Isuzu D-Max vs Toyota HiLux: Value vs Legacy

Both are quoted here as recommended retail prices before on-road costs, so the comparison is like for like. The X-Terrain sits second from the top of the D-Max range and the SR5 sits mid-to-upper in the HiLux range, which is why the gap is as wide as it is.

Read down that list and the picture is clear. The SR5 auto lands between the X-Rider and the LS-U, and even the SR5+ at $72,490 still undercuts the X-Terrain by $6,657. The old shorthand that the D-Max is the cheap ute and the HiLux is the expensive one no longer holds at the top of the range. It holds at the bottom, where the SX Crew Cab 4x4 is $7,290 under the SR5.

On fuel the HiLux is now the leaner of the two as well, at 7.2L/100km combined against 7.8 for the X-Terrain. That is 0.6L/100km the other way from where this comparison used to sit.

Both hold five-star ANCAP ratings, but they were earned under different protocols. The HiLux was rated in 2025 against the current, stricter criteria; the D-Max's five stars date from 2022 and cover all variants except the Blade. Both list AEB, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert as standard at these trims. On paper the safety kit is comparable, but the Toyota's rating is the more recent and therefore the harder-won one.

This is where the X-Terrain earns back some ground. It lists a 9-inch screen, wireless Apple CarPlay, leather-accented heated front seats and bi-LED headlights. The SR5 counters with an 8-inch screen, wired CarPlay and a digital rear-view mirror, on fabric seats. Spec for spec the Isuzu is the better-appointed cabin. The question is whether that equipment list is worth the $13,157 the Isuzu now asks on top.

Both are turbo-diesel workhorses, but the HiLux makes more power and more torque from a smaller engine, and uses less fuel doing it.

The HiLux's 2.8L makes 50Nm more torque than the D-Max's larger 3.0L, and 10kW more power. That is the more useful engine on paper for towing on highway inclines, where torque at low revs does the work. The D-Max used to answer with better economy, but on the current figures it no longer does: the HiLux is 0.6L/100km leaner combined. Both are rated to tow the same 3,500kg braked.

Both engines require DPF regeneration and AdBlue top-ups. Both should be avoided for short city-only trips. The DPF needs regular highway runs to stay healthy.

The D-Max X-Terrain is the better-equipped cabin of the two. Isuzu specified the current generation heavily on tech and trim, while the SR5 is more conservatively kitted for its price.

The D-Max gives you leather-accented seats, heated front seats, bi-LED headlights and wireless CarPlay, none of which the SR5 lists. It also has the longer tray at 1,570mm. But it now asks $13,157 more to do it, and the SR5 answers with a slightly higher payload. On the working numbers the two are close enough to call level; on price they are not.

The five-year maths used to be the D-Max's strongest argument. With the current list prices it goes the other way, and not by a small margin. The figures below use RRP rather than drive-away so nothing is buried in an on-road estimate, 15,000km a year at roughly $2.00 a litre for diesel, and industry-typical retention rates.

On those assumptions the HiLux SR5 is roughly $11,250 cheaper over five years. It starts $13,157 ahead and uses less fuel, and the D-Max only claws back about $1,950 on the servicing, insurance and tyre lines plus a slightly larger dollar figure at trade-in from the higher starting price. The gap is too big for running costs to close.

Keeping it longer does not rescue the X-Terrain either. The old argument was that the D-Max's running-cost advantage compounds past year five, but it no longer has one on fuel. If you want a D-Max on cost grounds, buy a cheaper D-Max: the SX Crew Cab 4x4 at $58,700 or the X-Rider at $65,242 use the same 3.0L drivetrain and tow the same 3,500kg.