When you think about all the desirable qualities of an Asian Utility Vehicle—torquey and efficient engine, large load space, practically unbreakable—then Isuzu would seem to be holding all the cards. After all, the company produces some of the most reliable trucks in Asia—so reliable that even after 30 years of service in Japan, these poor battered hulks are still running on Philippine streets.
Also, they produce excellent utility vehicles and pickups like the Trooper and Fuego. When they launched the Highlander to combat the Tamaraw FX, Toyota must have skipped a hearbeat. After the competition has raised the game, Isuzu also unveiled its challenger: a sleek-looking AUV called the Crosswind.
When Isuzu wanted to improve the image of their best-selling Highlander model, they wanted to re-introduce it with another name that was supposed to give it more poise and image, not to mention better respectability beyond the taxi fleet. So guess what, they just had to name it Crosswind. Crosswind—not such a bad sounding name if you’re talking inside a comic book convention. It could be the name of a superhero, or better yet, a special weapon of some kind. Unfortunately, the same word when applied to cars doesn’t sound appealing; especially when taking into account that a crosswind can cause instability, and that its synonym is the proverbial word, drag.
Surely this isn’t a case of a flawed marketing for Isuzu. Well, the misnomer doesn’t even count as the Crosswind continues to sell even after its competitors from Toyota and Mitsubishi introduced more luxury variants. In fact, in the cut-throat market of AUVs, Isuzu seems to have settled into a comfortable niche left unfilled by its bigger Japanese rivals.
From the outside, the Crosswind XTO (top model variant) is the simplest of the AUVs. In fact, it may yet win the AUV beauty contest by looking refreshingly honest. The Crosswind capitalizes on the rugged Isuzu image in order to produce a sporty looking van. The overall exterior design is very cohesive in theme and detailing unlike the hodge-podge luxury meets sportiness meets practicality design of its rivals. The Crosswind stares at you through mutli-reflector headlights that angle upward at the sides, giving this AUV a predator-like appearance. The combination of the standard front fog lights and the colored-keyed grille enhances the sporty look as well. Unfortunately, for all Isuzu’s efforts, the Crosswind’s rear is just as generic as its competitors and could easily be mistaken for an older version of the Toyota Revo.
Detail-wise, the exterior of the Crosswind doesn’t make it as respectable as a comparatively priced car. Although all the rain channels have bee integrated well into the re-designed body (unlike the visible ones still seen on the face-lifted Adventure), the rubber mouldings are still a decade behind since they are at least half an inch in thickness. Moreover, the thick moulding at the rear door doesn’t allow this Isuzu to escape its AUV heritage. Both the Revo and the Adventure already feature flush rear windows giving these two respectively a more elegant and upscale look.
Inside, the theme of the Crosswind is again one of simplicity. There is no wood or leather trim in here. However, what is special about the Crosswind is that the layout is decisively more car-like than the Toyota Revo. This takes into account of course that although the Revo features leather and wood trim as part of their top-line model, there are still exposed pieces of body-colored metal visible inside, detracting from the luxury image.
Ergonomics is nothing special with the Crosswind, although everything falls within easy reach of the driver including the high-mounted stereo cassette controls. The air conditioner controls are still very much 80s with their slide switches while the pull-and-twist type handbrake is also a blast-from-the-past. The instrumentation cluster is also very simple: there’s no fuss in here, just the basic information displayed cleanly and clearly. Unfortunately, the steering wheel is set a bit too high compared to a passenger car giving an overall impression that the Crosswind isn’t comfortable to drive.
Interior space is especially good for the people up front. However, those riding on the second row of seats as well as the side-facing benches may complain regarding the lack of knee and head room. In fact, much like other AUVs available here, the side-facing benches are practically unusable except for emergency circumstances.
The heart of the Crosswind XTO is its 2.5-liter turbo diesel engine that delivers a measly 85 bhp at 3900 rpm. Clearly, this is no match for the higher horsepower output gasoline engines of the similarly priced Adventure (114 bhp) and Revo (105 bhp). However, the Crosswind clobbers the competition when it comes to pulling power as the Crosswind has a class leading 189 Nm of torque at a low 2000 rpm.
The engine characteristic of the Crosswind is just as simple as the rest of the car: twist the key and it cranks, shakes to life and grumbles on in the usual truck-like diesel way. This is no BMW X5 diesel or even Kia Carnival folks: the 2.5-liter turbo diesel is sourced from a truck, and Isuzu made no effort disguising this fact.
On the open road, the Crosswind feels very stiff and is heavily compromised through bumps, even the small ones. Overall, the ride is unbelievably nauseating for the last row passengers. The chances of passing out are high, since there’s no headroom separating the occupants from the thinly padded roof (ouch!). On the plus side, the Crosswind overall ride quality is better than the first-generation Mitsubishi Adventure, which is even more bouncy than this vehicle.
Steering is actually more communicative in the Crosswind rather than the Revo. However, there’s still a feeling of vagueness from the driver’s seat. What’s more, the Crosswind isn’t a sports car: don’t expect to take corners at high speeds. The tall nature of this AUV coupled with the prehistoric leaf spring rear suspension makes body roll very evident. In fact, to the inexperienced, it would feel as if the Crosswind would have the tendency to topple over each corner it would take.
Initially, the 2.5-liter turbo diesel engine accelerates fairly quickly leaving the smaller sedans behind. However, don’t expect to win the battle to 100 km/h even with a Kia Pride, as the engine loses steam when it reaches 80 km/h. In fact, the performance of the Crosswind seems to plateau quite quickly. This is even more irritating when you add this to the fact that the automatic transmission isn’t geared for top speed, but rather, acceleration.
In terms of ownership experience, the Crosswind we’ve tested has done 3,425 kilometers on the odometer and quite frankly, the build quality isn’t impressive. In fact, some of the interior trim such as the door panels already rattle. Nonetheless, some pluses for the Crosswind include the standard dual air con system (easily takes care of Manila noontime heat) and the keyless entry system.
Overall, the Crosswind fits in nicely into the AUV crowd without going head-to-head with the likes of the Revo and the Adventure. The Crosswind comes in using its diesel engine as its desirable advantage, especially taking into account that it produces more torque than any of its rivals. Unfortunately, at the same time, the engine is also the biggest letdown of the Crosswind, since it feels very unrefined compared to the 2.0-liter gasoline engines of the competition. The automatic seems to dissipate a lot of the otherwise robust torque too. Nonetheless, the Isuzu Crosswind is a good alternative for those people who don’t want simulated luxury in their AUVs—those who feel that AUVs are nothing more than troop carriers, and who don’t really care about the presence of faux wood trim or leather seats.
Funny thing is that in the end, the Highlander shouts sportiness from its exterior looks, but mumbles utilitarianism from the inside as well as in the area of performance. Isuzu may be holding all the right cards, but it hasn’t played them right just yet. The search for the perfect AUV continues…
By Ulysses Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang
Originally Published in the December 2001 Issue
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