MAX*D Issue 33

MAX*D THE MAGAZINE FOR ISUZU D-MAX AND MU-X OWNERS – GO YOUR OWN WAY

ISSUE 33

BOLDLY GO!

SHOOTING FOR THE STARS IN THE MOST ADVANCED D-MAX EVER BUILT FLINDERS RANGES

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LORD OF THE RAMP

WHY, WHEN AND HOW TO DO A SOUTH AUSTRALIAN WONDERLAND

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IT’S NOT TONY HAWK, IT’S THE SHEIK OF THE IRON SUMMIT

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CONTENTS

IN THIS ISSUE

ISSUE 33

Features

16

The Iron Sheik

COVID sidelined the world’s steepest portable 4WD demonstrator, the Iron Summit, but it’s back—and better!

18

Flinders Ranges

The Isuzu I-Venture Club found themselves in a South Australian offroad Eden. Why not do the same?

47

The getaway driver

When Bob spotted a rare Isuzu 117 Coupé accidentally put up for sale—

by Isuzu!—he pounced.

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

24

BOLDLY GO!

How much more fun could the latest edition of the D-MAX possibly be?

Take a closer look at Isuzu UTE Australia’s feedback-driven step into the future.

SUBSCRIBE to receive your next copy of MAX*D either digitally or printed and posted to you for FREE. Visit isuzuute.com.au/subscribe to make your choice.

CONTENTS

Up Front 06 News

A Wheels magazine win, an Alex Tobin medallist, the new D-MAX X-RIDER and the only beach Isuzu UTE has delightedly stuck on.

08 Readers’ Rides

Show us where your D-MAX or MU-X has taken you—and win!

12 Wishlist

A quality swag is key to maximum camping comfort under the stars.

14 Tech Head

A beginner’s guide to loose surfaces with I-Venture honcho and storied off-road veteran David Wilson.

Middle Ground 34 The List

Pies! Sushi! Camel burgers?

Belly up to the nation’s best and quirkiest off-beat eateries.

40 Hook, Line & Sinker

Tassie’s north is home to the world’s biggest King George Whiting.

42 Unsung Heroes

The top-tier Isuzu A-League owes it all to grassroots football. Meet the Brisbane Roar officer helping to foster tomorrow’s superstars.

44 Refuel

It’s a beefy mushroom classic with ‘adventure cook’ (and Fire to Fork YouTube wizard) Harry Fisher.

Outback 48 Dealer List

There’s a local Isuzu UTE Dealer near you right now. Find it here.

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

3

WELCOME HELLO AND WELCOME to the latest

edition of MAX*D magazine!

2023 was a year for the Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA) history books, with record annual sales cementing IUA as a top ten brand in the country for the second consecutive time. With 45,341 deliveries across both nameplates, the D-MAX was the third best-selling vehicle in Australia, while the MU-X placed as the third best-selling SUV in its segment.

As we reach the halfway point in 2024, IUA’s performance continues to impress, with sales tracking an incredible 46.6 per cent year-on-year increase. Both the

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

ISSUE 33

D-MAX and MU-X sit proudly among the top ten in the VFACTS rankings, reflecting their enduring popularity—and with supply greatly improved, many dealerships are stocked for immediate delivery.

Over the year I’ve had the privilege to experience first-hand the incredible work of our major partners. I visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service base in Brisbane, witnessing the profound impact they have on communities. The Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s Grand Final played in May was unforgettable—the electric atmosphere, the passionate crowds and the family-oriented spirit made it truly

special. And I’m proud to announce that we have renewed our partnership with Surf Life Saving Australia for another three years, reinforcing our commitment to that vital organisation.

In this edition we welcome the 2024 Isuzu D-MAX, an evolution of one of Australia’s favourite utes, which introduces improvements directly inspired by valuable customer feedback. Dive into the details on page 24, where we subject the new D-MAX to rigorous on- and off-road tests.

For the tech heads, lead I-Venture Club trainer David Wilson shares five essential

loose-surface tips for beginners on page 14, while I-Venture itself visits South Australia’s iconic Flinders Ranges on page 18. And then there’s a bucket list of off-beat foodie destinations on page 34.

The not-for-the-faint-hearted exploration of the Iron Summit on page 16 brings back my memorable (and slightly terrifying) first trip across the attraction. I heartily recommend taking a ride on the world’s steepest 4WD demonstration if you get the chance— it’s an experience that truly showcases the capability of Isuzu UTE’s vehicles.

On a personal note, the past year has

been incredibly fulfilling. I’ve been travelling this beautiful country, meeting many of you, and visiting over 60 Isuzu UTE dealers. My family has joined me on this adventure, including our beloved three-year-old Japanese Pomeranian and our 18-year-old cat. Both have adapted wonderfully to their new home after a lengthy 10-day quarantine at Melbourne Airport, and the MU-X has proven the perfect vehicle for all of us.

As we celebrate our achievements and look forward to the future, I want to thank you for being a part of the Isuzu UTE family. Here’s to continued success,

growth and unforgettable experiences— and, as always, enjoy the latest edition of MAX*D magazine!

Happy reading & safe motoring!

Junta Matsui Managing Director, Isuzu UTE Australia

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

5

LATEST NEWS

MAX*D is published on behalf of Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd by Smart As Media Locked Bag 327 Balmain, NSW, 2041 smartasmedia.com PUBLISHER Smart As Media smartasmedia.com ISUZU UTE AUSTRALIA MANAGING EDITORS Mark Harman, Maddy Winters maxd@iua.net.au EDITOR Ben Smithurst ben@smartasmedia.com ART DIRECTOR Guy Pendlebury guy@smartasmedia.com SUB-EDITOR Paul Rodger ADVERTISING SALES Nicole Prioste nicole@smartasmedia.com

Cover image: Matt Williams

Disclaimer: The information included in this magazine is intended for interest only. The opinions and views expressed in this magazine are provided in the writers’ personal capacities and are their sole responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of Isuzu UTE Australia or Smart As Media and must neither be regarded as constituting advice on any matter nor be interpreted as such. The reproduction of advertisements in this publication does not in any way imply endorsement by Isuzu UTE Australia or Smart As Media of products or services referred to therein.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A selection of the images featured in this publication has been sourced from iStock Images.

MAX*D magazine is proudly printed in Australia using renewable resources.

Hanno Gloss is an FSC Mixed Sources Certified paper, which ensures that all virgin pulp is derived from well-managed forests and controlled sources. It contains elemental chlorine-free bleached pulp and is manufactured by an ISO 14001 certified mill.

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Beached as: Isuzu UTE Australia locks in for three more years with Surf Life Saving Australia “THIS PARTNERSHIP will increase the capabilities

of surf lifesavers and lifeguards in day-to-day duties and allow them to focus on what they do best: saving lives.”

So said Surf Life Saving Australia CEO Adam Weir as his organisation renewed its partnership with Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA).

Joining forces in 2021, IUA has been a crucial ally in SLSA’s mission to safeguard beaches, providing annual contributions and a fleet of critically reliable ‘rescue-ready’ vehicles.

“All our lifesaving equipment needs to be

durable to withstand the challenging beach conditions and dependable when called upon by our surf lifesavers,” said Weir, “and the Isuzu D-MAX Ute and MU-X SUV are no exception.”

IUA Managing Director Junta Matsui was equally thrilled. “We recognise the importance of providing SLSA with vehicles that can withstand the rigours of beach patrols,” he said. “SLSA is embedded in the heart of local communities and we are extremely proud to continue our support.”

Wheels crowns MU-X Australia’s Best Value 4x4 SUV

MORE THAN HALF of all vehicles sold in Australia are Sports Utility Vehicles. The SUV is the world’s favourite category of vehicle, and with more than 150 different SUV nameplates from almost 50 manufacturers, Australia is one of the most competitive SUV marketplaces on Earth.

Which makes the Isuzu MU-X’s dominant victory in Wheels Magazine’s inaugural ‘Best Large SUV’ awards all the more impressive.

“The Isuzu MU-X beat everything else out of sight,” said Wheels editor Andy Enright.

“We crunched the numbers on insurance premiums, fuel bills, cost of servicing and depreciation, and the results were pretty conclusive: the Isuzu MU-X represents the best value over a three-year ownership period.”

“The clincher, its resale value, was by far the best in class, and that’s because Aussies know this vehicle and trust it to last.”

The win kicks off an exciting period for the MU-X, with the much-anticipated 1.9-litre addition having now arrived in Australia.

LATEST NEWS

The X-Rider Cometh

ANSWERING DEMAND AND bolstering the 2024 range to an impressive 25 variants, the popular D-MAX X-RIDER has joined the IUA line-up as a regular offering.

