Class leading pickup truck

[Draigflag]

A mate of mine has recently purchased an Isuzu DMAX for his work. I'm pretty impressed with the Class leading towing capacity, and economy. It can tow 3.5 tonnes which is (7700 lbs approx) but can still return almost 40 MPG too, although he's currently getting 36 MPG.

Just thought i'd put a recommendation here for someone looking for tough reliable truck that can tow a fair amount and still get good economy!

http://isuzu.co.uk/the-range/blade/blade-overview/

[trollbait]

Isuzu is no longer in the US, but their i-series pick-up was a rebadged Colorado. So the new Colorado and this are likely the same.

[theholycow]

I'm turned off of Isuzu. Even if it was offered here I wouldn't want it. My wife's Isuzu Rode was poorly built with shoddy materials and bad engineering. Isuzu kept issuing recalls (probably forced by the NHTSA) but NOT honoring them. Even if they have improved I would not be ready to trust them.

If it is indeed a badge-engineered GM, which is pretty likely, I'd still be hesitant...not only will it be subject to Isuzu's post-sale service and support, but as much as I'm a GM fan I think they've been slipping in the past few years.

[Draigflag]

I understand, GM marks especialy Vaxhauls in the UK are very popular, and yet utterly unreliable too. At least you get a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty with them!

[Jay2TheRescue]

How is it that GM can build rock solid reliable trucks for the US market, but not the UK market?

[trollbait]

It doesn't appear that the American full size trucks are offered in the UK.

Originally Posted by theholycow

If it is indeed a badge-engineered GM, which is pretty likely, I'd still be hesitant...not only will it be subject to Isuzu's post-sale service and support, but as much as I'm a GM fan I think they've been slipping in the past few years.

In the US you would only be dealing with a Chevy or GMC dealer. Isuzu has been gone for quite some time now.

In what ways do you think GM is slipping? I think my 2013 Sonic is better than my old 2006 HHR was.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by trollbait

In what ways do you think GM is slipping? I think my 2013 Sonic is better than my old 2006 HHR was.

In trucks, not so much in cars. Reading descriptions of problems plaguing recent GM trucks, I get a general feeling that they have suffered at least as much as they have improved, compared to the types and frequencies of failures/deficiencies/etc common to GM trucks 15 years ago. I can't say I know whose I like better though. Lately I've become really disillusioned with the whole segment.*

As far as I can tell, GM's small cars like the Sonic are not only great, but seem to be standing tall amongst their competition.

*: Perhaps I'm just becoming too cynical; I think every web browser stinks now, and I suspect that every computer manufacturer is pretty bad too. These are not good things since I work in IT.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I understand in the full size segment, but I'd think that the reliability of an S10 could be equaled in a European model.

[Draigflag]

Generally US cars are considered a bit of a joke when you compare them to the stuff the rest of the World is building. Cars built for the US market seem reliable to Americans, but in reality, a huge engine that barely ticks above 1500 RPM, cruising up and down a highway with very few twists and turns every day, I think even the cheapest cars can withstand that. Now look at the rest of the World, narrow streets packed with cars that bump into each other all the time, tiny engines that require hard revving, hills, hairpins, jumps, potholes, unmade dirt roads, harsh weather conditions etc, our cars work much harder and have to go through a lot more on a daily basis.

As an example, I saw some tyres for sale in the US guaranteed to last 80,000 miles, I recently had to change my tyres after just 3500 miles. It gives an idea of the mechanical stresses and work loads our little cars are put through. I know a few people that have imported American cars, and in al honesty, they tend to rust and fall apart here much quicker.

In the UK each year we have the JD Power survey, it rates cars and manufactures based on customer satisfaction. Last year, the results showed that the top 13 manufactures were British, Japanese and German. Chevrolet came last with the spark being voted the worse car on sale. Vauxhall (GM) came 22 out of 27 Manufactures. Results are here:

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/full-results/1206903

[trollbait]

Jay- On the Chevy UK site, there were no trucks. Just a couple of crossovers. The Vauxhall site was the same except for a couple of commercial vans. This Isuzu might be the only GM truck they get.

THC- My friend has a 2005 GMC pick up and sections of the dash have been going out. Seems that was a problem in the past. But....it is an extra vehicle, rarely driven, and is still on the original battery.

GM has gotten a black eye with the ignition recall, but another recent recall was because people were ignoring the air bag idiot light. "You mean the air bags might not work with that light on. Didn't know." They could have handled the first better, but the second is an over reaction because they fumbled the first.