The ’97 Isuzu Trooper we tested is similar to the Montero Sport in that it would be far better if it had a standout feature or two.
It has one novel item: mismatched swing-out rear doors-large on the left, small on the right. This allows you to carry a bundle of 2x4s or a ladder or a surfboard in back and still close one of the doors.
In the last few years we haven’t spotted many people with one Trooper door closed, one bulging with 2x4s, ladder or surfboard. Maybe we travel the wrong roads, but we find the doors a nuisance to use. And popping the hinge to close the large door invites pinched fingers.
Once those doors are open, the rear seats fold, but not flat. And without carpet covers on the seat backs, whatever you stick in back risks scratching the vinyl. And while Trooper offers metal tie-down hooks in the cargo bed to help secure the load, the metal hooks don’t have cloth covers like they do on the Infiniti QX4 to prevent valuable cargo from getting scratched.
The Trooper stands tall to make it easy to see down the road, a feature most women like, after they have gotten in or gotten out.
Trooper also seems to be a bit narrower than many of its sport-ute rivals, which means hip, thigh and arm room suffers and long-distance trips leave you a tad claustrophobic.
Up-and-down movement was good with minimal rocking or bouncing, but because you sit high, you will experience some lean in corners or wide-swing merger ramps.
Isuzu calls Trooper: “A standing two-ton reminder that the world is large . . . and it is waiting.”
Large, to be sure, but it’s waiting for a more stylish member of the SUV fraternity than this machine. And it’s waiting for a higher mileage rating than 14 m.p.g. city/18 highway with its 3.2-liter, 190-h.p., 24-valve, V-6.
The 4WD Trooper Ltd. we tested starts at $37,990. Only options were a plastic hood protector at $70 and a rear cargo mat at $80. Add $445 for freight.