Exemplifying affordable, out-of-the-box off-road capability at a compelling price point, the X-RIDER is built upon the popular mid-spec D-MAX LS-M. With a sportier design aesthetic formerly reserved for the flagship X-TERRAIN, its features include a loopless soft tonneau and sports bar, bold Basalt Black and Gloss Black accents, the new 8.0-inch infotainment system and a dark interior trimmed with a black headlining and black accents throughout.

Joe Lolley wins the Alex Tobin medal (and the Macquarie Dragons win a D-MAX!)

Gamers win their way to the Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final Two winners relished an A-League finale for the ages after winning IUA’s Ultimate Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final Experience.

Mark F, from Western Australia, and Diana P, from Queensland, each won two corporate suite tickets to Australian domestic football’s season finale in May. They also scored $4500 gift vouchers to cover accommodation and flights for the sold-out game, which saw the Central Coast Mariners beat Melbourne Victory 3-1 to win back-to-back titles.

Mark and Diana entered by playing Isuzu’s ‘Road to the Final’ flash game at isuzuute.com.au, where they piloted a digital D-MAX through a fun obstacle course, jumping, collecting coins and power-ups, and dodging pitfalls.

CREATIVE SYDNEY FC midfielder Joe Lolley has officially been awarded the 2024 Alex Tobin Medal, presented by Isuzu UTE, as the player of the Isuzu UTE A-League season. The prize rewards the competition’s best and most consistent player, with votes tabled after every game by the expert Paramount ANZ football commentary team. It also supports grassroots football by providing the winner’s junior team with the choice of a brand-new Isuzu D-MAX or MU-X. Having arrived in Australia after helping Nottingham Forest secure its return to the Premier League in 2022, the star Englishman had a standout campaign with 12 goals and seven assists during the regular season. He nominated northern Sydney’s Macquarie Dragons FC as his junior club of choice. “It’s always nice to win a personal award which shows the hard work you’ve put in, week in, week out,” said Lolley.

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READERS’ RIDES

READERS’ RIDES There’s nothing better than going your own way. Tell us about it—and win.

JONATHON DAVIES LIVES: IVANHOE EAST, VIC DRIVES: 2023 D-MAX 4X4 X-TERRAIN This is my son Jayden and me taking on some beautiful mountain biking terrain in the Black Spur between Healesville and Marysville. He loves the truck!

Both of our electric bikes slide into the tray really nicely and we try to get out there on weekends and holidays whenever we can.

You can get the ute into some pretty remote locations, so we often go as far as we can and then unload the bikes and explore further from there.

We enjoy the freedom. It works as a mental health break for both of us, just escaping the pressures of the city and spending time together.

The trip from Melbourne is super comfortable with the leather interior and fantastic sound system. Actually, we both love the car—and the Volcanic Amber colour looks amazing. It’s also perfect for hunting and fishing trips.

PETER ROWELL LIVES: MOAMA, NSW DRIVES: 2023 MU-X 4X4 LS-T I used to run a 4WD school back in the day, but now I’m retired and I have a little farm down near Heathcote, which is about an hour away from home. And we have family up and down the coast, so we’re always putting in the highway miles—we’ve done 15,000km in the last nine months.

We’re just very happy with the MU-X—it’s our car for everything, whether we’re visiting interstate, ducking down to maintain the fences, or cutting a bit of firewood.

We actually managed to dismantle and fit a 3.6m-long extension dining table into the back the other day and there was still room for our luggage. And the dog!

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Disclaimer: Non-genuine aftermarket accessories and modifications are not recommended or endorsed by Isuzu UTE Australia.

For detailed information on ‘what is’ and ‘what is not’ covered by the Manufacturer’s Warranty please refer to the Warranty and Service Booklet.

READERS’ RIDES

JOHN HUGGARD LIVES: TAYLORS LAKES, VIC DRIVES: 2021 MU-X 4X4 LS-U We purchased a camper-trailer in 2016 as the entry level to travelling Australia. We wanted to test the waters without fully committing, but we just loved it. So we decided we would buy a caravan and go all-in, but needed a proper tow vehicle as well. Thus, after much research, we made the call for an MU-X. We’re on our way to Queensland now to escape the winter, with a vague plan to plonk down anywhere we like for three or four weeks if the fishing is good or I’m enjoying the local golf courses. What we like is the sense of adventure you have—there really is a rolling community. You can just pull up and chat—me about the tow cars, my wife about the caravans—and rub shoulders with like-minded people. Stop and say hello if you see us!

KERRY HAYNES LIVES: SALISBURY HEIGHTS, SA DRIVES: 2023 D-MAX X-4X4 TERRAIN I just love to get away whenever I can—even for just one-night camping trips. With the X-TERRAIN it’s just so easy to throw everything in the tub and off you go. It takes all the hassle out of preparation and you’re straight on the road and heading out of the city.

I’ve been to the Flinders, been to the Murray, done a few local trips to Mount Crawford, and you just can’t beat the campfire at night and the peace and the serenity.

I’ve had cargo rails installed across the tray of the D-MAX since this photo was taken and now I just pop the swag on top of that and sleep under the stars. And with the fridge, my deck chairs, my wood and all my food safely underneath, I have everything I need!

PETA OTTWAY LIVES: HUONVILLE, TAS DRIVES: 2020 MU-X 4X4 LS-U We live in Huonville in Tasmania on a 200-acre cattle farm and we flood nearly every single winter. Well, the river starts at Scotts Peak Dam, so one day we thought we’d take a drive up there before the rain started and see where all our water problems come from! That’s where we snapped this picture.

I would estimate that over 150 acres of our place regularly goes underwater, so we need a 4WD to deal with that. Sometimes it’s so deep that we’ve had to go out on kayaks and get the cattle in! But it’s not all work. Last year we took it over to the Deni Ute Muster, took the swag and the fridge and Jenga-ed it all into the back for an 11-day trip. We love the MU-X so much that my partner has just bought himself a D-MAX!

We are giving away five Visa gift cards to help you Go Your Own Way

A $100 VISA GIFT CARD!

$1 0 0 G

IFT CA

RD

Featured Readers’ Rides will each receive a $100 Visa gift card courtesy of Isuzu UTE Australia.

Simply send us a high-resolution image of your D-MAX or MU-X and a 100-word blurb, along with your VIN, name, contact details, suburb and model of your Isuzu, to maxd@iua.net.au

DEBIT

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

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READERS’ RIDES IN FOCUS

BRIGITTE AND TANYA’S BEACH-READY MU-X Where some saw a 2022 MU-X 4x4 LS-T, two budding adventurers saw a blank slate.

It’s been a little while since Fraser

Island reverted to its traditional name, K’Gari, but the off-roading experience it offers remains fundamentally the same—and fundamentally fun. “That’s probably where I got the bug,” says Brigitte, who now lives in Melbourne. “I remember heading over to Fraser when I was a kid, and sitting in the back and bouncing around. Four-wheel-driving is in the blood!

“It’s just that freedom: the feeling you

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can go anywhere and do anything. With the MU-X and the tent, we can take our dogs and we can do it on our own terms.”

If it is a bug, it’s the contagious kind.

Tanya admits to being less enthusiastic about the pair’s purchase—at least initially.

“Brigitte was definitely more excited,” she says. “It was her way of roping me into going four-wheel driving. My only prerequisite was that it had leather seats!

“That’s all changed now, though.”

The couple has added a variety of aftermarket additions and alterations— many bespoke. There’s the Opposite Lock bullbar, Ultra Winch winch, Supernova spotlights, Roadsafe recovery points, custom off-road bash plates, Milford towbar, Yakima roof platform, and an awning. Oh, and a personalised interior fit-out to suit their beloved dogs.

Which is to say: pooches don’t need seats. So Brigitte removed them.

“Yeah, we took the rear seats out

ourselves,” says Brigitte. “We quite specifically wanted to be able to store things underneath the floor, but the floor had to still be low enough that the dogs could be in there. So, we lifted the floor and now we put stuff under there— and the dogs sit on top.”

Turns out, the dogs aren’t the only animals who love the MU-X. “We were on Bruny Island and there were all these pademelons ,” says Brigitte, “beautiful little things, about the size of basketballs, and they’re very friendly.

“When we came out in the morning, there were pademelon tracks all up and over the bonnet. They’d been sitting up on the MU-X during the night.

“It was just a beautiful trip, driving through these streams flowing down from the hills onto the beach, nobody around. You feel like you’re a kid again.”

There’s nothing more timeless than island vibes—whenever the era.

