When is a car more than a car? When it creates opportunities to do something new; when it becomes a key to the world around you. This introduction might seem a little profound for a road test of something found mostly on job sites and farms, but stick with us.

Think about a refined grand tourer that makes a long drive to the coast more appealing; a trip that may not have been considered in something like a hatchback. It could be an off-roader that makes light work of traversing muddy, rocky tracks up to a remote camp site. It could be a pickup truck that makes it easy – dare we say enjoyable – to clear out unwanted junk, something that might usually take a few trips. With the new Isuzu D-Max, the result is something that seems to offer a bit of everything, adept enough racking up highway miles (once up to speed) and an accomplished hauler of items big or small.

The car itself is fine – reasonably well-specced and quite handsomely styled – and would seem a logical choice for those in the market, backed up by its various awards from British press. But beyond the drive, our week with the truck was a reminder of how important ‘utility’ is for car design.