Isuzu Ute Australia (IUA) have introduced a 1.9 litre diesel engine into their award-winning MU-X seven-seat SUV range. The 1.9-litre engine will be available in three variants, the LS-M 4×2, LS-M 4×4, and LS-U 4×4, joining the perennially popular 3.0 litre diesel powerplant in MU-X range.
This is the base model 2024 Isuzu MU-X LS-M with a 4×4 drivetrain and the smaller of the two diesel engines. This 1.9 litre turbo diesel engine has 110kW/350Nm and as with the 3.0 litre Isuzu diesel engine it’s paired to an Aisin six-speed automatic transmission. IUA claim this is the quieter of their two engines, but it still sounded like a rattly diesel to me and it also felt lazy under acceleration. The official combined cycle fuel economy of the 1.9L engine is 7.4L/100km and for my week I used 9.3L/100km driving in 2-High, 0.2L/100km more than the 3.0 litre engine in the Isuzu D-Max I drove the week before.
The 4×4 drivetrain comes with 4×4 Terrain Command: with 2-High, 4-High, and 4 -Low dual -range transfer case (4×4 models), a Rear-Diff Lock and Rough Terrain Mode (4×4 models). The maximum wading depth of the MU-X is 800mm and it has 230mm of ground clearance, with 28.6° approach, 22.6° ramp – over and 27.6° departure angles. The MU-X LS-M comes standard with 17-inch silver alloy wheels and 255/65R17 Dunlop AT25 All-Terrain tyres.
The maximum braked towing capacity of MU-X models fitted with the 1.9-litre engine is 3,000kg and the MU-X LS-M 1.9L 4×4 is able to carry up to 735kg, which positions it towards the top of its class. All up fitted to the vehicle the Tow Bar Kit costs $1,182.25, the 12-Pin Plug $393.25, and the Electronic Brake Controller $896.05.
The MU-X LS-M has keyless entry, but it’s not handsfree you have to press the button on the key fob to lock and unlock it, and it has push button start. The cabin of the MU-X LS-M is reflective of its base model status with cloth trim upholstery, polyurethane steering wheel and gear selector, hard plastic on the door trims, and carpet flooring. Thankfully my MU-X did have the optional rubber floor mats ($249.65) that cover the floors of the front, second, and third row floors and even go over the transmission tunnel in the second row, which is a must in a go-anywhere SUV like the MU-X.
Both front seats only have manual adjustment for recline and froward/back adjustment with the driver’s seat also getting manual seat height adjustment as well. The single zone climate control is operated using manual rotary switches and the basic infotainment has no sat nav and a bezel around screen that my tech-head son said could be measured in kilometres.
The 7.0-inch infotainment touchscreen comes with AM/FM radio, DAB+, Smart Phone Mirroring, Voice Recognition, wired Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay and 4-speaker audio. The cubby at the front of the centre console where your phone would go is hard plastic, so it could slide around, and one USB-A port, one 12V socket and one AUX jack are located here for phone charging/connection.
There’s plenty of storage in the cabin with upper and lower glove boxes and cup holders on either side of the dash that can also double as a pull-out storage drawer. The centre console has two rigid cup holders and good size drink bottle storage in the front door cubbies.
The 60/40 split fold second-row seats have manual recline adjustment, adequate head and leg room for me, and two ISOfix/three rear tether child seat restraint points for younger passengers. The second and third rows have roof vents only and these can be manual direction control and can be closed off. The centre seat folds down as an arm rest with two rigid cup holders in it and good-sized drink bottle storage in the rear door cubbies. There are two USB-A ports located at the rear of the centre console and one hook behind passenger seat that could be used to hang your handbag on.
To access the third row, you flip either of second row seats up and as such you can not have a car seat in the seat you are going to flip if you are planning to use the third-row seats all of the time. The third-row seats are only suitable for tween-sized children because there was just enough head and leg room for me, but I was very cramped, and there are no child seat restraint points in the third row seats. In addition to the roof mounted air vents the only other features in the third-row seats are a rigid cup holder/storage cubby above the wheel arches.
This ute-based SUV has class leading boot space of 311 litres with all seats up, in real-world terms this means that you can fit school bags in the boot when the third-row seats are in use. With the third row manually folded flat by pulling on the straps behind the seats there’s loads of space for luggage or a pram and a full weekly shop.
The boot is accessed via the power assisted tailgate that for me needed to lift a little higher as I felt like I was going to hit my head on it. The boot space has four substantial tie downs but they are located all at the rear of the boot two above the other in the base of the rear corners, one 12V socket and one light. There is a small amount of additional storage space under boot floor and the full size spare tyre is located under the rear of the vehicle.
Isuzu MU-X vehicles built from July 2022 are equipped with a revised driver knee airbag and instrument panel that provide improved safety performance and have a 5-star ANCAP (2022) safety rating that applies to all MU-X variants built from July 2022. The Adult Occupant Protection score is 86% (33.00 out of 38) and a Child Occupant Protection score of 85% (41.99 out of 49).
Isuzu’s Intelligent Driver Assistance System (IDAS), which includes AEB with Turn Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control, Traffic Sign Recognition, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Departure Prevention, Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Emergency Lane Keeping, Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Trailer Sway Control and eight airbags all come as standard on the MU-X LS-M.
ANCAP tests of the AEB Car-to-Car system showed GOOD performance, with collisions avoided or mitigated in all scenarios. The vehicle prevented collisions with an oncoming vehicle (turning across path) in some speed scenarios. Overall, effectiveness of the AEB Car-to-Car system performance was rated as GOOD. ANCAP tests of LKA functionality showed GOOD performance and emergency lane keeping was ADEQUATE, with overall performance classified as ADEQUATE with a score of 84%.
Automatic Bi-LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, with auto-levelling and automatic high beam control, and automatic windshield wipers come as standard as well, as does a standard reversing camera with dynamic guidelines and rear parking sensors only.
All new Isuzu vehicles have a six-year/150,000km warranty, and up to seven-year roadside assistance. The revised five-year/75,000km Flat Price Servicing program means you will pay $449 per service, which is undertaken every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.
Prices for the 24MY (2024) Isuzu MU-X 7-seat SUV range start at $47,400 before on-road costs for the MU-X LS-M 1.9L 4×2 and the 4×4 1.9L MU-X LS-M model starts at $53,400 plus on-roads. As tested with the options previously mentioned and premium paint ($695) Obsidian Grey this Isuzu MU-X LS-M 4×4 was $56,257 drive away. You can Build & Quote your MU-X online or visit your preferred Isuzu Ute dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| Comes standard with wired Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay | The noisy, sluggish diesel engine |
| Good-sized boot space | The basic fit out of the cabin |
| The rubber floor mats | Third row seats only suitable for tween-sized passengers |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.