Straight-line stability at high speeds is strong and crosswinds don’t seem to affect it either. Grip levels from those fat 245 mm tyres are adequate too.
Driving the Hi-Lander 1.9L Diesel MT
1,898 cc, 4-cylinder turbo-diesel produces 161 BHP & 360 Nm:
The Hi-Lander is powered by a 1.9L, 4-cylinder diesel engine that uses a variable geometry turbocharger. While this might sound like a downgrade from the 2.5L turbo-diesel that the old V-Cross used, it isn’t. In fact, this smaller unit produces more power and torque than the 2.5L engine.
While the old motor put out 134 BHP & 320 Nm, this one develops 161 BHP (@ 3,600 rpm) & 360 Nm (@ 2,000-2,500 rpm). The Hi-Lander has a kerb weight of 1,835 kg, which gives it a power-to-weight ratio of 88 BHP / ton & a torque-to-weight ratio of 196 Nm / ton. These figures mean that the Hi-Lander is not a fast vehicle, but it has more than adequate performance.
The 1.9L engine fires up with a typical UV-like diesel clatter, and there is a noticeable cabin + gear lever shake too. At idle, the gear lever keeps dancing around & continues to do so as you drive.
Press the clutch and you’ll find it to have a long travel, yet it is fairly light to operate. Starting off is easy. Low-end torque is excellent, the gearing is short and the truck can move forward even in 2nd gear without accelerator input. Heck, you can pull away from 0 km/h in 3rd gear with a li’l accelerator input. In-city driveability is a strong point. In most situations, you can pull along in the same gear itself, without needing a downshift. As an example, in 3rd gear with the rev-counter showing less than 1,000 rpm, press the accelerator and this truck pulls ahead without any hesitation. One can potter around in town in 4th at 40 km/h or 5th gear at 50 km/h, with the engine spinning at just over 1,000 rpm. The engine feels comfortable over 1,250 rpm.
The Hi-Lander is at home on the open road. The engine feels nice once the needle crosses 1,500 rpm and pulls strongly (it’s not a free-revving motor though). It is at its best in the 2,000 – 3,000 rpm range, and you can easily maintain pace in the fast lane of the expressway. The mid-range is punchy enough, and anyone tailgating you is in for a surprise! Just press the accelerator and watch him get smaller in the rearview mirror. There is sufficient power at your disposal to overtake slower-moving traffic. It’s only when you need to overtake very quickly or on steep inclines that you’ll feel the need to downshift. While the engine revs to 4,250 rpm, which is the start of the redline, it’s clearly not happy to see the higher end of the tachometer. Firstly, beyond 3,000 rpm, the speed increases slowly and when revved hard (over 3,500 rpm), the engine starts sounding harsh & strained. There’s no point taking the rpms too high. Long-distance cruisability is competent. The Hi-Lander has a 6-speed gearbox, which helps. 100 km/h is seen at ~1,900 rpm in 6th gear.
Those used to modern cars will find the gearshift vague and notchy. It has long throws, and the gates aren’t well-defined. What’s really bad is that 1st and reverse are in the same position, and while you need to use a slightly heavier hand to engage the reverse, there is not much of a difference when it comes to engaging 1st. This can be dangerous and means that you will need to pay attention while engaging 1st or reverse. There were times when I put the car in reverse while starting at a green light. It was here that the reverse parking sensors were helpful. They beeped every time the reverse gear was engaged, and largely the reason I didn’t accelerate and crash into the car behind.
Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)
In terms of NVH, as mentioned earlier, there is a noticeable cabin & gear lever shake on start-up. When idling, press the accelerator and the body tilts to the driver’s side! Vibrations are felt on the gear lever at idle and on acceleration, it moves. Vibrations are also felt on the steering, pedals and even the seat. The Hi-Lander has an old body-on-frame construction and it shows.
Noise levels inside the cabin are well-controlled for the type of vehicle the Hi-Lander is. However, compared to modern diesels, it does feel rather loud and disturbing. The engine starts with a typical diesel clatter, which is audible in the cabin. Once the motor warms up, the noise is lesser, but it is always audible. At higher revs, it sounds strained and harsh.
Road noise is heard at speeds in excess of 80 km/h; this noise increases as the speedometer climbs. Wind noise starts creeping into the cabin only after 110 km/h.
Bonnet gets a thick insulation sheet on the underside:
Fair amount of insulation on the firewall:
Mileage & Fuel economy
The Hi-Lander has a claimed fuel-efficiency figure of 12.4 km/l. During our test drive (which included a lot of idling and hard acceleration & braking), I managed to get over 10 km/l according to the MID. With better driving, we are pretty sure that the turbo-diesel will deliver better FE figures. The fuel tank capacity remains unchanged at 55 litres.
Suspension
The Hi-Lander comes with an independent double wishbone suspension with coil springs at the front…
…and leaf springs at the rear:
Ride Comfort
Leaf springs are a must for robust load-carrying applications. The Hi-Lander’s ride is far from plush. Things are still okay at the front, but in the back seat, it has that typical bumpiness experienced in UVs with leaf springs (especially when the loading bay is empty). At city speeds, the ride is jiggly, with even small road irregularities making themselves felt inside the cabin. At higher speeds, the bumpiness increases. On bad patches, the ride can get painful for those sitting in the rear seat. It can get jumpy on bad roads. There is simply no comparison with the ride comfort offered by same-price SUVs. This suspension is built to carry cargo, not passengers. You could improve comfort levels by adding weight to the loading bay. Just throw in a couple of sandbags and things should noticeably improve (weight will bring a performance + efficiency penalty though). What’s nice about the suspension is its quietness. This is genuinely one of the most silent suspensions we have experienced. The large tyres allow the vehicle to tackle large potholes easily and healthy ground clearance ensures that you don’t scrape the undercarriage anywhere.
Handling & Dynamics
Straight-line stability at high speeds is strong and crosswinds don’t seem to affect it either. Grip levels from those fat 245 mm tyres are adequate too. However, when it comes to cornering, there is a lot of body roll, which is expected from a tall body-on-frame vehicle. What’s more, if one gets ambitious and starts pushing the Hi-Lander hard into corners, it will fishtail like any other pickup (due to the light rear end). Once again, loading up the rear deck will help in keeping the vehicle planted. Drive it like a tall UV (and not a low-slung sedan), understand its limitations and you should be okay.
Steering
What regular drivers won’t like is the Isuzu’s steering. It’s a hydraulic unit that feels heavy at parking & slow speeds. Due to this, the steering requires a fair deal of effort to operate and gets cumbersome in crowded city areas. Of course, as the speedometer climbs, things aren’t so bad. Still, those used to the superlight EPS of modern cars won’t be able to live with such a heavy unit. On the open road, the steering offers sufficient weight. That helps the feeling of stability as well. But it still isn’t a communicative steering that you’ll enjoy using.
The Hi-Lander has a wide turning radius. This means you will be taking 3-point turns even where you didn’t expect to. This, coupled with the heavy steering and the sheer size of the vehicle, makes the Hi-Lander a poor choice for narrow + crowded areas.
Braking
In the braking department, the Hi-Lander performs satisfactorily. You get discs at the front and drums at the rear. While they have enough power to bring the truck to a standstill from high speeds, I would have liked to see discs at the rear (considering the price of the vehicle). The Hi-Lander gets 245/70 section tures which aid overall braking performance. ABS, EBD and Brake Assist are a part of standard equipment. The vehicle had no trouble stopping from high speeds in a straight line. On the downside, the pedal travels quite a long way before the brakes actually bite. This will take some getting used to. Pedal feel is also poor and there is a fair amount of nosedive under hard braking.
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