was available on the day.

I did scare myself once. On a normal steep descent (remember this had an auto box), engine braking was adequate to let you down under control provided you shoved it in first before you started off. There is, apparently, a lock up device on first. However, on one abnormally steep descent engine braking clearly wasn’t enough and gravity very nearly won that round. Nevertheless, I was very impressed with the automatic’s ability to handle such rapidly changing terrain.

I also tried an automatic SWB 300 GD, the diesel member of the family. It’s a bit sluggish, like most diesels, until you get it wound up and then it’s pretty quick. The high torque combined with the automatic transmission gives effortless clambering ability while maintaining complete control over all four wheels. One gets the feeling that on tickover alone, with diff-locks engaged, it would trundle happily up the side of a house.

Okay! I admit it. I was impressed, and the impossible dream – I want one. Just to show that I am not totally biased, however, there were one or two features that irritated me.

First, the front and rear differential lock selectors are clearly intended for the left-hand drive version. When the driver is on the right hand side, the selectors are easily reached but awkward to operate as they lean away from you as you pull them up. Second, the exhaust pipe projects below the chassis in the centre of the vehicle and appears vulnerable to damage from passing boulders.

Finally, the G-Wagen is not the most attractive vehicle that has come out of Germany. I have heard it compared with a number of unsavoury objects. Among them, ‘an old bread van’ (this of a Y-registered 300 GD!) and, dare I repeat it, ‘a long nosed version of the Sherpa.’

So it’s ugly! But I still want one.

Some time in the near future, we hope to bring you a full test of one of these machines. In the meantime, whereabouts is it going to fit in the 4x4 market? I honestly don’t think it will topple the Range Rover from ’top spot’ – it just doesn’t have the charisma. However the specialist body builders will be after it for ambulances, crash tenders, fire engines and so on, and I expect the top end of the Land Rover Station Wagon range will feel the pinch too. Time will tell.