Isuzu Vehicross

I bought a new car!! Ok, it’s not exactly new, but it is new to me, and it looks brand new. Actually nine years old and has not been in production for six years. It’s a 1998 Japanese version Isuzu Vehicross that’s been converted to left-side driver accommodation.

American Vehicross’s were released with 3.5 liter gasoline engines, but the Jap models come with a 3.2 liter V6. One of the fortunate synchroncities of the Vehicross is that it shares the same engine and drive-train of the Trooper of the same year. A total of 4309 Vehicross were produced, with the 4153 of them finding their way to the USA/Canada market. The remaining 156 were distributed to the UK and Japan.

Today, there are three of them in The Philippines, Two of them in the Metro-Manila area, and only one of them on the island of Mindanao. This one; mine, all mine.

There are some weird things about this vehicle that I can’t figure out. The odometer read 150,200 Km when I got it, that’s about 90,000 miles, but the carpet and seats show absolutely no wear at all. The body and original paint is in great shape, with no dings or scratches. I have bought several vehicles in the past with over 60,000 miles on them and they all showed significant signs of wear. I cannot believe this vehicle actually has 150,000 km on it. Another couple of weird things is that automatic climate control was not introduced until 2000, and my 1998 model has it. Rear child seat tethers were not introduced until the 2001 and my 1998 has them. However, 18-inch wheels were introduced in the 2000 model year and mine has 16-inch wheels, like the 1998 and 1999 models. Maybe the Japanese models ahd got the extras earlier than the American released models.

Under the hood, the engine compartment is immaculate. I know steam washing an engine compartment can erase a decade of of use and make it look new, but this engine shows no signs of such. There are no crannies of residual grime.

There are some great things about the Vehicross and a few cons as well. I’m getting about 5 km/l (kilometers per liter, about 11 mpg) in city driving. I have yet to take on a road trip, but I would not be surprised if the mileage doubled on a road trip. One of the reasons this critter is such a gas hog is that it is a “performance SUV”. It is also considered an “compact SUV”. The Vehicross is also known as Isuzu’s only “halo” vehicle. A halo vehicle is one that is designed to showcase and promote sales of other vehicles in the manufacturer’s lineup. Examples of halo cars are the Chevy Corvette and the Dodge Viper. People go to the dealership to look at them, but drive away in something a bit more practical.

The Vehicross does have its share of practical detriments. It is a two-door SUV and while the rear seats are plenty roomy and adjustable for two people, with plenty of legroom, getting through the door and into the back seat area is difficult. Another problem is visibility, looking out of the vehicle. Looking forward is no problem, but there is a serious blind side for this vehicle with a foot-wide steel partition separating the front window from the rear window, severely impacting over-the-shoulder views of the other lane.. Also, the rear door has the spare tire encased in it, with the tire eating into the rear-visibility; which is why many Vehicross owners have installed rear-looking cameras and dashboard displays to compensate.

On the plus side, this car can move. Its got a zero-to-sixty time of about eight seconds, which helps explain the poor gas mileage. It just flat out goes. There is nothing sissy about a Vehicross. It ia a brute from bumper to bumper, but at the same time is is also svelte. It handles like a sports car on the road. With all its ground clearance it is still a low-slung vehicle and has little body-roll in the corners.

The Vehicross is the answer to a question noone has ever asked. It was actually a concept vehicle at the 1993 Toyota Motor Show which eventually made its way into production. For me, this vehicle is a perfect fit as a daily driver in The Philippines. It can go anywhere, do anything, it’s fast and has an automatic transmission. While a manual transmission would be wonderful on this vehicle, the automatic makes for much more relaxed cruising.

I have yet to engage the 4WD system. However, there is a ditch across the road from my carport and I did get stuck in this ditch the first time I went into it. I shifted from normal 2-wheel-drive to 2-wheel TOD (Torque On Demand, which I presume either locks the rear differential or sends power to the wheel with the most resistance) and I came out of the ditch with no problem, no 4WD needed.

To me, this seems to be the perfect touring vehicle for The Philippines, and I plan to take it on some extended road trips in the not-too-distant future. Stay tuned for more.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 7th, 2007 at 14:23 and is filed under Philippines Driving, Philippines Expat Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.