File this under the list of Christmas gifts we wish we'd received, instead of green socks with reindeer and snowmen — a left-hand drive Isuzu D-Max/Holden Colorado with a 3.0-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel under the hood. This debadged tester was caught in a Midwestern snow storm, far from its balmier right-hand drive Thai or Australian habitats.
The D-Max/Colorado shares a common platform with the U.S.-only Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, minus the modern 160 horsepower oil burner and nicer interior, which can be optioned with Bluetooth, navigation and a rear backup camera.
What's this truck doing on these shores? It's been seen coming and going from several engineering facilities. It could belong to GM or Isuzu but more likely it's being tested by a diesel engineering company like AVL or Bosch for right-hand drive markets outside the U.S. Note the hood doesn't close flush with the front fenders, leading us to speculate about possible future engine mods. Time will tell.
In the meantime, guess we'll have to wait for Mahindra to introduce its diesel mid-size pickup in late 2009 to buy something similar here.