STYLE. STRENGTH. FUNCTION. ARB BULL BARS

Designed, engineered and manufactured for maximum functionality, so you can confidently explore the road less travelled in your D-MAX.

LEARN MORE

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WISHLIST

BETTER THAN A TENT! 1

OZTRAIL BIKER EXPEDITION

BEST BUDGET OPTION Built primarily for two-wheeled explorers, OzTrail’s cost-effective product still delivers the main advantages a swag has over a tent.

Meaning it’s quick to erect, and durable and comfortable (albeit with just a 50mm mattress), but is especially compact when packed down, and lightweight at just 6.9kg.

There’s not a lot of head room, despite its domed end poles, but it’s a swag, not St Paul’s Cathedral; claustrophobics are generally not big swag buyers. Easy zip-top access gets you in speedily, and built-in mesh keeps bugs out.

RRP: $250 oztrail.com.au

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2

NEBULA 1550 SWAG

BEST OPULENCE Even with its metre of headroom, access from all four sides, and a luxurious 70mm mattress, this two-person couples swag only takes a couple of minutes to set up. Described as a ‘one-of-a-kind freestanding hybrid’—fancy talk for a combo of tent and swag—it’s super durable, with 360-degree views and a storm-mocking PU800mm waterhead rating. Built from 420gsm ripstop polycotton canvas and with a heavy-duty 600gsm PVC bucket floor, it’s the only place you’ll want to be in a deluge.

Besides the local pub. Or possibly back home. Or in the MU-X. RRP: $799 darche.com.au

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Ever wondered why swagmen were so jolly?

It’s because swags rule.

AOS BUSHMAN DELUXE

BEST AUSTRALIAN-MADE TRADITIONAL APEX SWAG Available in four sizes from single to queen, this locally built swag is lightweight and spacious, with a robust 70mm mattress and the ability to be set up in multiple configurations. There are twin zips running the full length of the swag and a fine mesh window built into the head panel to deter assorted sand flies, mozzies and midges.

Its 10-year warranty provides confidence and it comes with a carry bag big enough to cram in extra stuff, such as sleeping bags, pillows, and that child’s soft toy you didn’t see on pack-up, which you’ll now repeatedly scour the campsite for while they scream blue murder.

RRP: from $429 aussieoutbacksupplies.com

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DUNE 4WD KING TITAN

BEST VALUE BIG SPACE Perhaps you want a swag that’ll see you right for sleeping in the irradiated wastelands of a post-apocalyptic future. Or maybe you just want something for your weekend away at a festival every year or two. Dune’s 16kg double swag is a worthy compromise, with a high-density 70mm foam mattress and good internal space, height and ventilation, spacious windows for ventilation and reasonable durability. It’s perhaps not the easiest to roll up at first, but that’s a minor quibble— particularly with some sites we’ve spotted offering occasionally large discounts.

RRP: $499 anacondastores.com

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Products shown not to scale.

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TECH HEAD

LOOSE

2 GRAVEL ROADS

WORDS DAVID WILSON

SURFACES

Adopt my 20 per cent rule. Drop both your speed and tyre pressure by 20 per cent (stay under 80km/h compared to 100km/h and wipe 20 per cent off the advised bitumen pressure). Rural dirt can be sketchy so reducing your speed and tyre pressure means less likelihood of losing it. Lastly, use HIGH range 4WD. It’s at your fingertips and it’s free!

Five tips for beginners by I-Venture impresario David Wilson.

Planning on some four-wheel

driving? You should! It’s the best way to extract maximum fun from your D-MAX or MU-X! Keep this advice in mind when you’re thinking about some of those surfaces that can come back to bite the unprepared.

1 SAND

Beach or desert, hot or cold, reducing tyre pressure on sand is crucial. Your tyrepressure placard, located on the driver’s door sill, is there to give you a starting point for the bitumen. When sand beckons, ensure a 30-50 per cent reduction on that PSI/kPa number.

That creates a longer contact footprint between rubber and surface, which will float your boat rather than leave you floundering, and the straighter you can keep that steering wheel, the better. Use HIGH range (turn off traction and stability control) on the longer flatter sections and LOW range in the fluffy bits.

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3 MUD

Tackle mud like sand, especially in regards to steering.

Maintaining consistent momentum is your goal and flailing away at the steering wheel is akin to tapping the brakes.

Traction systems in new D-MAX and MU-X models can be helpful, but before we need to call on their help, some prudent tyre pressure reduction will make all the difference.

And don’t be a mug—if you can see tracks going into a bog, but there are no exit tracks, find something better to do!

4 ROCKS

‘Finesse’ isn’t a dirty word in the dirty world of off-roading. Far from it! Four-wheel-driving finesse is all about being very choosy about your wheel placement and throttle control, and you’ll find LOW range will help you achieve both in spades.

Picking your way through a rock-strewn trail with multiple gradients calls for plenty of torque. LOW range’s multiplier effect provides this.

You should also get out and eyeball the route ahead before committing to it. This will limit the chances of contacts on low-hanging fruit, such as sidesteps, door sills and bumpers.

Oh, and in case I didn’t mention it: tyre pressure. I like the 18PSI/125kPa to 20PSI/140kPa realm in rocky regions, such as we used on this edition’s Flinders Ranges trip (see the article from page 18) to deliver grip and minimise tyre compromises.

THE HELP BUTTONS Been eyeballing these buttons and unsure what they do?

Rough Terrain Mode

New for D-MAX in 2024 and seen in MU-X since 2021, Rough Terrain Mode (RTM) is a boon for harder (and most likely, rocky) trail progress. It now employs a new, lower engine speed algorithm to activate the vehicle’s already efficient Traction Control System (TCS).

Ordinarily when in LOW range, TCS will intervene around 1200rpm to restrict unwanted wheel-spin.

Push the RTM button, however, and you’ll notice that intervention at a much earlier 800-900rpm, meaning no noticeable interruption to your progress. That’s off-road gold dust!

Rear Diff-Lock

5 BITUMEN

Even the blacktop can be troublesome, especially in the wet. The first rains of the season can make driving particularly difficult, when a layer of invisible detergents and sludge built up on the road mixes with water to make for plenty of loosey-goosey moments.

If you’re a believer in 40PSI/275kPa being your day-in, day-out pressure and irrespective of the load you’re carrying, you can expect some slippery moments because the contact patch of your tread face is now less than it should be. Unless you’re carrying seriously excess baggage, 40PSI/275kPa is 25-30 per cent more air than your D-MAX or MU-X wants or needs.

If there are some sideways moments, rest assured help is always at hand with the high-speed saviour of many a modern motorist, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), trimming engine speed and tapping selective brakes to keep you safe and straight. It’s a life saver—literally.

The get-out-of-jail-free pass when you find yourself upcountry, and out at the pointy end of gnarly, has traditionally been rear diff-lock (RDL).

When a differential is ‘open’ (meaning there is no tractionenhancing facility being employed at that moment), power takes the path of least resistance. Typically this reveals itself in what I call a ‘diagonal’ moment, where two wheels out of four find themselves without traction, and thus doing their own thing, spinning wildly, and suddenly digging a hole.

This isn’t good.

Engaging the RDL will at least stop the rear-wheel shenanigans, hooking up both rear wheels as one, ensuring that both wheels turn at the same speed. Thus denying the previously spinning wheel of the pair from doing any more mischief, while the other, previously stationary wheel, is empowered to provide the drive.

In both instances have a read of the notes in the owner’s manual for a fuller description, but make sure any of these buttondepresses are deliberate. Just stabbing the button likely won’t activate the system.

INSIDE LINE

IRON SHEIK

THE

“HONESTLY,” SAYS

Iron Summit guru, reinventor and engineer Matt Taylor, “I hate it. I hate the Iron Summit with every fibre of my being.”

It’s not that Taylor doesn’t trust the six-metre high, 45-degree hydraulic mobile ramp that demonstrates the D-MAX and MU-X’s climbing and descending ability at shows around the country. He was a driver for the Iron Summit’s first iteration, under inventor builders Scott Anderson and Wayne Boatwright. “I‘ve probably got 10,000 runs over the Iron Summit under my belt,” he says. “But since I took delivery of it, I’ve only driven over it once. I don’t enjoy it.”

It’s just that, in his other life, Taylor is a professional stunt driver, having worked on films such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa and Maze Runner.

If he’s daunted, how would you react?

Where had the Iron Summit gone?

I bought it sight unseen from the property where it had been on the Hawkesbury River during the three-year break for COVID. I wasn’t sure how much flood damage it had sustained.

