Isuzu D-Max 2.2 covers 1,756 km around Malaysia on one tank of diesel

KUALA LUMPUR: Two Isuzu D-Max pick-ups have finished a loop of Peninsular Malaysia without stopping once for fuel, covering 1,756 km on a single tank and arriving with more than four percent still sitting in the tank.

The run was Isuzu Malaysia's "One Tank. One Nation Challenge", and it was built around the brand's new 2.2-litre RZ4F-TC turbodiesel, the engine that replaced the long-serving 1.9-litre unit when the updated D-Max range launched here in March.

Also Read: 2026 Isuzu D-Max launched in Malaysia, new 2.2L engine 163 PS, 400 Nm and first auto single cab, from RM103k

The trucks left Balakong, Selangor on Monday 17 August and worked their way anti-clockwise through Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and back into Selangor, stopping at ten Isuzu dealerships along the way before finishing at the Isuzu 3S Centre in Jinjang, Kuala Lumpur on Saturday 22 August.

Isuzu says both trucks had enough left in them to carry on to Melaka again.

The two trucks used were a 2.2L 4x4 Auto Premium and a 2.2L 4x2 Auto Plus, which sit at RM141,821 and RM114,671 on the road without insurance.

The 2,164 cc engine makes 163 PS at 3,600 rpm and 400 Nm from 1,600 to 2,400 rpm, up 13 PS and 50 Nm on the old 1.9, and it drives through a new eight-speed automatic co-developed with Aisin. The seventh and eighth ratios are overdrives, which is the part that actually matters on a run like this.

Isuzu Malaysia's Chief Operating Officer for Light Commercial Vehicles, Kenichi Kudo, said the exercise was as much about road conditions as it was about the engine.

"The One Tank. One Nation Challenge was the result of us wanting to showcase the capability of the new Isuzu D-MAX and its 2.2-litre engine in a way that no others have done before. We also wanted to reflect the kind of road conditions that Malaysian motorists would face in their daily drives around the country including rain, heavy traffic, trunk roads, mountains and highways.

"Our confidence in its ability was great enough for us to publicize the entire drive with live updates on our social media pages so everyone could witness and openly follow its progress. We are proud that we took this challenge, proud that our 2.2L D-MAX accomplished what it set out to do, proud that we 'Kept the Manifest Real' in front of every Malaysian and delivered a result that proved beyond any doubt that the D-MAX remains the most fuel-efficient choice," said Kudo.

The 4x2 Auto Plus was driven by Sing Yuin Christy, who already holds a Malaysian Book of Records entry for the longest distance driven in a pick-up on one tank. She had previously done this sort of thing in a 3.0-litre D-Max X-Terrain, and reckons the smaller engine made her job easier.

"The throttle response of the new engine and the way its power delivery have been matched brilliantly to the ratios of the new 8-speed gearbox meant that we were usually in the correct gear for any given road condition. Cruising along trunk roads and highways in 7th and 8th gears also allowed us to coast along rather efficiently without needing too much throttle input thereby saving lots of fuel," said Christy.

The 4x2 Auto Plus is essentially the Standard double cab with the four-wheel drive hardware deleted, which Isuzu says takes around 80 kg out of the kerb weight along with the drag from the extra drivetrain components. 

What Isuzu did not mention about the trucks that completed the challenge are their fuel consumption figure. As a rough guestimate, working from the 76-litre tank and the stated four percent remaining, the run comes out at roughly 4.2 litres per 100 km, or a little over 23 km per litre.

That is a strong number for a body-on-frame pick-up, and it says good things about the eight-speed's overdrive ratios. Just bear in mind it came from experienced drivers running for economy over six days, so real-world figures on the school run will sit a bit higher.

Isuzu ran a "Guess the Final Mileage" contest alongside the drive with prizes worth over RM10,000. A participant from Kluang, Johor nailed the 1,756 km figure exactly and walked away with RM5,000 in grocery vouchers. Winner announcements are going out through Isuzu Malaysia's official social media pages.

Fuel economy has been the D-Max's argument in this segment for years, and it is the one area where it consistently gets ahead of the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton on paper.

With the 2026 range on sale in Malaysia from RM103,121 to RM162,938, the 2.2 is now doing that job for most of the line-up.