The Truth Is, It’s a Truck

As the only Japanese auto maker to see its sales slump in the United States last year, Isuzu Motors has a lot of making up to do.

The company has been burdened with low name recognition.

Worse, in a market that demands continual innovation in design as well as content, Isuzu hasn’t added a brand-new product to its U.S. lineup since 1998’s determinedly eccentric VehiCross, which looks like the offspring of a sport-utility vehicle’s wild night with a Nike running shoe.

But things are about to change.

In April, fittingly, a time of rebirth, comes the 2002 Isuzu Axiom--the company’s effort to jump-start its image and fire up the gotta-have-it gene in those consumers who have become jaded by the industry’s seemingly endless proffering of a seemingly endless line of SUVs that look like, well, SUVs.

The Axiom is part of the new breed of “crossovers” that blend aspects of truck and car. For most makers, this has meant putting an SUV-styled body on a passenger-car platform, with smooth-riding unibody construction, independent rear suspension and an all-wheel-drive system of some sort that skips the low-range gearing that a vehicle with real off-road abilities must have.

*

Isuzu, though, defiantly boasts that it makes trucks, not cars--and, having dropped its pickup, it now calls itself the SUV specialist.

So the Axiom is a turnabout--a crossover that puts a sport-wagon-styled body on a truck frame, with a live rear axle and a four-wheel-drive system complete with low range.

But Isuzu knew it had to go further--that’s the corporate motto and the tag line on its advertising in the U.S.--to get noticed.

So the eye-catching styling has been complemented with goodies, including a gutsy 3.5-liter, 230-horsepower aluminum V-6; an electronic four-speed automatic transmission with sport and winter shifting modes; and Isuzu’s intelligent suspension, which uses a dedicated processing unit to monitor and automatically adjust shock damping to road conditions.

The Axiom isn’t perfect. It will neither fly you to the moon nor diaper the baby. And if you’re taller than 6 feet 2, you won’t want to spend much time in the back seat (or in the front seat unless you forgo the optional sliding glass roof). Neither will it beat John Force to the finish line at the next Winternationals, outhaul a Chevy Suburban or out-corner a Jaguar.

The valet at the country club, however, won’t hide it out back with hoi polloi such as the Ford Explorer and the Jeep Cherokee. Instead, you’ll probably find it parked proudly out front with Lexus’ RX 300, BMW’s X5 and its 5-Series sport wagons, Acura’s MDX, Audi’s Allroad and--when it arrives--Porsche’s new Cayenne sport-utility-whatever.

Pretty hot company, indeed, for an Isuzu.

Company executives don’t really believe that the moderately priced Axiom--expected to start at about $25,000 in two-wheel-drive form--will be sharing space on a shopping list with Porsches. But they do see it competing with the new crop of sport wagons--vehicles such as Subaru’s Outback and Volvo’s Cross Country--and with other like-sized crossovers and SUVs, including the RX 300, the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute siblings, the new Suzuki LX7 and the venerable Cherokee and its forthcoming replacement, the Liberty.

It is Isuzu’s “effort to anticipate the increasingly segmented SUV market and the changing needs of the SUV buyer,” said Scott Hyde, head of product planning for the sport-utility division at the Japanese auto maker’s U.S. subsidiary in Cerritos.

As such, it is a critical vehicle for Isuzu. The company that bills itself as the SUV specialist can’t afford not to score well with this new model.

Hyde’s claim for Axiom is that it is the first reasonably priced vehicle to “neatly combine on- and off-road capabilities with luxury appointments.” He cedes an on-road performance advantage to pure sport wagons such as Audi’s Allroad but claims off-road advantages over them and over vehicles such as the RX 300 because of the Axiom’s four-wheel-drive low range and nearly 8 inches of ground clearance.

The Axiom compromise will work in today’s market, Hyde insists, “because people aren’t looking so much for off-road capabilities in an SUV as for cargo room, seating height, all-weather traction, visibility, [a feeling of] security and good handling, performance, comfort, refinement and easy-to-handle size.”

The Axiom certainly draws lots of looks with its 21st century sculpted styling, and a day spent behind its leather-covered steering wheel on and off the curving, hilly wine country roads of Napa showed that it is, indeed, a highly competitive vehicle.

*

The Axiom’s ride is comfortable and visibility from the driver’s position is good. But this is still a truck and it doesn’t ride like a sedan. It has the same 106.4-inch wheelbase as the Isuzu Rodeo, whose platform it shares. But a longer body--182.6 inches versus the Rodeo’s 177.5--and reconfigured suspension flatten the ride substantially.

The driver-selected suspension controls make a noticeable difference, with far less body lean on corners in the “sport” mode but far less bounce and jounce on irregular street surfaces in the comfort, or “ride,” mode.