And? Structurally, it was in really, really good nick. But we had to rebuild the electronic and hydraulic systems, and we really wanted to differentiate it from the original

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because previously only the MU-X ever went up and over the Iron Summit. We just never had enough ramps in the approach and the departure angle for the longer ute to clear. Now we do both cars and from both directions, which means we can double the amount of rides. Once 300 rides in a day was an all-time record; in Melbourne last year, we did 650.

What’s the slope?

It’s around a six-metre length at a true 45-degree incline, and then you’re about seven metres in the air. To put that into perspective, that’s a 100 per cent gradient: one metre forward is one metre up or down. As a comparison, the steepest road in Australia has a 20 per cent gradient.

And if you are on the steepest of the four-wheel drive tracks in the bush, you’re on around a 50 per cent gradient, which is about 30 degrees. So experienced off-roaders love it the most. Those purists have been on steep tracks and then they go on the Iron Summit and they genuinely appreciate the mechanics.

And are there any modifications to the D-MAX and MU-X you drive over?

Nothing—a stock standard MU-X or D-MAX will do it in a heartbeat. That’s the beauty of it: we designed a ramp that would challenge all of our competitors.

Also, these are our transport vehicles.

Words: Ian Smith-White

Matt Taylor brought the world’s steepest portable 4WD demo, dubbed the Iron Summit 2.0, back to life. Here’s how…

They don’t get a day off, they’re either driving up and down the world’s steepest ramp, or towing the 3.5-tonne Iron Summit to the next stop. Last year we did nearly 40,000km in each car.

We have a selection (right) of shots of passengers’ faces on their way down.

Does everyone react differently?

The screamers are everybody’s favourite.

We were at the Deni Ute Muster, near the main stage, and some incredible artists were playing really loudly out across the huge sound venue that Deni is. And we had four girls in the car and, at one point, screaming for dear life, they muffled out the Deni Ute Muster.

Why do you hate it?

We had a new driver audition last month, one of the guys from Movie World who I worked with on Mad Max, and I’ve got GoPro footage of him quite literally about to soil himself. When you have that mechanical and driving aptitude, you know how close to the edge this ride really is.

There’s one or two degrees left in it—that’s it. The car goes up on that 45-degree ramp, but remember that it’s squatting over its rear axle as it rises. If you put an inclinometer on the sidestep, it goes to about 52 degrees because that’s how much the car is squatting. We are on the precipice of what physics will allow.

It’s around a six-metre length at a true 45-degree incline, and then you’re about seven metres in the air.

INSIDE LINE FACES

OF

THE IRON

SUMMIT

What’s it like to go over the top? Here are some reactions from punters on their way down.

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

17

THE SEAR TRAVELLER

South Australia’s Flinders Ranges is a 4WD paradise. Just ask the Isuzu I-Venture Club.

I

can admit, now, that I just didn’t ‘get’ the Flinders Ranges on my initial visit a decade ago. The flies were relentless, I missed the beach and why couldn’t I drive for five minutes without an emu trying to leap in front of my D-MAX? Perhaps I just went to the wrong places. Perhaps I was depressed (or the

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

emus were). Perhaps, back then, I didn’t appreciate the finer things. But I’ve just returned from a week in that arid and eternal off-roading wonderland, and now I feel compelled to tell everyone I meet.

Because I already can’t wait to go back.

Sometimes you don’t ‘get’ a place first time around. You need to find it.

Flinders Ranges

RCHERS

TRAVELLER

WORDS EVAN SPENCE IMAGES MARK HARMAN & GLEN SULLIVAN

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

19

TRAVELLER

I’ve found the magic of the Flinders and I predict that if you follow a similar path, you will absolutely have an amazing time—and you’ll get to sink your teeth into some of the best off-roading that this wide, brown land has to offer.

DAY ONE: WRANGLING THE WOWEE TRACK The I-Venture Club is open to D-MAX and MU-X owners from across the country. It’s the brand’s program for anyone who wants to get more confident behind the wheel of their off-roader—regardless of their ability— while meeting a bunch of new friends along the way.

We assembled on the first morning at Hawker, population 226, a former railway town around 365km north of Adelaide. The line moved in 1956 and the absence of trains robbed the place of commerce, but what the once-bustling village now lacks in people, it makes up for in charm.

Our convoy of Isuzu MU-X and D-MAX 4x4s, including the newly unveiled 1.9-litre Isuzu MU-X and updated MY24 D-MAX,

stopped for lunch at the Flinders Food Co, where we introduced ourselves and had a safety briefing. Enthusiasm was running high.

With the formalities out of the way, low-range 4x4 was engaged, diff-locks selected, and for those with newer models, Rough Terrain Mode activated—and boy, do I love that button.

We headed out to spend the day at Merna Mora Station to take on the challenging and suitably named Wowee Track.

Billed as ‘an adventure track for the experienced’, it makes the most of the Bourneburra range’s ridges with switchbacks.

It delivered us to a 360-degree panorama from Wilpena to Lake Torrens. The guides call it ‘an aerial view without the plane’, but that doesn’t do justice to the smells, the silence and the satisfaction of a day well-spent you get by driving in it.

If you’re planning on taking the same route—and I recommend it!—plan for a 90-minute to three-hour journey, although we took longer as we kept stopping to take pictures. It is that good.

DAY TWO: RED SAND AND FERAL FEASTS

It was time for something a little different.

Nilpena Station is world-famous, but not necessarily for four-wheel driving. In 2009, the David Attenborough TV series First Life let the rest of the planet know what had been blowing paleontologists’ minds here since 1985. The unassuming sheep and cattle station is the place where proof of the emergence of Earth’s earliest complex animal life has been found. Predating land animals—and even land plants—the fossils of mostly tubular or frond-shaped organisms date to 650 million years ago.

Less exciting in a scientific sense, maybe, but great for four-wheeling, are the station’s red dunes. Moreover, I was keen to test the 1.9-litre Isuzu MU-X on sand.

I was impressed with the performance of the 1.9-litre when in low-range. Piloting a 4WD on red sand is something I’ll never forget. It was challenging driving on the soft, powdery surface, but with a little momentum most of our convoy made it through unscathed.

© Tourism and Events Queensland

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

TRAVELLER

I was impressed with the performance of the 1.9-litre when in low-range. Piloting a 4WD on red sand is something I’ll never forget.

FIVE 4X4 ACCESSORIES TO BRING ON A FLINDERS ADVENTURE 1

Tyre deflator.

You’ll be adjusting tyre pressures regularly.

2

Air compressor.

What goes down …

3

A snorkel.

These can help to keep the dust out of the air filter.

4

Quality off-road tyres.

Multiple punctures are never fun.

5

Bull bar.

There are loads of animals out here, especially at dusk.

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21

TRAVELLER

For others, it was a lesson in how to safely and correctly use recovery techniques, such as using MAXTRAX recovery boards. And nothing quite builds camaraderie (or contributes to stories for later on that evening) like helping a fellow traveller get unstuck.

If the red sands of Nilpena weren’t exciting enough, lunch at the Prairie Hotel certainly would test the more adventurous members of almost any group. We sat down to a feast consisting of Emu Liver Pâté, Camel Salami, Kangaroo Jerky and, er, smoked ham.

I’m open minded, so will try anything once—it was delicious, too.

Pastoralist and cattleman Ross Fargher is a fourth-generation Flinders Ranges farmer; it was his family that sold two-thirds of Nilpena Station to the state government in 2016 to facilitate the creation of the Nilpena Ediacara National Park.

Ross and his wife Jane bought their ‘local’ in 1991 and it’s since become an icon of both Outback fine dining and unusual menu options. (You can read more about the Prairie Hotel on page 35.)

DAY THREE: TIME TO LIFT SOME WHEELS

We all knew Day Three was going to be a cracker, filled with technical low-range four-wheel driving and terrific banter among the group.

It’s always amazing to see people come out of their shells once they see just how capable their vehicles are, and after several days in each other’s company the repartee was flowing.

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STEPHEN AND MATT HALL, TOOWOOMBA, QUEENSLAND 2024 D-MAX 4X4 “This isn’t my first I-Venture Club trip—I’ve previously done the one at Gordon Country in Queensland and one of the Isuzu staff there said they were planning one to the Flinders.

My brother and I both had some time off, so we both went, well, why the hell not?

“The best part was the people you’re with—everyone had something in common. And just learning what your D-MAX is capable of—where and how to use your diff lock, and all the different modes, and having the trainer there. It opens up so much of the country, just seeing how easily this thing climbs some of those hills! And some of the ruts! There were a few moments there where you’re looking at it, and you’re looking at the trainer, and you’re looking back at the incline, and you’re like, ‘Are we really, really doing this? Are we really hitting that?’ And they did it easy!”

