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It was a Friday morning (pre-lockdown) and I was heading over to the friendly team at Pakenham Isuzu to ‘kick the tyres’ of their MU-X. To be honest, I had absolutely no idea what I was in for. I knew the MU-X was the ‘family mover’ version of the D-MAX, but that aside, I had no other opinion of the car.
It rolled around the showroom in 31-inch All Terrains on a set of ‘steelies’ supplied by the dealership, giving the car a nice, raw look. It had a large presence, a lot of room and an aggressive front end.
I was surprised and impressed. But the question still bounced around my head… was this a ‘fourby’ or a family 4X4?
As a strictly bush focused 4X4 I probably wouldn’t give it the biggest wrap on the planet because let’s face it, it doesn’t have a lot of clearance, the length is a little awkward and when you sit in the front seat you just wouldn’t want to damage the thing!
However, with leather seats and steering wheel, a smooth automatic transmission, a DVD player for the kids and huge cargo space which can actually turn into a humane level 7-seater, the MU-X is the PERFECT family mover.
On the road, the big SUV cruised modestly on the freeway without drinking diesel like a thirsty camel, the road noise wasn’t the greatest but for a 4WD type vehicle it definitely wasn’t bad. Isuzu used the 4JJ engine as the power plant for the MU-X which is widely regarded as the “ole reliable” in the 4X4 industry. It’s not the most powerful engine in the world, but you could tell that 4-cylinder would keep going for a million kilometres and never skip a beat. It’s a very torquey engine that isn’t so highly strung, so it’s perfect for towing, and being the wagon version of its ute brother the D-MAX, it felt like it would be the perfect rig to hook up the boat or jet skis to and head down to the coast or even load up the camper trailer and head to the bush.
At $54,990 brand new with cheaper variants available, the MU-X is the bang-for-buck competitor to the likes of the Honda CR-V, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and Subaru Forester. While it might not be as ‘high-tech’, the MU-X is a car that will take you and the family anywhere and everywhere for years on end.
For what you pay you get a fantastically reliable, well-balanced family mover with the option to take it off-road for the weekend and get a little down and dirty, which is something I, and a lot of owners love about it.
So, to answer my earlier question, I don’t think it matters. It doesn’t matter if the MU-X is a dedicated 4X4 or a dedicated family car because the reality is, it isn’t really either.
What the MU-X really is, is a trusty steed that works for you and your needs and isn’t held captive to a label it doesn’t need to fit in with.
If the MU-X sounds like the set of wheels you’re after, contact Eziway Leasing and talk to one of our friendly sales consultants or use the interactive Search Cars feature on our website to get a quick quote on the vehicle.
AUTHOR
James Gozzo | Car Club Content Writer
T 03 8768 5777
E james@eziway.net.au