The Isuzu MU-X facelift carries various updates that should make it a stronger rival to the Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour
While Isuzu is yet to leave a sizeable dent on the sales of the Toyota Fortuner, its upcoming model, which is the 2018 Isuzu MU-X facelift, could help the company find some more premium SUV buyers.
The new Isuzu MU-X facelift will launch next month. It has already been spotted testing on numerous occasions, which means the company is not leaving any stone unturned to fine-tune the international SUV for the Indian market. The facelift will bring along several styling updates, which will all come together to make the SUV look fresher and bolder.
On the outside, the updates will include a more aggressive set of bumpers, new headlamps with daytime running lamps, LED tail lamps and bigger 18-inch alloy wheels. The interior will likely get a new dashboard that will look more premium. Its main highlight will be a centrally-positioned touchscreen and revised automatic climate control interface.
This is the same dashboard that is available on the Chinese-spec version. That said, Isuzu India might retain the current dashboard in order to keep the costs under a check. The current touchscreen infotainment unit lags a bit and Isuzu India might decide to update the system in order to improve the overall user experience.
The biggest update will lie under the hood. Powering the 2018 Isuzu MU-X will be a new 1.9-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine that outputs a maximum power of 150 PS and a peak torque of 350 Nm. It comes paired to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The premium Japanese SUV will offer the 4×4 hardware. The current 3.0-litre engine won’t be used anymore owing to its inability to meet the upcoming BS6 emission norms.
Like we said, the launch of the new 2018 Isuzu MU-X should happen next month. Prices are likely to see a minor increment, which will take the base price to roughly INR 25 lakh. However, in all probability, the various updates that the SUV will carry should be able to justify the increase in price.