TRAVELLER

Things were about to get serious, and the skills of the last few days were put to test as we climbed Angorichina Trail.

TOP TIPS FOR A FLINDERS ADVENTURE HOW TO GET THERE?

Starting with a leisurely drive up to Stokes Hill Lookout we witnessed Wilpena Pound from elevation.

A naturally ringed ampitheatre of mountains (before being claimed by geologists, a ‘pound’ was an old English term for a livestock enclosure ringed by stone walls), Wilpena Pound is one of the most spectacular sites in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park.

Things were about to get serious and the skills of the last few days were put to test as we climbed Angorichina Trail and the Carey Hill Summit.

This saw the convoy lifting wheels, testing our traction control systems and smiling like lunatics. This is what I-Venture Club trips are all about: safety in numbers

and excellent guidance from Lead Instructor David Wilson. If ever you need assistance, be that changing a tyre or navigating tough terrain, Wilson and his team are there in a flash.

With tyres reinflated to roadgoing pressure, we headed back to our starting point at Wilpena Pound for a hot meal swapping stories around the fire.

We were also treated to a Welcome To Country ceremony and stargazing session from two local Adnyamathanha Aboriginal guides. They taught this group more about the area than any book could.

I tell you, you’ve gotta get out there and experience it for yourself.

Check what’s upcoming (and sign up!) at isuzuute.com.au/events/i-venture-club

South Australia’s Flinders Ranges are a popular 4x4 touring destination for those travelling from Victoria to Western Australia. Starting in Adelaide, to get to Wilpena Pound, take either the Inland Road through Clare Valley or drop into Port Augusta, the last major available stop, for supplies. From Adelaide to Wilpena Pound takes approximately five hours.

WHERE TO STAY? Wilpena Pound is an excellent park-up for a few days. Not only is it a stunning destination, with camping options as well as glamping tents and permanent accommodation, there’s also a swimming pool, which is a welcome sight after a long hot day on the tracks.

From Wilpena Pound you can easily do day trips to popular locations along the way. Arrange a Welcome To Country ceremony if you can at Wilpena Pound, called ‘Ikara’ in the Adnyamathanha language.

WHEN TO GO? The Flinders Ranges is accessible all year round, but it’s best to avoid the summer months as it gets very hot.

Locals recommend the seven-month stretch between April and October as the prime visiting period.

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COVER FEATURE

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

The MY24 D-MAX turns up the dials— and adds dials—and mainstreams a cool, blacked edition. But is it fun?

“Movin’ right along!

Footloose and fancy-free Getting there is half the fun Come share it with me.”

So sang Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear in the original Muppet Movie, back in 1979, when it was taken for granted that life was more about the journey than the destination. But that was an earlier age, when ‘getting there’ was different: less traffic, no red-light cameras, fewer influencers weaving across the road because they’re filming complicated in-car TikToks.

Was it more fun? It was certainly less safe. For example, if The Muppet Movie

WORDS BEN SMITHURST

was historically accurate, frogs were allowed to drive. But no matter how far we’ve moved on, the fundamental yearning remains: everyone wants to be able to enjoy their time behind the wheel.

Whether you’re lapping Australia, tackling rugged bush tracks, or simply completing your daily routine, life’s just better when you can go your own way, surrounded by creature comforts and great tech.

Kermit and Fozzie managed to enjoy their journey of discovery behind the wheel of a clapped-out 1951 Studebaker.

Imagine if they’d been driving a D-MAX. Or better still: a newly minted 2024 D-MAX X-RIDER. Let’s climb aboard.

Whether you’re lapping Australia, tackling rugged bush tracks, or simply completing your daily routine, life’s just better when you can go your own way.

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COVER FEATURE

Isuzu’s iconic ute has long established itself as one of the country’s most popular vehicles. Its on- and off-road credentials have been repeatedly bolstered since it arrived Down Under bearing Isuzu’s own badge for the first time in 2008.

Its success has been built on capability, dependability and its ability to help unlock the best of the Australian lifestyle. Arriving as a utilitarian workhorse 16 years ago, the D-MAX is now available in no fewer than 25 variants, from the entry-level 1.9-litre manual D-MAX SX Single Cab Chassis 4x2, to the tech-heavy hero 3.0-litre D-MAX X-TERRAIN 4x4. In 2023, that combo made the D-MAX Australia’s third best-selling car.

For this update, though, that result makes its ‘Go Your Own Way’ tagline a promise as well as a potential burden. Not just something it has to live up to, but to push forward.

With the pressure on, can the Isuzu keep moving right along? One thing is certain: in a D-MAX, finding out is half the fun.

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INTRIGUE AT FIRST GLANCE

The MY24 D-MAX finds the mother company intent on upping the ante.

This might be a facelifted edition, rather than an entirely clean-sheet model, but even so, its new tricks are considerable— and considered. Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA) is keenly aware of its importance.

“This update marks the most comprehensive update to the D-MAX since its local debut,” says IUA Managing Director Junta Matsui.

Most obvious is its significantly refreshed design, both outside and in. New exterior details include the latest evolution of Isuzu’s signature horizontal bar grille, a higher, prouder, squarer bonnet with creased

full-width detailing and eye-catching redesigned headlights.

Front and back are resolved with a robust continuous shoulder line, sleekly channelling aerodynamic flow and drawing the eye along the bodywork at the same time. The overall impression is of refined muscularity, with just a hint of aggression.

Then there are the extra updates to the halo models—including a new edition. The debuting X-RIDER and retailored X-TERRAIN both feature even bolder exterior flourishes: dark grey underbody spoilers, darkened accents and a menacing front bar design.

It’s a commanding and convincing package, offering unmistakable charisma while minimising fuss.

COVER FEATURE

THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE

Slip behind the wheel and even a cursory assessment of the D-MAX’s updated cabin reveals changes.

Most prominent, perhaps, is the availability of a new 9.0-inch infotainment screen, alongside an evolution of interior design and materials that demonstrates undeniable flair—and intriguing details.

(For example, the new upholstery trim and in-cabin design elements are influenced by the Japanese paperfolding art of Miura Origami, an example of sophisticated influences otherwise more familiar to the full-size executive class.)

That 9.0-inch infotainment display arrives on LS-U, LS-U+ and X-TERRAIN models, with new 8.0-inch touchscreens a feature on SX, LS-M and X-RIDER models.

With feedback from both customers and media directing their hand—the same input that influenced almost every aspect of the D-MAX’s recalibration Isuzu across the board—Isuzu has installed a completely new infotainment system.

There’s USB-C connectivity, voice recognition, DAB+ digital radio, and wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Off-road enthusiasts will appreciate the inclinometer, while Terrain Command 4x4 drive modes have been integrated into the system—affording the driver the ability to view essential systems at a simple tap and swipe of the screen.

Addressing customer requests, old-school manual tuning and volume dials have been added. Changing settings on the fly, or angled on a 4WD slope, is now simpler.

“Not only does the 2024 D-MAX feature specifications bespoke to the Australian market,” says Matsui-san, “but the design changes have also been influenced by the very feedback we’ve received from the media and customers over the past three years.”

Addressing customer requests, old-school manual tuning and volume dials have also been added.

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

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COVER FEATURE RULE THE ROAD … AND THE OFF-ROAD

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

The evolution of the Isuzu UTE face

ALL GRILLER NO FILLER

Technical bells and whistles are wonderful —and the D-MAX ticks those boxes and more—but Australian utes are first of all judged on gutsiness, reliability and functionality.

This has long been one of the D-MAX’s strong suits. CarsGuide reviewer Graham Smith glowingly described that debut 2008 D-MAX as capable of tackling the most challenging off-road trails, “its gutsy turbo-diesel happy to slug it out on steep climbs and rough tracks”.

Isuzu has been as comfortable off-road as Jim Henson’s hand in Kermit’s head ever since, and just as grippy. Now it’s even better, with its capability extended again.

With imposing ground clearance of up to 240mm, 800mm wading depth, and X-TERRAIN approach, departure and ramp-over angles of 30.5°, 19.0° and 23.8° respectively, it’s eager to explore. Add an updated Rough Terrain Mode (RTM), selectable dual-range 4WD and rear differential lock, and the D-MAX maximises torque-transfer and driveability across technical, slippery and uneven conditions.

