Is this the Toyota Prado’s worst nightmare?

The Toyota Prado has been an Australian favourite for decades, beloved for its spacious cabin and rugged, go-anywhere capability. But in 2024 it was surpassed by an unlikely challenger - the Isuzu MU-X.

The powerhouse Toyota, with a model in just about every market segment was beaten in the large SUV sales race by tiny Isuzu - a brand with just two models in Australia (the D-Max ute is the other). But with the Prado in the middle of a generational changeover and MU-X rising in popularity, the Isuzu sold nearly 18,000 examples of its seven-seat SUV to finish runner-up to the Ford Everest.

While Isuzu knows it will be tougher in the face of the new Prado coming fully on-stream in Toyota dealers, it isn’t lying down. For 2025 it has released an updated MU-X, that features refreshed styling, new specification and improved suspension.

“The updated 2025 MU-X represents a major milestone in the evolution of one of Australia’s favourite SUVs,” said Junta Matsui, Isuzu Ute Australia’s managing director.

“Built on a foundation of customer and media feedback, this significant update enhances packaging and specification across the range - keeping the MU-X at the pointy end of the highly-competitive large-SUV segment as one of the top choices.

“Following last year’s record-breaking sales results of nearly 18,000 vehicles sold and delivered, which was an increase of 27.2 per cent year-on-year, these updates further strengthen the MU-X’s appeal among motorists, effectively answering their calls and positioning it to continue its momentum on the sales charts.”

Isuzu hasn’t messed with a winning formula and the changes are focused on improving the areas where it had received feedback from customers and critics.

There’s new front and rear styling, as well as a new array of alloy wheel designs for a fresher look. While the 1.9-litre and 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engines remain unchanged, Isuzu has revised the suspension, introducing new dampers for a better on-road ride, without compromising its off-road capability.

The model range remains much the same, with the LS-M entry-grade, LS-U and LS-T mid-range but there’s a new hero model, the X-Terrain. This new flagship comes with black visual highlights, including its 20-inch gloss black alloy wheels, the horizontal bars on the grille, fog light surrounds and fender flares. It also gets a 7.0-inch digital instrument display, red ambient lighting and leather-accented trim with red and grey contrasting stitching. The X-Terrain is also exclusively available in Slate Grey metallic paint.

Prices have increased between $1000-$2000 across the range, but to counter that Isuzu is offering drive-away deals on three of the most popular models, the LS-M 1.9L 4×2 starts at $46,990, the LS-T 3.0 4×4 from $69,990 LS-T and the X-Terrain 3.0 4×4 for $73,990.