1996 Isuzu Rodeo Review

The Isuzu Rodeo LS is a sport/utility truck that acts much like a big, roomy luxury sedan.

That's exactly the way Isuzu wants the Rodeo to act, considering the many luxury car owners who are switching to posh sport/utility vehicles.

With today's computer-aided suspension design, Isuzu easily could make the Rodeo a hard-edged, stiff-riding machine with a definite macho feel. But that would significantly narrow the vehicle's market.

Isuzu thus has made the Rodeo feel fairly ``soft,'' with lazy ride motions. Add generous room for passengers in an attractive interior and good cargo space and you've got an undemanding, smooth-riding sport/utility that former luxury car owners can embrace.

That's not to say that the top-line Rodeo LS V-6 four-wheel-drive model I recently tested felt like a bucket of mush. It steered, handled and stopped acceptably for a tall, 4,165-pound vehicle--despite an on-center dead spot in the steering. Its quiet, 190-horsepower V-6 worked with a smooth automatic transmission to propel it from 0-60 m.p.h. in a fairly swift 10.3 seconds.

However, the 3.2-liter V-6 is rather small for a big, heavy sport/utility, and thus needs lots of revs to develop the best performance. Rivals such as the Chevrolet Blazer and Jeep Grand Cherokee have larger V-6s, which provide better performance with less fuss.

Although quiet, the solid-feeling Rodeo has a fair amount of wind noise at highway speeds. And narrow rear doors that should open wider make entry and exit difficult. As with most larger sport/utilities, the price paid for a high riding position is a higher-than-normal step-in and step-out height.

The trim-looking Rodeo has four doors and comes with two- or four-wheel drive and with a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. It's been around since 1990, and has undergone continual refinements.

New for 1996 is a shift-on-the-fly four-wheel-drive system that allows a driver to engage four-wheel operation at speeds up to 62 m.p.h. Horsepower of the V-6 has been increased from last year's 175 figure, thanks mainly to a better fuel-injection system.

Most people should forget the base Rodeo S, which is a $17,340 four-cylinder, 120-horsepower two-wheel-drive model with a manual transmission. It's underpowered and lacks high-line equipment craved by buyers of larger ``sport/utes.''

However, the base Rodeo delivers an estimated 18 m.p.g. in the city and 22 on highways. A Rodeo V-6 provides only 16 and 19 with the manual and 15 and 18 with the automatic.

Most Rodeo buyers order the higher-line, Rodeo S or LS V-6 models with an automatic transmission.

``Customers either get the $20,500-$23,690 S V-6 models with a $2,150 option package with items such as air conditioning, cruise control and power windows and locks. Or they buy the $25,840-$28,260 LS V-6 models, which come with lots of standard items,'' said Isuzu national spokesman Bryon Farnsworth.

The $1,195 leather seats in the Rodeo LS V-6 I drove would have made a Rolls-Royce owner feel at home. It even had a leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Even the 2.6-liter four-cylinder S has items such as dual air bags, variable-assist power steering, reclining front bucket seats with a folding armrest and AM/FM/cassette with four speakers. The S V-6 adds the 24-valve, single-overhead-camshaft six-cylinder, four-wheel disc brakes, complete instrumentation and outside spare tire.

The LS V-6 adds air conditioning, tilt steering column, split folding rear seat, power windows and door locks, cruise control, six-speaker premium audio system and wider tires. All Rodeos have rear anti-lock brakes, but a four-wheel anti-lock system can be added for $800.

The Rodeo is made in Lafayette, Ind., with the engine from Japan and items such as body panels and seats from North American suppliers. Honda buys the Rodeo from Isuzu--and sells it as the nearly identical Honda Passport. For many, that's a strong endorsement.