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Mt Lofty House adventure in the Isuzu D-MAX BLADE

Rob Fraser

I recently spent a few days travelling around South Australia in an Isuzu D-MAX BLADE 4WD Ute. We used the historic Mt Lofty house as a base for our adventures. 

We arrived at Adelaide airport after considerable delays in our flight which eventually necessitated a new plane and pilot to take off.

The next few days were all about exploring the local region in the new D-MAX BLADE.

Isuzu D-MAX BLADE details

Isuzu D-MAX BLADE is based on the D-MAX LS-U+ version.

Readers can find everything you need to know about the D-MAX BLADE HERE. 

It comes with:

Background

BLADE functional additions

BLADE cosmetic improvements

Mt Lofty house

Our base for the few days exploring was Mt Lofty house,  which is a short half hour drive into the Adelaide Hills from the airport. As it turns out its a fairly flash place with stunning accommodation, matched by stunning views.

We were guests of Isuzu Ute Australia for the launch of the equally flash D-MAX BLADE. The D-MAX BLADE is the new top spec D-MAX. it has a lot of cosmetic and style additions as well as some functional improvements in suspension and under body protection. We had a few hours to really have a good look through the vehicles before we drove them the next day.

Dinner the first night, after the presentations, was at the in house Piccadilly Restaurant. Great vibes and excellent food.

The rooms were spot on. Usually the beds in a lot of places are a bit soft for my liking, but the bed in my room was form and comfortable.

After a great night sleep we were off early for the drive to our 4WD destination. The Adelaide Hills 4WD Park.

This was a scenic drive that took in some historic towns such as Hahndorf, Naime and Mt Barker en-route. This took in a bit of freeway driving as well as some back roads and a few windy hilly sections. The Adelaide Hills are a must do destination, its unbelievably scenic and with a lot of German history its different to the normal tourist spots.

The drive was perfect to test the new suspension on the BLADE. You can feel the difference with the new dampers and tyres. Its a smoother ride with tighter handling and slightly more responsive steering.

The second nights dinner was at the Coach House, again, in house and the food was again excellent.

Mt Lofty house to  Adelaide Hills 4WD Park.

Before us lay many acres of 4WD adventure. The park track range from easy through to technically difficult. There are sections that test wheel placements, grip, tyre slip, mud, sand and water crossings.

In short it has everything a 4WD enthusiast needs to have fun.

We started off with some tight short tracks, that immediately tested wheel articulation, grip and turning circle. The track necessitated the use of the new rough Terrain mode and the rear diff lock.

A big tick for the D-MAX BLADE up front. It handled it with ease.

Nest up was some more difficult hilly sections. Rough tracks that climbed the steep hills. There were rutted,with deep holes and rocky inclines.

Some sections saw the alternate front and rear wheels lifted off the ground by some 3-4 feet (that’s about 1.2-1.4 mtrs for the younger brigade). Again the low torque delivery of the 3.0L engine, torque converter transmission and rough terrain mode made short work if these sections.

Here wheel articulation saw the modified suspension keep tyres on the track longer for more stability and smoother progress.

This was followed by longer drive around the dirt tracks that tested the rebound of the dampers as well as a n easy water crossing. The 800mm wading depth wasn’t tested here. It seemed that the modified suspension was more at home over the dirt tracks at a faster speed.

I have to also say that the front seats were comfortable over the more gnarly sections. They were supportive and compensated for some heavy knocks.

Overall the D-MAX BLADE gets a big tick for off road adventures 

Next up is Goolwa Beach and the Mouth of the Murray River

The drive from Adelaide Hills 4WD Park to Goolwa Beach is about an hour. Its again takes along many back roads and some more windy sections for spirited driving if you desire.

The D-MAX Blade was empty, so you would expect a bit of typical Ute handling on these roads. The ride was a little jiggly at times, front to back, more than might have been expected with the new suspension. Handling was definitely improved.

Goolwa beach is the definition of where the river meets the sea. It is a 10 km drive from the surf club to the mouth of the Murray River.

We let the tyres down to 20 psi and to my surprise it was a short, easy drive straight onto the beach. I’m used to more difficult access tracks and paying exorbitant fees for the pleasure.

The beach itself is best accessed at low tide where there is plenty of hard packed sand and room.

About 7 km along there is an diversion track up into the smaller dunes as the beach almost disappears here. This was a touch churned up, but the BLADE made easy work of it.

Once we reached the mouth of the river, the sand gets a little softer here and requires more concentration.

Its a magical spot, and although we didn’t have time to test it, apparently an excellent fishing spot.

I love beach and sand driving, and the Goolwa section didn’t disappoint.

The Isuzu D-MAX is normally a strong beach performer, but the BLADE was so much better. I’ve driven a LOT of D-MAX’s on the beach so its easy to compare.

The combination of powerful 3.0L engine, six speed transmission, revised suspension and Goodyear Wrangler tyres makes beach driving simple.

Isuzu D-MAX BLADE makes beach driving simple 

Overall thoughts on the D-MAX BLADE.

This trip ticked off two more places I haven’t been to before, Goolwa beach and Adelaide Hills 4WD park. So I was in my happy place. Also the D-MAX is a happy place for me.

I like the style of the BLADE. It has a subtle bold design that promotes confidence in the vehicle.

Over the few days I drove, in all conditions, D-MAX BLADE did what was asked of it without fuss. 

Think of the BLADE like the HiLux Rogue. A style upgrade with some functional improvements as well.

A bit of background about MT Lofty House

Mount Lofty House was built in 1852 by prominent statesman Arthur Hardy as his summer house. Arthur Hardy is reminiscent of a South Australian Jay Gatsby; indeed his wife Martha described their lifestyle as ‘a kind of feudal splendour’.

Their beautiful manor soon became the state’s premier address for lavish and infamous parties for Adelaide’s elite of the day. From such lofty beginnings the manor was passed through a number of South Australian families, including a period as commune in the 1970s.

In the disastrous 1983 fires of Ash Wednesday Mount Lofty House was burnt to the ground before rising from the ashes like a phoenix to truly become one of South Australia’s great icons…

A bit of background on Adelaide Hills 4WD Park

Adelaide Hills 4WD Park offers a diverse range of experiences for all 4WD enthusiasts and our corporate / industry partners. Its especially kid friendly for holiday adventures.

The park recently got new owners who are slowly but surely revamping and improving the facilitates.

From recreational 4WD’ing, camping and accommodation options, introductory and accredited training options, there’s something for everyone at Adelaide Hills 4WD Park.  Events and meet ups for clubs and other industry events can be hosted at the park. 

​The vision for the park includes a phased approach to redeveloping a number of facets of the property. 

These changes will take time and we encourage you to come along for the ride and be a part of this exciting journey that will see Adelaide Hills 4WD Park become a world class standard 4WD Park and accommodation facility.

A bit of background on Goolwa Beach

Explore towering sand dunes, meander down quiet waterways and roam along snow-white sandy beaches. Goolwa is just an hour’s drive south of Adelaide and is a historic river port where the Murray mouth and Southern Ocean meet.

With front row seats to epic sunsets over the Coorong, an important Aboriginal culture of the Ngarrindjeri people, and abundant wildlife, Goolwa is a popular holiday destination.

Every odd-numbered year Goolwa hosts The Wooden Boat Festival celebrating the town’s historic wharf, maritime history and its modern beach-side lifestyle.

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