Well, in the process of dreaming up hunting trips to the mountains... but first need the transportation. I was thinking about getting an Isuzu Trooper, preferably a used one because i'm strapped for cash.
Now, ive heard mixed reviews from those who own them and others (my friend's love their Troopers, and stick by them to the death.) but an opposite example was cartalk last night, where they were basically saying that having trooper's in their garage's is what got their kids through college.

Any recommendations, or experience? I'd really appreciate all feedback! Thanks ~ SantiJS

Never owned an Isuzu, but the wife and I did a lot of research before we purchased our SUV. We finally decided on a 98 Nissan Pathfinder SE for the pluses of cargo room, excellent reliablity and the 4x4 option for the crappy winter weather.

I always liked the Jeep Cherokees too, but the wife thought they were too 'boxey'. Probably why we didnt consider the Trooper. Have a  friend who purchased an Isuzu Rodeo and for the money wasnt very pleased.

How much do you have to work with? Might help with some recommendations.

A good website for user/consumer report style reviews is Edmunds [url]www.edmunds.com[/url]

I had one.  An 86 Turbo Diesel.  It ran like a champ and the diesel was gutless, but it kept up with traffic on the highway.  You didn't pass too many folks, but it got 30MPG.  That's not bad for a 4x4 SUV!  I drove it across country a couple times.  Plenty of room, good AC, good heat, really not bad all around.  No power, but plenty of torque off-road.  Kinda "tinny" in the body.  Not the most solid of feeling bodies around.  Eventually wore out the engine and it was too expensive to fix.  The diesel was only on two years of Trooper and the parts actually cost more than labor!  It was cheaper to just buy another car.

I also had a 87 Isuzu pick-up.  That thing had a heat problem.  The engine got hot no matter what was tried, eventually the thing just overheated and died.  That was a gas engine.  Seems to be a somewhat common problem on the Isuzu gas engines of that time.  I've heard most complaints being linked to the gas engine.  They have poor coolant flow through the head, the head gets hot, warps, and that's all she wrote.  Look in the paper and notice how many Isuzus need engine work or just had a new head.  

They are a heavy vehicle for any 4-cyl engine.  The Isuzu V-6 is supposed to be the better of the V-6 enignes.  Earlier ones used the GM 2.8.  I'd personally go for one of those, because at least you can get parts cheap and anybody can work on them.  Also the 3.2GM is a drop-in replacement, solving any performance problems. I don't have experience with the Isuzu V-6, but after that overheating pick-up, I'm kinda gunshy about gas Isuzus. I'd buy another diesel in a heartbeat though.

Ross

I have a 92 Trooper and swear by it too!

I drive ALOT, on my job, about 40,000 miles a year. I put 250,000 plus miles on my Trooper in 6 years and had 3 problems with it.

1. Cassette player died, Radio replaced under warrenty

2. Lost a wheel bearing, around 180,000 miles

3. Fuel pump died around 210,000 miles (I figured at the time it pumped over 12,000 gallons before going south)

and other than consumables (tires/batteries/light bulbs, etc) that's it!

Now I drive a Company vehicle, better deal for me finiacally, to go this route. (Mini-van though [:X*] )

Trooper is in the garage, still drive it. Still looks good, most people think I'm full of it, when I tell them how many miles are on it, until they check the odometer.

Are they the Best looking SUV available, NO
Are they the slickest SUV available, NO
But I'll put my Trooper up against any SUV for reliablity/toughness out there (Humvee's excepted)
Would I buy another/recommend one, most definetly!

Had a '86 trooper for many years and miles. It was underpowered, but always started and never, ever got stuck. Wouldn't suggest it for towing, but love it otherwise.

I second the trooper buy. I've had two, the first being a '92 with the 2.8 six (17? HP). Nothing everwent wrong with this truck. I sold it with 120K on the OD and bought a 97 with the 3.2(195 hp) six. I only have 57K on the '97, but not a single problem yet. Right now I'm looking for a '99 or '00 for my wife, they had a make over in '98 that changed the front grill and added a 3.5 six(215hp). In my opinion troopers are the best SUV for the money. They are more reliable than the domestics, bigger than a toyota or nissan and can be had for less than the imports. I get about 17mpg around town and between 20mpg and 25mpg on the hiway depending on how much cargo I have and how fast I drive. I would sell my trooper if I could only find a Isuzu Vehicross. Good luck!

The Trooper is probably the only Izusu that they actually put some quality control into. Their other car and SUV models seem to be "disposable" after about 5 years. My friend used to work over at Izusu corporate headquarters handling warantee paperwork. The Trooper was the only model that really did not get a lot of recalls and repairs. The other models had a butt load. I can attest to the poor quality issues of the Izusu Impulse, it was good for about 4 years and then everything started to fall apart. Of course, there is a big price difference between the Trooper and their other SUV's, Rodeo, Amigo etc. You do get what you pay for.

Guys! thanks alot for your input!

Tomorrow im going out to test drive some Troopers!
thanks again for all your help!


~SantiJS