Isuzu
Motors India, the makers of the D-Max pickup trucks in India, flagged off its
three-day Isuzu Max Run Challenge from Vijayawada to Mumbai on September 23,
2014.Toru Kishimoto, Vice President, Isuzu Motors India flagged off the drive
at 6.00 am from Vijayawada. According to a company press release, the objective
of this drive is to showcase inter-city range fuel efficiency of Isuzu D-Max
pick-up truck in Indian road conditions.
The
vehicles reached near Hyderabad on the first day in a matter of few hours. The three
Isuzu D-Max vehicles will attempt to cover the distance between Vijayawada and
Mumbai in one full tank capacity. Starting from Vijayawada, the vehicles will
pass through Hyderabad, Solapur, and Pune before culminating the drive at
Mumbai on September 25, 2014.
All
three vehicles have been equipped with GPS Telemetry System. Data generated by
these GPS system will be collected and monitored to iron out manual errors,
validate the distance travelled and track the drive in real time. It will also
help assess the performance of Isuzu D-Max pick-up trucks in Indian condition
during the three day drive in tough Indian terrains, traffic and up-hill areas by
passing through the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra. Leading
audit firm KPMG is the drive process auditor and it will independently validate
the drive.
Flagging
off the drive, Toru Kishimoto said the Isuzu Max Run Challenge is Isuzu’s
global initiative to test and prove Isuzu vehicle’s fuel efficiency,
durability, reliability and range under real-world conditions. “This challenge
has been successfully completed in Australia, Philippines, Thailand, Middle
East and Malaysia. With the same philosophy, we are undertaking the Isuzu Max
Run Challenge in India to showcase that the Isuzu D-Max performs similarly on
Indian road conditions as it performs globally,” he added.
Vijayawada
was preferred as the flag-off location
because the new capital of Andhra Pradesh will be around Vijayawada. It is also
an important market for Isuzu. Further, Isuzu is coming up with its
manufacturing unit in this state as well.
The
three D-max vehicles comprise a D-Max Single cab flat deck and D-Max Space Cab
in both flat deck and arched deck variants. The D-Max is powered by a 2499cc,
4-cylinder intercooled turbocharged diesel engine, mated with a 5-speed manual
transmission. This engine pumps out 134 hp power @ 3600 rpm and 294 Nm torque @
1800-3200 rpm range, which enables D-Max to carry a payload of 1.2 tonnes. With
a 76 litre fuel tank, the vehicle has passenger-car
like interiors.
Picture of Isuzu D-Max vehicle en route to
Hyderabad, stop before a toll booth