TheMercuryNews.com's view

Isuzu borrowed from Hollywood to create its new VehiCROSS sport-utility.

You know how in some sci-fi flicks the aliens look a lot like humans except they have pointed ears or big foreheads or webbed fingers? That’s how the VehiCROSS looks.

It could be your normal, run-of-the-mill sport-utility, except for:

The pointed plastic covers over the front lights;

The black matte hood insert;

The black plastic panels that encircle the lower body of the entire vehicle;

The exaggerated spare tire holder in the rear door.

Its a top-notch make-up job, one that turns the VehiCROSS into one of the most noticeable vehicles on the road.

Arriving as a concept vehicle in 1993, the VehiCROSS has been on sale in Japan for several years. It comes to the United States this summer.

Isuzu describes its exterior as “a techno-design more suited to the new millennium.” To me, it’s straight out of “Mad Max,” or perhaps something that could have been driven on the moon 30 years ago.

Spend a week in the VehiCROSS and you get used to the turned heads and pointed fingers. As the number of sport-utilities on the U.S. market nears 50, it’s quite a compliment to the small Japanese manufacturer that Isuzu can make one that stands alone.

And the VehiCROSS is more than just good for second looks. It’s a competent performer that’s a bit too trucky on-road (too much bounce) but more than adequate off-road thanks to skid plates and more than eight inches of ground clearance. Equipped with Isuzu’s torque-on-demand four-wheel-drive system, the VehiCROSS senses road conditions and adjusts torque from the rear wheels only to both the front and rear when extra traction is needed. A low gear is provided for the toughest off-road driving.

Acceleration is super, thanks to Isuzu’s 215-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 that’s also found in the heavier Trooper. A four-speed automatic is the only transmission offered.

Have no doubt, this is a small sport-utility. At 162.6 inches long, it’s shorter than Isuzu’s own Amigo or a two-door Jeep Cherokee but about two feet longer than a two-door Toyota RAV4. Yet, on the inside, the VehiCROSS is surprisingly roomy, with good head and shoulder room in both the front and the back seats. Getting into the vehicle isn’t as easy — I constantly bumped my head. And getting into the back seat, thanks to the size of the door openings and front seats that don’t come forward far enough, is a real bother. When I strapped my two boys inside, I did it from behind — kneeling in the rear cargo area and reaching over the second seats.

While I’m complaining, the controls to adjust the front seats are placed so fingers get smashed, and the rear cargo area is tiny. But the rear seats do fold fully forward if you’re not using them for people.

Finally, rear visibility is horrible, and those in the back seat don’t get much of a chance to view the outside world.

The VehiCROSS we drove had a sticker of just over $30,0 00. It was an Ironman edition, which gets special graphics on the outside, embossed Recaro seats — ours had a black and red interior — and a white-on-top, black-on-bottom color scheme. Official pace car of the 1998 Ironman Triathlon World Championship, the Ironman edition will represent about one-fifth of the estimated 2,500 VehiCROSS sales this year, Isuzu says.

The base VehiCROSS starts at $28,000.

It’s so unusual that it’s hard to think of competitors for the VehiCROSS. A RAV4 or Cherokee come to mind, but the Isuzu is a much more expensive proposition than those two.

Many of the looks came from younger buyers, some of them in customized Civics and Eclipses, so perhaps that’s the target market — twentysomething males who are moving into sport-utes but who don’t want to leave any of the attitude they put into their cars behind.

NUTS AND BOLTS

What we drove: 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS, a two-door, four-wheel-drive sport-utility with a 3.5-liter -6 and a four-speed automatic transmission.

Base price: $28,900

Price as tested (includes options and delivery charge): $30,389

Curb weight: 3,955 pounds

Length: 162.6 inches

Turning circle (curb to curb): 34.1 feet

Standard features: Torque-on-demand four-wheel-drive system; dual front air bags; under-body skid plates; rear window defogger; air conditioning; power windows and locks; AM/FM stereo with cassette; split, reclining rear seats; tilt steering; carbon-fiber-style interior trim; aero roof spoiler; 16-inch alloy wheels; locking aircraft-style fuel door; two-tone leather seats; 6-disc in-dash CD player; cruise control; keyless remote with anti-theft system; cargo net.

Options on test vehicle: Ironman edition with exterior graphics, embossed front seats, floor mats and wing-style roof rack; cargo mat

EPA figures: 15 mpg (city); 19 mpg (highway)