In the 90s Isuzu had a line-up of very bland, normal and functional vehicles for your 45 your old uncle to choose from. So who made this thing and stuck an Isuzu badge on it?
In 1997 Isuzu decided to show the world what their team of designers and engineers were capable of and the Vecr… Vehihi… VehiCROSS was born. The idea behind the VehiCROSS was to have a relatively lightweight, somewhat sporty and extremely capable off-road vehicle. Between 1997 and 2001, 5958 units were created with only 1805 right hand drive models destined to be sold in Japan between 1997 and 1999, with the other 4153 units gracing the US shores in left hand drive from 1999 to 2001. To put it into perspective, there’s almost as little VehiCROSSes in the world as Lamborghini Murcielagos… and there’s two on island.
So you’re probably thinking the VehiCROSS is built on a bespoke chassis and powered by some sort of mad 90s ‘futuristic’ electric motor or something… but no. Underneath the body with looks more confusing than a trigonometry question in 3rd grade is a humble second generation Isuzu Trooper albeit a shortened version of the chassis. Carrying over from the Trooper is the 3.5 L V6 which produces 215hp and 230lb-ft of torque, more than enough to keep the funky looking ‘off-roader’ from feeling sluggish. Rotational power is transferred to the wheels via a 4 speed automatic to all 4 wheels… sometimes.
The 4WD of the VehiCROSS dubbed “Torque On Demand” or TOD by BorgWarner is a computer controlled system which uses several sensors to monitor wheel speed, vehicle speed, steering angle and other parameters to distribute torque between the front and rear axles to maximise traction, varying from a 0:100 front-rear split to 50:50. The 4WD system can also be manually locked to 50:50 using the in-cabin transfer case gear lever, which also came straight out of a Trooper.
Looking at this ‘off-roader’ from the outside it’s not hard to believe the VehiCROSS has won two rally events in its time; the Paris Dakar Rally in 1998 and the Australian Safari Rally in 1999. This is in no small part to the VehiCROSS’ sophisticated 4WD, high ground clearance, light body and short nimble wheelbase. Even on the road going vehicles Isuzu has chosen to keep the rally derived monotube shock absorbers with external chambers.
Stepping into the VehiCROSS you’re expecting to have what the 90s thought was the future shoved in your face from every angle, but instead you get something that seems just right. Not too brash, not too bland. It’s full of grey but then again what late 90s Japanese interior isn’t full of grey? The interior layout is very ergonomic and the bolstered front seats are very impressive. The back however… is something akin to sitting inside an English text book, nothing really worth pointing out.
All in all the Isuzu VehiCROSS gets its main task, being an off-road vehicle, done very well. The “what was that” looks, throaty V6 and satisfactory handling characteristics are just a sweet, sweet bonus.
If you parked one of these in the middle of town with the keys in the ignition and door open, I’m pretty sure everyone would be too scared to actually take it.
