The all-new 2022 Isuzu MU-X goes on sale today! I am driving it right now and will bring you the full BabyDrive review on August 6 so keep a close eye on our socials to find out when it lands!
We can tell you lots about it already, so let’s take a look…
Let's start with its looks… The new Isuzu MU-X looks fantastic although it definitely looks like it will be more at home around suburbia and on the school run than the previous model. It looks smaller and less boxy and off-roady than the old one, which makes me feel more comfortable with it on the school run however perhaps less confident off-roading?
With its new SUV looks, it would be on your list of seven-seaters alongside the Mazda CX-9, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe etc. Two things it definitely has over the CX-9 is air vents in all three rows of seats and off-road capability! Being a 4WD too it promises to have fantastic off-road capability, putting it in competition with leading 4x4s like the Toyota Prado and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport too.
The new Isuzu MU-X has a 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity, 80-litre fuel tank and trailer sway control across the range so it is will be great for towing camper trailers or caravans for family holidays and weekends away too. For more adventurous family vacations it has a new ‘rough terrain mode' button in the central console to help get you out of any bogging and all models come with a rear diff lock to help you not get bogged in the first place.
The rear window shape has changed so it looks like the visibility will be decreased in the third-row however Isuzu has said the way it is designed, the visibility is actually greater for third-row passengers which should help with motion sickness and comfort for them and I’ll be sure to check that out this week while I’m putting through our BabyDrive testing.
Now let’s look at the interior changes…
My favourite interior feature has remained…
… the dashboard cup holders! There are twelve cup and bottle holders throughout the new MU-X and these ones below the air vents are great for keeping your drink cool and easy to reach while driving along!
Now onto the kids in the back! The previous model Isuzu MU-X was one of the few cars with three ISOFix across the second-row. Isuzu has done away with this and there are now only ISOFix in the two outer second-row seats. Isuzu said this was a decision based on safety and getting a better ANCAP safety rating.
There are still top tether anchorages on the back of all three second-row seats.
The new 2022 Isuzu MU-X may be more like the Mazda CX-9 in its looks but not in its third-row accessibility with child seats in the second row. Isuzu said the second-row seats have a tumble forward motion to access the third-row and they are 33% easier to operate in the new model than the previous one (how do you even measure that). With this in mind, you will still have to remove at least one child seat to get through to the third-row seats if you've more than one installed. But I will look more at that in detail and confirm it in my full review testing coming soon!
The door opening into the second-row seats is now wider because the B-pillar (that's the one behind the front seats) has been repositioned 25mm further forward, which is said to make getting in and out of the rear seats easier and I’ll see how that helps with rear-facing child seats and affects legroom for driver and front passenger as well as the third-row access etc in my testing.
Also, the ceiling now has a scalloped design which should increase headroom and make putting kids in and out of child seats much easier, as well as more headroom for tall rear passengers and lanky teenagers!
Isuzu says the second and third-row seats are wider and there is now more head, leg, foot, toe, hip and shoulder room across the second and third-row seats too and both have 22-degree reclining function which can help with some child seat installs as well as comfort for kids out of child seats.Â
The new Isuzu MU-X has eight airbags as standard including head curtain airbags all the way to the third row and a central airbag between the two front passengers.Â
The new 2022 MU-X has an extensive list of safety features, that you would expect to see in any new family SUV including blind spot monitoring (BSM), lane keep assist (LKA), forward collision warning (FCW), day and night auto emergency braking (AEB) and turn assist AEB, post-collision braking, driver attention assist, emergency lane keeping (ELK), lane departure prevention (LDP), unintended acelleration mitigation, rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA) and lane departure warning (LDW) to name some.
One of my favourite additions to the new Isuzu MU-X is it now has a digital speed reading… yippee! This will make it much easier to keep to the speed limits and it also has traffic sign recognition too and displays that alongside the speedometer. It can also recognise road signs and set the “intelligent speed limiter” to the limit on the sign to help stop you from getting in trouble with the cops, I mean to remain safe.
The adaptive cruise control (ACC) also works in queues of traffic too which is really helpful.
The New MU-X base model LS-M starts at $47,900 before on-road costs  Followed by the mid-range LS-U around $53,900 up to $59,900 for the LS-T top-spec model. All these are for two-wheel-drive versions and it costs $6000 to upgrade to 4WD. For the launch the LS-T 4WD has a special drive away price of $63,990, making it about the same price as an LS-U 4WD or LS-T 2WD once stamp duty, rego, delivery etc has been added.
BabyDrive-wise the main differences are the base model LS-M has rear parking sensors only and a 7” media screen. The mid-range LSU and top-spec LS-T come with front and rear parking sensors and a 9” media screen with sat-nav and voice command feature. The top-spec LS-T comes with electric adjusted and heated front seats and remote engine start from the key fob and an auto powered tailgate.
The media system has had a big update and all models have Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay as standard.
Lastly, the boot space has been improved too, Isuzu has done away with the weird boxy floor in the boot of the previous model and it is now a hip height, flat loading space which should be much better for carrying… everything! Prams, the family dog, camping equipment, shopping, school musical instruments and sports equipment etc. The boot space has increased in size too. The previous model MU-X held five shopping bags with all seats up so we may see one or two more fit now and it will be good to see if a pram will fit in the boot now with the increase in space.
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