Two engines are offered—a 110kW/ 350Nm 1.9-litre turbo-diesel (RZ4E-TC) or 140kW/450Nm 3.0-litre turbo-diesel (4JJ3-TCX)—paired with either a six-speed automatic or manual transmission with 4x2 or 4x4. Respective braked towing ranges from 2,800kg to 3,500kg, depending on the powertrain, maintaining the D-MAX’s hauler status.

The debutante grin

Bigger and bolder

2008

2012

Isuzu UTE arrives Down Under with a grin wrapped in fetchingly arranged chrome braces.

The facelifted, more muscular, 2015 D-MAX grille brought Klingon’sforehead furrows.

2010

A design step-change

Wider and more imposing, with the slight hint of an Incredible Hulk underbite.

COVER FEATURE

Isuzu has been as comfortable off-road as Jim Henson’s hand in Kermit’s head ever since, and just as grippy. Now it’s even better.

Sturdy and sculpted

Embracing refinement

A classic evolution delivers smoothly angled side pillars and bulked-up chrome for the D-MAX and just the hint of incisors for the MU-X.

Distinctive, more filigreed details for the all-conquering second-gen MU-X.

2021

2017 2013

‘Isuzu’ breaks free

MU-X arrives, allowing ‘Isuzu’ to sit untethered amid the flowing grille’s upper intake.

2020

2023

The third-gen D-MAX arrives, featuring cool vampire fangs and a top-bar integrated logo.

A more sophisticated D-MAX grille smooths its incisors with sculpted parallel lines.

A grille with bite

Style tempers aggression

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29

COVER FEATURE Early news from Japan described this D-MAX as IUA’s most capable vehicle to date. For Australian conditions, local input has elevated that easy proficiency even further.

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED

What would Kermit and Fozzie have thought of the 2024 D-MAX? Well, for one, there’d have been less breaking down. One of the old movie’s plot devices is that their clunker is so unreliable. ‘Getting there’ would have been faster and more fun (they could have taken an off-road detour or two), although halving the film’s run time might have affected the box office.

Driving is much better today. And no car has changed more for the better than the ute. Utes can now be plush family haulers, or workhorses, or both.

In fiction, as in real life, in Australia or interstellar, the fun factor on any journey of discovery will always depend on two things: the group’s vehicle and the group vibe.

Burke and Wills had smelly camels and squabbling men, and died.

Kermit and Fozzie drove an old banger, but they had each other.

Star Trek had a cool spaceship and a crew of close mates. They’re still at it.

Choosing your vehicle wisely has never been easier. High-tech, comfortable, safe and capable, the new D-MAX has that covered. Meaning you’re halfway to fun on any journey—even if your companions are muppets.

What would Kermit and Fozzie have thought of the 2024 D-MAX? For one, there’d have been less breaking down.

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SIX (MORE) OF THE BEST

A brief tour of new and updated features on the safest Isuzu ever built.

3D STEREO CAMERA

NEW

‘Gen4’ Stereo Camera hardware delivers wider peripheral vision and depth perception to identifying pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles and other vehicles faster and more accurately.

The numbers are impressive: field of view increases from 40 degrees to 120 degrees; vehicle detection range is up by 25 per cent to 150m and oncoming vehicle headlights can be detected from 700m.

NEW

NEW

WELCOME HEADLIGHT AND WELCOME LIGHT FUNCTIONS

Improving visibility and safety at night, all D-MAX models gain the new Welcome Headlight function, which partially illuminates exterior lights upon unlocking.

Featuring on LS-U, LS-U+ and X-TERRAIN models, the Welcome Light function activates the interior lights when you approach within two metres of the vehicle.

NEW

INTELLIGENT ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL (IACC)

REAR CROSS TRAFFIC BRAKE (RCTB)

Calibrated specifically for the Aussie market, this next-gen system recognises speed limit signs, including digital and overhead gantry signs—and allows the driver to match the mandated speed with the push of the ‘RES’ button on the steering wheel.

Designed to prevent accidents while reversing from a parking space or driveway, RCTB uses 24-GHz radar sensors to detect approaching vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians and will apply the brakes to avoid a collision or minimise its impact.

NEW

DIGITAL REVERSE CAMERA

Australians asked, Isuzu listened. A new digital reversing camera has been fitted to all models— including the cab chassis—dramatically improving image quality and brightness, and adding dynamic guidelines and a wider field of view. The lens has a hydrophobic coating to prevent water and dirt from obscuring vision, particularly handy when off-road.

LANE KEEP ASSIST (LKA)

UPDATE

Previously available only on D-MAX models with an automatic transmission, LKA is now available across the board. It has been revised to provide smoother steering intervention based on tracking the centre of the lane, rather than the outer lane markings.

D

COVER FEATURE

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COVER FEATURE

STOP THE PRESSES! A selection of Australia’s best automotive journos attended the MY24 D-MAX launch. Here’s a sample of what they said.

“Inside, I like how Is uzu has listened to feedback and given the D-MAX a new infotainment system , as well as a clearer instrument cluster setup.

Despite the change s everything is still simple, logical and w orks as it should.”

— carexpert.com.au

ps e e k t s ju e t u is “Th etter.” b d n a r e t t e b g gettin — drive.com.au

“We test ed the ne wR over an o ff-road co ough Terrain Mod e ur lumps an d it smoo se’s undulating t hly and im limited w pressively he independ el spin across eac hw en rear diff lo tly, while operatin heel g with th ck. It’s on e e for the off-roade hardcore rs but Isu zu’s inclu response ded it in to feedba ck from c ustomers — news.c .” om.au

u “The 2024 Isuz hD-MAX is a hig tech ute, that’s for sure.”

— drive.com.au

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

COVER FEATURE

kles “It tac ng so, hi everyt ssively” re so imp .au e.com v i r d —

If you’re in the ma rket for a sub$70k 4x4 ute, the 2024 D-MAX ticks all the right b oxes.”

— goauto.com.au

t by uzu D-MAX is no Is e th f o ty ri la u se, “The pop ers a no-nonsen accident. It deliv ectly acter that is perf ar ch g in rk o -w d har hicle l-of-the-trade ve o to a g n ei b to suited a play toy for d an k ee w e th g durin the weekend.” n o s ie il m fa s u adventuro u — maxxia.com.a

“The steering is smo oth and responsive, as is the quickwitted automatic ge arbox, and despite us tipping in to corners a little faster than w e would on our daily commute, there wasn’t much in the way of side-to-side body ro ll, and no complaints from th e rubber.”

— carsguide.com.au

“There’s a confiden ceinspiring surge of power an dt from stan orque dstill.”

—

plished away m co ac ly al u eq e ar s “D-MAX 4x4 ’re even better ey th w o n d an en m u from the bit -road traction ff o an f o n io it d ad e thanks to th Terrain Mode.” gh u o R ed b b u d em control syst – carsales.com.au

carexper t.com.au

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

33

THE OFFBEAT

South Au stralian To ur Commiss ion/Adam ism Bruzzone

THE LIST

FOODIE TRAIL

WORDS IAN SMITH-WHITE

South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC)

Your Isuzu is a go-anywhere machine, so why not seek out an off-the-beaten track dining destination?

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

THE LIST

SATC

THE PRAIRI

prairie hotel.c om.au

E HOTEL

Where: Almost 5 Parachil 00km no na, SA / rth of Ad It's mostl Best for e la id e y famou a n : Gourm d fe w hours s for its ic et feral fa menu of south of onic pub top-shelf L re a : k a e c u E yre, Para linary de but unex promisin chilna is light with pected fa g roo, ca a n it re s u o n .

T mel and wn galle expected he Prairie down to ry and m emu ‘on place.

Hotel’s ro a repast icrobrew your plate adside sig of feral a ery, and ’ , b porchett u n t their ga ntipasto s are fam a a—accom , smoked rishness ous in th panied b is, if anyth miso egg emselve your typ y South A s, p in ical Outb la g nt, buffa , mislead ustralian ack men lo Reube ing. Sittin boozer in wines an u of deep n g s a n d the dese d in-house wich and -fried th rt, with z Fargher L spit-roas ings in b ero prete ain-mari ager—is a ted nsion, po e s world aw .