Handling is tight and responsive, although this is still a truck and shouldn’t be expected--or pushed--to drive like a sports car. It has a high center of gravity and you have to steer it around curves--it won’t take a line and pull you through them.

Acceleration is snappy, especially at the low end, where the engine makes 200 foot-pounds of torque at just 1,200 rpm (maximum torque is 230 foot-pounds at 3,000 rpm). It does a respectable job of passing, even on steep uphill climbs, with quick moves from 60 to 80 mph. But at that end of the power band the engine seems to be making a little more noise than power.

The automatic transmission is smooth, with snappier shifts at higher rpm in the power mode. In winter mode, the transmission starts off in third gear, reducing torque to the wheels and cutting down on wheel spin and traction loss on icy roads. A nice feature is the transmission’s grade-sensing logic, which helps control downhill speed and improve hill climbing by holding in a lower gear so the transmission doesn’t slip into an inappropriate higher gear to increase downhill speed or reduce the torque needed for uphill progress.

Isuzu’s Torque On Demand system, co-patented with Borg-Warner Controls, operates as a variable-delivery all-wheel-drive system most of the time, with power going to the rear wheels unless the system senses a loss of traction, in which case up to 50% of the torque can be transferred to the front wheels. Additionally, the driver can flip a dash-mounted switch and lock into four-wheel drive, in highway or low-range modes, with torque going to all the wheels all the time.

*

Inside, Isuzu has done a nice job of taking out the truck. The seats, custom-designed for the Axiom, are comfortable, supportive and properly grippy. There is lots of leg, hip and shoulder room up front--and in back, too, if only two people are riding there. As with most smaller SUVs and wagons, three’s still a crowd in the back unless all are on the small side. Seat controls work smoothly and are easy to get to.

Too bad there’s no seat-height adjustment. Headroom is fine, even for taller drivers and passengers, unless you opt for the power moon roof. It cuts a much-needed 1.8 inches from the front-seat headroom and 2.2 inches for rear-seat passengers, rendering the vehicle uninhabitable except for very short trips by most people taller than 6 feet. A seat that adjusted down even half an inch would help a lot.

Isuzu also missed the boat by not making the rear seat backs adjustable, a feature several potential competitors have designed into their latest SUVs and sport-wagon crossovers. The designers also opted to shovel the Axiom’s standard six-disc CD changer into the center console, leaving only a tiny lidded cargo compartment barely deep enough for a cell phone.

By not putting the changer in the dash, though, they made room for the brand’s first electronic driver information center. Isuzu calls it the Integrated Monitor System, and it shows all the stereo system and heating, cooling and ventilation information, mileage, fuel consumption and compass headings.

Instruments are easy to read. The center stack is set up with good demarcation between radio and climate system controls, so you won’t crank up the volume when you want to crank up the heat.

There’s plenty of cargo room--35 cubic feet--behind the back seats. And with the back seats folded down, the Axiom opens up a cavernous 85 cubic feet of stowage space.

The rear door swings up and well out of the way but could benefit from having the glass open separately, as Ford does so nicely on the Explorer.

*

Final word: A great-looking alternative to the standard mid-size SUV, with adequate power, a proven and competent drive train and lots of standard upscale touches. If Isuzu can get the word out, the Axiom should find a place on a lot of comparison-shopping lists.

*

Times staff writer John O’Dell can be reached at john.odell@latimes

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

2002 Isuzu Axiom

Cost

* Pricing not established, though expected to range from $25,000 to $32,000. Standard equipment on base four-wheel-drive model includes front air bags; cloth seating with front buckets and 60/40-split rear bench; power-adjustable driver’s seat; four-speed automatic transmission with power and winter modes; Isuzu’s Torque On Demand all-wheel-drive system with part-time four-wheel drive including low range; adaptive suspension with sport and comfort modes; heated, adjustable side mirrors; air conditioning and heating with automatic climate control; key-less entry; premium sound with six-disc CD player; anti-lock brakes; cruise control; 17-inch alloy wheels; two power sockets. Options include leather seating, power moon roof, heated front seats, power adjustable front passenger seat.

Type

* Front-engine, mid-size sport-utility wagon with seating for up to five. Available in two- and four-wheel-drive versions in base and XS trim levels.

Engine

* 3.5-liter, 230-horsepower aluminum V-6

Performance and Specifications

* Cargo volume, seat up (seat down): 35.2 cubic feet (85.4 cubic feet)

* Towing capacity: 4,500 pounds

* Minimum ground clearance: 7.87 inches

* Fuel consumption: 16 miles per gallon city, 20 mpg highway, with automatic, as estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Curb Weight

* 4,180 pounds