Bling isn’t everybody’s thing. For mu-X owners who want to do away with the shiny bits, there’s the Phantom Collection. This special variant gets a murdered-out look and it really looks good to boot. But there’s a catch. Right now, it’s only being offered in Thailand.
mu-X Phantom Collection says “no to chrome”, except for a few bits left
Photo: Isuzu
Based on the Ultimate variant in Thailand – which is the same as our PHDM LS-e – the Phantom Collection has taken to stripping much of the chrome off of the mu-X and replacing it with blacked-out pieces to minimize the proverbial “bling”. Not going with an obvious “black” nomenclature, the murdered-out treatment goes both inside and out in this special edition.
Looking at the exterior, the top bumper filler piece that sports the Isuzu badge is no longer finished in chrome. The lettering still is, though, but with the grill and foglight housings now finished in black, you get a more aggressive-looking SUV full frontal. The wheels still retain the design of what’s normally on the Ultimate, but in keeping up with the new motif, the shiny bits on what was its two-tone finish have been done away with for a solid black look.
The gray roof rails and step boards have also been swapped out for proper “Phantom” pieces.
Photo: Isuzu
On the inside, even Wednesday Addams would feel right at home. No more two-tone or brown-finished pieces on the dash or upholstery. Save for a few brushed faux metal pieces, it is, as you guessed, an all-black affair in the cabin. The Phantom is purely aesthetic so no changes were made to the hardware or technical bits and bobs.
What’s new in the Phantom, though, is the upholstery of choice. Isuzu is using what they call Cool Max leatherette in the Phantom Collection, which they say soaks up less heat than normal (synthetic) leather. In any tropical country, tinted or not, that’s always a plus point for any vehicle.
Photo: Isuzu
As we said, no hardware changes were implemented into the mu-X Phantom Collection, so the same choice of either a 3.0-liter turbodiesel engine or the smaller 1.9-liter RZ4E remains in the spec sheet.
With a good number of manufacturers going the “black” route, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. What can, or should, is that there’s no news on whether the mu-X Phantom Collection will make its way to the country. Sure, the mu-X looks awesome as is, but we can’t deny how a lot of aftermarket brands have started offering non-chrome replacement pieces. OEM is always king, so for a mu-X to come blacked out straight from the factory would be great.
Hello, Isuzu PH! Something to look forward to, yes? No?