It ’s almost seurs or ay from like a tre ironic endy inne bike afic r-city ionados. prairieh otel.com .au

F.O.O.D. WEEK Where: Orange, NSW Best for: A tasting-plate intro to the Central Tablelands It sounds like an extravaganza for carrot fans, but the Orange F.O.O.D. Festival is Australia’s longest-running food gala, having celebrated its 33rd birthday in April. Its 10-day program is full of highlights, from the opening Night Markets to the Sampson Street Lunch, held on a (closed) residential avenue on tables longer than the list of regrets of a middle-aged man at a Taylor Swift concert. As GQ noted in April, ‘quite simply, Orange is a must-visit for any budding foodie’. It’s also fun that it seems to have been named on purpose to irritate the sort of people who twitch when someone says “ATM machine”. (F.O.O.D. stands for ‘Food of Orange District’, making this, technically, the Orange Food of Orange District Festival.) orangefoodweek.com.au

orangefoo dweek.com .au

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

35

THE LIST

PARADISE BAKEHOUSE Where: Moore Park, Bundaberg, QLD / Best for: Aussie classics If you earned a dollar every time you passed a roadside sign advertising ‘the best pies on the coast’, life as a grey nomad would pay for itself. But Bundaberg’s Paradise Bakery has the walk to back their talk, taking out Best Plain Pie in the 34th Official Great Aussie Pie Competition in 2023. No mango-drizzled marinated Himalayan yak pies here; their ‘simple yet mouth-watering’ Chunky Steak pie was declared the winner out of 1600 entries at the industry expo Fine Food Australia in Sydney. Pick one up for just $6.40.

r st for : Meeting a maste

: Geeveston TAS / Be in MASAAKI’S SUSHI Wheret sus estro moved to Tasmania hi chef? The Japanese ma

lia’s bes palates Is Masaaki Koyama Austra fare to accustomise local al girl, using westernised loc a h wit e lov k Stein) in Ric ing as h 2007 after fall d internationals suc with big city foodies (an , ion sat sen a he’s w No to his food. .au his door. masaaki.com making the pilgrimage to

BANANA BOOGIE BAKERY Where: Belair, SA / Best for: Speed scoff

ing

Pies are fine, obviously, except when they drip lava-hot gravy onto your hand, then crotch, during cornering. That’s why driving purists agree that the sausage roll is the best driver’s on-road snack. Baker Jason Spencer says his “really buttery, melt-in-your-mouth” house-mad e puff pastry is the secret to his sausage rolls, which were awarded the nation’s best in 2023.

THE ENCHANTED FIG TREE

Tourism Australia / South Australian Tourism Commission

Where: Kangaroo Island, SA Best for: Magical realism A seasonal pop-up wilderness dining experience open from November to April (check the dates!), the Enchanted Fig Tree is part Tolkein and part Alice In Wonderland. Chef Stephanie Vass showcases local ingredients (and Kangaroo Island Spirits) in a series of ‘rooms’ divided by the limbs and cascading foliage of a 120-year-old fig tree. gastronomodining.com.au/ locations/the-enchanted-fig-tree

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

THE LIST

JAMALA WILDLIFE LODGE Where: Canberra, ACT Best for: Slight terror

Indulge in four-course African-themed gourmet dining with genuine, living hyenas and white lions separated from you by a sheet of glass. That’s the unnerving but exhilarating experience offered by Jamala Wildlife Lodge, in the nation’s capital, with a rotating seasonal menu served in their ‘Rainforest Cave’ room. Fare includes dishes such as native macadamia-crusted snapper or trio of wild mushroom risotto, each paired with selected Australian wines and Moët. Who’d have thought you could munch away while being watched by something that would happily devour you? Actually this is probably pretty common at cabinet room lunches. jamalawildlifelodge.com.au

TALI WIRU Where: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, NT / Best for: Once-in-a-lifetime dining Ever peered out across the billiard-table Outback flanks of Uluru in the gathering dark, marvelled at the electric ochre tones of The Rock (not Dwayne Johnson) and thought, ‘I could go yellowtail kingfish with yuzu pearls, fermented quandong salsa, scampi caviar and desert lime’? If so, the Australian Good Food Guide chef’s hatted, al fresco restaurant Tali Wiru has you covered. A four-course dinner is a substantial $440 a head, but few experiences rival this four-hour, 15-minute dining indulgence, served on a private dune alongside premium Australian wines. ayersrockresort.com.au/experiences/tali-wiru

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK Check out these highlights along the Red Centre Way: • Palm Valley • Red Bank Gorge • Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) • Rainbow Valley • Erldunda Roadhouse northernterritory.com/ articles/do-the-drive-touluru-like-a-pro

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

37

THE LIST

BELLY UP TO BRUNY ISLAND

Visit Victoria

Where: Bruny Island, TAS Best for: A tasty microcosm of the Apple Isle's artisans

South of Hobart and accessible by car ferry, Bruny Island’s 600 inhabitants punch above their weight in terms of artisanal produce. There’s the Bruny Island Beer Co., the Bruny Island Cheese Co., Australia’s most southern vineyard, Bruny Island Premium Wines, the Bruny Island House of Whisky, and even the Get Shucked oyster farm and restaurant. The latter may have missed the memo about naming conventions—would it have killed them to have worked a ‘Bruny’ in there?—but it does have a drive-through, so you can get shucking solo, or with a friend, without having to leave your Isuzu. “The world needs places like Tasmania,” says award-winning cheesemaker Nick Haddow. Try his Raw Milk C2, which won a Super Gold Medal at the World Cheese Awards 2023. brunyisland.org.au

PARKER STREET PROJECT Where: Dunkeld, VIC Best for: Casual classics

Next door, the Parker Street Project’s upmarket sibling restaurant, the chi-chi Royal Mail Hotel, has a 30,000-bottle wine cellar and Executive Chef Robin Wickens’ eight-course degustation. But the more casual Parker Street is a find of its own, with modern classic, seasonal fare made with garden-grown and locally sourced produce. royalmail.com.au/dining/parker-st-project

MARRICKVILLE PORK ROLL

Where: Marrickville, NSW Best for: The world's best sandwich

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MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

Hobart and Beyond

Nominated as Australia’s best by Masterchef host and banh mi obsessive Melissa Leong, this tiny hole-in-thewall in Sydney’s inner west has lines of punters waiting with a sort of keening look more familiar to methadone clinics.

Is the iconic crusty baguette plus cold cuts, páté and mayo, spring onion, chilli and the rest the world’s best sandwich?

(Yes.) restaurantwebexpert.com/ MarrickvillePorkRoll

HAVE YOU DINED YOUR OWN WAY?

Let us know! Send a high-resolution image of your al fresco D-MAX or MU-X dining location (including the car) with a 100word blurb, your VIN, name and contact details to maxd@iua.net.au and you could appear in Readers’ Rides (see pages 8-9).

HOOK, LINE & SINKER

HAIL TO

THE KING The north coast of Tasmania is home to the biggest King George Whiting in the world! Hook, Line and Sinker’s Andrew Hart recently revisited his home waters and found things had changed completely!

I

grew up fishing the north coast of Tasmania back in the 1990s. Every opportunity we would get we’d be fishing somewhere, usually on one of the jetties or wharfs towards the mouth of the Tamar River. We used to catch plenty of different fish. But we never, ever caught a whiting. Which is weird because nowadays the entire north coast including the Tamar River is absolutely chock-a-block full of one of the tastiest fish that swims: the King George Whiting.

And not only are there plenty of whiting, they are the biggest in the world.

40

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

WORDS ANDREW HART

That’s not a statement made lightly and it’s not my statement, either. They’re the words of South Australian fishing royalty, Shane Mensforth, who recently visited the state to target these extra-large KGWs! South Australia is the home of King George Whiting and has been forever and a day, so it’s kind of weird that a fishing journalist like Shane would plan a trip to Tasmania to go whiting fishing. He could have left the whiting-rich waters of the Spencer Gulf to come to the Apple Isle to catch trout, tuna, swordfish or huge bream—things, like serial killers, that South Australians just don’t catch!

Instead, he came to Tasmania to go whiting fishing.

As luck would have it, I heard he was coming so decided to join him for an episode of Hook, Line and Sinker.

We even ended up using my boat,

the big HLS Bar Crusher 780, which I hitched to my MU-X and towed to the lovely little north coast seaside hamlet of Bridport. The town is an hour north-east of Launceston and gives you good access to Waterhouse Island. That’s where we pointed the big Bar Crusher early one March morning.

Joining us for the trip was Damon ‘The Guru’ Sherriff. The Guru is no stranger to Hook, Line and Sinker and, as a Bridport local, knows plenty of good whiting spots.

He is also my cousin and was my partner in crime when it came to fishing the Tamar River all those years ago.

We made the 16km trip along the north coast to Waterhouse Island, probably driving over millions of whiting as we went, but the island is pretty and would make good footage.

The first fish to bite was a huge King George of almost 60cm. Shane caught it

HOOK, LINE & SINKER

The first fish to bite was a huge King George of almost 60cm. Shane caught it and declared that, if caught in South Australia, it would be the fish of a lifetime. and declared that, if caught in South Australia, it would be the fish of a lifetime.

