Ascent of Crosswind: Isuzu Crosswind (2004)

Let’s play a game called evolve the AUV. The objective is to turn a light truck-based utility vehicle from its primitive origins into a well-mannered, civilized creature that wants to pay a visit to the opera.

First evolutionary task is walking upright. Not that difficult because AUVs are already tall to begin with. Among them, the Crosswind XUV stands out, its height equaling that of its full-sized SUV sibling, the Trooper. Add some visual muscle using a two-tone paint job with corner-to-corner body cladding, flared fenders, aluminum stepboard, and glittery taillights. Attach large tires, front bumper cap with extra lights, functional roof rails, and tailgate-mounted spare tire, and it handily passes for a more advanced specie of utility vehicle.

The next important upgrade is to the interior. Let’s cover the seats in an acceptably luxurious material—how about leather? The Crosswind goes so far as to provide black-and-gray Montana leather. The XUVi dispenses with fake wood, which is quite a relief. Simple black plastic is the material of choice for dashboard and consoles. Instruments are also straightforward, offering all the necessary readings in a no-nonsense font. For controls, there are ancient slide switches for the aircon and a twist-type handbrake lever—undoubtedly retro, but we doubt that these will ever become hip.

Brute force capability is almost a given in this category. With its 2.5-liter, direct-injection, normally aspirated diesel producing 80 hp and 167 Nm of torque, the Isuzu seems tepid on paper. How does it do in the concrete jungle? As expected, the Crosswind excels at truckish tasks. Throw a bunch of boxes, crates and furniture in the rear compartment and it’ll merely shrug. Ask it to climb a steep incline (say, Eastwood City’s parking ramp) with a full load of people and it won’t break into a sweat. Bags of low-end torque allow it to drive uphill as easily as if the landscape was flat. Strangely, when the landscape is flat, it doesn’t seem to accelerate that much faster. There’s enough grunt for decent initial getaways at stoplights, but it loses steam as the speed climbs past 80 km/h. The automatic may save you from the rubbery manual gearshift, but it will subject you to being passed by Kia Prides.

It’s also quite loud in here. The engine is front-mounted, but it might as well be under your seat as in a refrigerator-type van. Thrashing the engine past 4000 rpm, as you will likely do to cut through traffic, will have your ears begging you to give it a rest. This isn’t the kind of soundtrack that will have you fantasizing about driving in the Monaco Grand Prix; more like the Monaco pit lane, where the transporter trucks are. There is a stereo, but better save it for the parking lot when you can at last hear it. Perhaps a powertrain transplant from the D-Max offers the best chance of evolving our creature here.

Seating is still a remnant from the Fiera age. Front seats are reasonably roomy, with second row seats that are adequate for three. The rear seats though are still side-facing benches—more like upholstered ledges just one notch above our typical PUJ’s. There are some welcome touches such as rear airconditioning and headrest-mounted VCD monitors. For 2004, Isuzu added even more luxury features, such as a pneumatic massage device for the front passenger. If Lexus and Mercedes thought they had an exclusive on this built-in backrub machine, wait till they see the XUVi.

Then we have to teach our vehicle some manners. Road manners, that is. The unfortunately-named vehicle is prone to leaning even when the air is still. Show it a corner and it will fight to keep going straight. Isuzu has performed reasonably well in taming the Crosswind’s ride; it’s still firm, showing crashiness only on heavily raised surfaces like humps.

So how does the Crosswind rank on the evolutionary scale? Despite its flashy exterior decoration and the near-luxury interior appointments, the crude mechanicals will have you believe that the XUVi is the equivalent of Cro-Magnon man in an Adidas track suit. In contrast, Ford’s Everest may look like a Neanderthal, but there’s some advanced thinking going on inside that brutish façade. Features like ABS, intelligent seating and individual aircon vents are well integrated into the design. It may not be ready for opera, but it can probably appreciate Sting already. Crosswind needs to evolve further, and quickly, if it wants to stay in the game.

By Jason K. Ang | Photos By Jason K. Ang