The name certainly conjures images of the SUV market as a battleground; if that’s the case, then the Isuzu Trooper is certainly one of the most grizzled and battle-hardened veterans out there.  One look at the square, upright design and trucky stance tells you that this sport-ute dates back to a time when crawling through the mud was a higher priority than picking up the Little League team.  Unlike many sport-utes these days, the Trooper is proud to be a Truck, with a capital T.

The 2001 Isuzu Trooper’s body is over a decade old.  That doesn’t mean it’s archaic, of course.  Running improvements such as a two-wheel drive model have kept it in the game as the competition has switched to more modern designs and powerplants.  For 2001 Isuzu has added a limited-production Anniversary Edition which features monochromatic paint, special wheels and trim, and a Nakamichi sound system to the sheet, but not much else.

Of course, all of that is garnish on a boxy design that’s gotten just a little bit too familiar over the years.  Newer SUVs like the Lexus RX300 and Acura MD-X make the straight-edged Trooper look impossibly staid by comparison.  The Trooper has been smoothed and tucked over the years, but it’s still basically a box on top of another box, with a straight-line grille and only modest attempts at character lines.  We didn’t care for the optional 16″ wheels, or for the new-for-2001 gold trim option featured on our Trooper Limited test vehicle.  The upright stance is a classic, truckish one, and will appeal to fans of serious off-roading who think that newer trucks are too “soft.”

The interior is a throwback also.  The upright, bus-like dashboard and haphazardly placed ancillary controls date the Trooper’s development to the mid-1980s.  Thanks to the high roof, visibility is excellent, however.  There’s a high step-in (this is one of the few SUVs that really needs running boards), and once you’re there the seats are reasonably comfortable for short trips.  For longer trips we found ourselves wishing the lower cushion was angled differently, but this is a truck, and trucks are like that.  The Trooper’s unique 70/30 split rear door is handy for loading cargo into the barnlike rear cabin.

215 horsepower is adequate motivation for the 4600-pound Trooper.  We weren’t expecting a Camaro, and found the acceleration to be on par with other SUVs.  The 3.5 liter 24-valve V6 is an all-aluminum unit, and is biased toward making torque rather than outright power.  The Trooper’s torque peak is at 3000 rpm.  The four-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly thanks to a computerized shift-logic system which minimizes unnecessary gear changes.  On the freeway, the Trooper’s not particularly happy with speeds over 75 mph; that tall body begins to sway a little.

Isuzu’s Torque On Demand (TOD) on-demand all-wheel-drive system worked well in the surprise snowstorm that struck during our test drive.  The Trooper operates in TOD mode, which allows the system to engage any drive wheel depending on necessity, or it can be locked into full-time four-wheel drive.  TOD is only available on Troopers equipped with automatic transmissions, but it seemed worth the trade-off.  It took intentionally dumb driving to force TOD to divert power from rear to front, and when it did the Trooper kept its composure.  Full-time four-wheel drive engages with a button on the dash and a mechanical “clunk” from below.  This is a truck, after all; trucks make noises like that.

Like any self-respecting truck, the Trooper rides on a sturdy, separate frame, rather than using unibody construction.  The front suspension is a sports car-like double wishbone setup; the rear is a multilink unit.  Owing to the Trooper’s height, the handling is from a generation or two ago, with a tippy feel in corners and a tendency to bounce over large bumps.  A torsion bar suspension in the front and a multilink setup in the rear are decently smooth on nice pavement, but bigger bumps quickly bring out the Trooper’s truckish nature.  Antilock brakes and a limited-slip rear differential are standard equipment.  The only thing that’s missing is the sense of refinement found in newer SUVs.  The Trooper has the trappings of a new luxury sport-ute, but the heart of a no-frills, no-nonsense tool.

That’s a bit of a shame, because the Trooper Limited is rather nicely equipped.  A six-CD changer and leather interior are standard equipment for the well-appointed special model.  Our test truck featured one of the biggest sunroofs we’ve ever seen, as well as power folding mirrors, privacy glass, and the gold package, which we’ll add again that we don’t care for.  The Trooper Limited starts at $34,813, and our test car stickered for $35,733.  Furthermore, outdated or not, with Isuzu’s ten-year, 120,000-mile powertrain warranty, any Trooper is a truck that’s likely to be around for a good long time.

So, do you miss your old ‘67 Ford Bronco, but enjoy the amenities of a Lexus RX300?  The Isuzu Trooper may be your truck!

Specifications:
All specs are for the 2001 Isuzu Trooper Limited, which we tested.
Length:     187.8 in.
Width:        72.2 in.
Height:     72.2 in.
Wheelbase:    108.7 in.
Curb weight:    4615 lb.
Cargo space:    43.7 cu.ft. (seats up), 85.3 cu.ft. (seats folded)
Base price:    $34,813
Price as tested: $35,733
Engine:     3.5 liter DOHC 24-valve V6
Drivetrain:     four-speed automatic, four wheel drive
Horsepower:     215 @ 5400
Torque:     230 @ 3000
Towing capacity:    5000 lb.
Fuel capacity:    22.5 gal.
Est. mileage:    15/19