They don’t built pickups tougher than Isuzu D-Max … and they don’t build Kiwis tougher than Davey Hughes.

A swashbuckling adventurer, Davey owns the Swazi brand of outdoor clothing. And he drives an Isuzu D-Max.

As a D-Max Tough Talker, Hughes is a brand ambassador for Isuzu, the pickup range launched last month at Fieldays.

“I took a long hard look at these new trucks before I committed to anything,” commented Hughes this week.

“I’ve given the D-Max a thorough test in the South Island back country: in Davey-talk that means I thrashed the bejeesus out of it. And I drove it down there from Auckland and back to Levin.

“A truck is like anything I deal with: it has to walk the talk.

“This pickup is one tough mutha, I’m calling it The Beast,” he quipped.
Hughes also calls his D-Max a Swazisuzu, reckoning it measures up to Swazi’s reputation as the world’s most durable outdoor clothing. Swazi is the official clothing of Isuzu D-Max.

Rugged Kiwi star of his own upcoming TV series ‘Adventures in Wild Places’ and book author, Hughes is a public face of a pickup brand tailored for New Zealand farmers and rural operators, contractors and city businesses, and weekend warriors.

“Davey is a natural fit with Isuzu D-Max,” commented the General Manager of Isuzu Pickups, Greg MacDonald. “He’s the ultimate D-Max Tough Talker.

“And Swazi, just like Isuzu, is a tough product of high quality. Plus of course Swazi is a proudly New Zealand-made product, just as the entire Isuzu New Zealand distributorship and dealer network are 100 percent locally-owned and operated.

“We see a great opportunity to have a huge amount of fun together with Davey and our products.

“Let’s face it, it’s easy enough to put a celebrity into a D-Max, but this guy really knows how to use it in some of the toughest country the model will ever encounter.
“Both Davey and the D-Max came back for more,” said Mr MacDonald.

With four models in the current D-Max range and more to be introduced in coming weeks, Isuzu pickups are currently available at nine dealers, part of a network which will grow to 20 from Whangarei to Invercargill in the next few months.

Auckland Central           Winger Commercial Isuzu

Waikato Waikato           Motor Group

Tauranga                       Tauranga Isuzu

Taupo                              Wings and Wheels

Napier                              Bayswater Vehicles

Hastings                         Bayswater Vehicles

Palmerston                     North McVerry Crawford Motors

Nelson                            Bowater Isuzu

Christchurch                  Silvester Isuzu