Over the next few hours we managed to catch around 10 big whiting about the same length. The biggest we’ve heard of off the north coast is almost 70cm. That’s a silly-size whiting.

Why are they so big? No one really knows. But one thing is for sure, this species wasn’t in the area 20 years ago when I used to fish there with the Guru every chance I got. We didn’t even see a whiting. Now there’s a full-on fishery. So whether it’s a climate change thing or just a natural occurrence, Tassie whiting are now a thing!

The method to catch your Tassie King George Whiting is to fish over a sandy patch of bottom that is surrounded by weed. And all along the coast there are hundreds of square kilometres of such

country. In Tasmania we don’t use berley— you just anchor up, throw your baits into the sand hole and, if the whiting are there, you’ll soon know. If you don’t catch one in the first 10 or 15 minutes, simply pull up the anchor and move to the next spot.

We ended up filming a great episode of the program and, sure enough, Shane was happy to have achieved his mission.

Look out for his story in his online magazine South Australian Angler.

A new series of Hook, Line and Sinker is currently in production and will air later in 2024 on 7Mate.

The last series is available to stream on the 7Plus app.

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

41

UNSUNG HEROES

THE PIED PIPERS

OF GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL

WORDS BEN SMITHURST IMAGES IAIN CURRY

A-League community officers like the Brisbane Roar’s David Minnis are making sure the kids are alright.

Dutchman Johan Cruyff

was once tied up at gunpoint alongside his young family in a Spanish flat. Europe’s greatestever footballer managed to wriggle free, foiling the kidnap attempt. But then he pulled out of the 1978 World Cup. “There are moments in life,” the three-time Ballon d’Or winner explained, “in which there are other values”.

As Community Officer David Minnis, 40, poses with the Brisbane Roar’s Isuzu D-MAX, you suspect that almost anything short of kidnap may be preferable to a photo shoot.

Cruyff missed a World Cup for his kids and built a foundation to help handicapped children through sport.

Minnis had a much more modest semi-professional football career, but he’s just as devoted to the next generation.

“I never had a desire to coach older players or adults,” says the British expat. “For me, it’s always been fostering that enjoyment with the junior level.

“My job is really about getting kids involved—helping them fall in love with the game, getting them to be active, making friends and having fun. I love it.”

Working with Football Australia, the Roar runs multiple community engagement

42

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

programs, such as holiday clinics and school programs. Day to day, Minnis focuses firmly on the education space. It’s a busy but rewarding role.

In a 10-week term, for example, Minnis might run up to 10 separate, six-week programs at different schools, piloting his D-MAX between locations.

He’ll help between 170 and 230 bright-eyed little kickers in an average term.

It’s just as well that Brisbane Roar-liveried ute is well packed.

“When I first started, we handed out a Roar Active t-shirt to every single child that signed up for our programs,” says Minnis.

“Now we give everyone a size two skill ball with The Roar branding and an orange Roar drawstring bag.

“Nothing beats seeing them coming on, learning new skills and their faces lighting up.”

Youthful Roar Chief Operating Officer Zac Anderson is equally engaged. With a dozen-year playing career across Australia, UAE, Malaysia and Singapore, and caps for Australia in the Under-20s and Under-23s, the former A-League premiership winner knows the importance of looking ahead.

He credits people like Minnis, as well as the Roar’s own senior players, with the game’s huge

© Tiger Benji

BRISBANE ROAR FOUNDED

1957 (as the Brisbane Lions)

HOME GROUND

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

THE NUMBERS

AusPlay statistics say that more than 1.7 million Australians play football through clubs or venues— a net increase of over 250,000 players since 2016.

Football Australia says that 22 per cent of Australia’s participation base is female.

VISIT

brisbaneroar.com.au

strides forward in the Sunshine State—and nationally.

“We take our responsibility really seriously to be in schools, to be in clubs, and to really focus on our fans and our community,” he says.

Which top flight players are the biggest hit with the kids?

If you’ve been following the Matildas in recent years you’ll already have a decent idea.

“I’m sure the guys won’t mind me saying it, but the A-League Women’s girls really have a great relationship with both younger girls and younger boys,” says Anderson. “Players like Sharn Freier and Tameka Yallop, and then on the guys’ side the likes of Jack Hingert and Scott Neville ... the kids just really connect with them.”

Johan Cruyff was ahead of his time, as a player, a coach and in charming the children.

He said, “football has to be fun for kids or it doesn’t make sense”.

That spirit continues at the Roar, as well as at Isuzu UTE A-League clubs across the country.

“Everyone within the football community really appreciates what Isuzu does for us and it makes a huge impact on the league and our club,” says Anderson.

“I just can’t wait to grow it even more,” says Minnis.

UNSUNG HEROES

My job is really about getting kids involved— helping them fall in love with the game, getting them to be active, making friends and having fun. I love it.

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

43

REFUEL

HARRY FISHER’S

STEAK & MUSHROOM SAUCE

FOOD HARRY FISHER

Australia’s foremost ‘adventure cook’ produces a typically refined take on a classic combo.

“I HAVE

had more people say, ‘That’s the best camp meal I’ve ever had,’ after eating this than anything else I’ve cooked,” says peripatetic Fire to Fork campfire wizard Harry Fisher.

“It’s probably because it’s definitely a ‘sometimes’ meal. It’s expensive, decadent, not overly healthy, but an absolute winner for impressing your mates.”

The Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep time: 8 mins Total time: 40 mins GEAR • Wok or camp oven • Grill or Grill Basket

INGREDIENTS • Four 5cm-thick rib eye steaks with the bone in (1.2–1.5kg) • Pepper and salt • Olive oil • 300ml thickened cream (works fine with UHT cream if you're short on fridge room) • 1 onion • 200g sliced mushrooms • 2 cloves garlic • 75g salted butter METHOD 1. Dab the steak dry with a paper towel, smear with olive oil, add coarsely cracked salt and pepper to taste. Seal on a scorching hot grill for 45 seconds on each side (including the strip of fat).

2. While the steak is sealing, put a wok or camp oven on low heat with a knob of butter (around 50–75g). Once the steak

TIP:

has sealed, put it in the buttery pan or camp oven for approximately 20 minutes, turning every five minutes. If you have one, use a meat thermometer to know when the middle of the steak is 53°C (medium-rare).

3. While the meat is cooking, dice the onions and garlic. When the middle of your meat is cooked, take it off to rest, saving butter. Add mushrooms and onion to the butter the steak was cooking in, fry for two minutes, then add garlic and fry for a minute. Add the cream and stir every couple of minutes.

4. Get your steak and throw it on the hottest part of your hotplate (lots of flame and heat is good!) to give them a final seal and caramelise/ char the outside—around 45 seconds on each side.

5. Once the steaks are done, let them rest for five minutes as you finish the sauce.

6. Once the steak has rested, take the sauce off and serve them over the steak with plenty of roast veggies.

Find more of Harry’s recipes in Fire to Fork, exploringedenbooks.com 5 $39.9

You’ll probably only need half to a quarter of the sauce for the steak, so keep the other half and stir it through some pasta as a tasty leftovers meal the next day. Adding some crispy bacon and peas gives it a good texture and freshness.

44

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

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ISUZU MOMENTS

CLEVER MAN NABS A NOT-FOR-SALE PROTOTYPE

… and refuses to sell it back.

B

ob Blackwell is no mug. The young telephone technician was working at Ericsson when a mate told him about an unusual 1969 Isuzu 117 Coupé he’d spotted in a car yard in Heidelberg, Victoria. It was 1973.

The car was a hand-formed, non-production model, built in steel by legendary Italian design house Ghia.

The personal car belonging to the director of General

Motors-Holden had accidentally been put out into the lot. Big mistake.

“So I just went and bought it,” says Bob. “It cost me three-and-a-half grand!

When they found out, they rang me and offered me twice what I paid for it! Haha!”

Because he is no mug, Bob said no. And he’s had his special 117 Coupé ever since.

One of the last of its kind—only three came to

Australia and neither of the others are thought to have survived—Blackwell’s 117 Coupé is not without its quirks. Note, for example, that it has an unusual 1600cc twin cam motor and no wing mirrors at all, a form-overfunction design flourish (later amended) from Ghia guru Giorgetto Giugiaro’s pencil.

That’s okay. Bob doesn’t need a reflector to look back. He’s got the original.

‘When they found out, they rang me and offered me twice what I paid for it! Haha!’

Because he is no mug, Bob said no.

MAX*D GO YOUR OWN WAY

47

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CLICK HERE TO

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