Mountain Goat Goes to the Movies

DEPENDABLE, RELIABLE, EASY TO MAINTAIN—the words used to describe a Sherpa mountain goat and not exactly the most dramatic descriptions you’d want to hear during a car launch. But here it is: the automotive equivalent of the mountain goat—the Isuzu Alterra. Launched for the Thai market as the Mu-7, the Alterra is the company’s take on the highly lucrative pick-up based SUV. The entire trend started with the short-lived Toyota Hilux Surf and Mitsubishi G-Wagon in Thailand. It was soon followed by the successful Ford Everest and the Hilux Surf’s replacement, the Fortuner, both models of which made it to the Philippine market.

But while there was glitz and glamour amidst the black and white theme at the Makati Shangri-la, the Isuzu Alterra offered nothing substantially new versus its chief Ford and Toyota rivals. Instead of buckling the entire industry with a highly stylish people mover like the Fortuner, the Alterra ends up as a mere engineering duplicate of the Ford Everest. Taking a page off Ford’s design book, the Alterra is more than heavily based on the D-Max—it actually shares components such as the hood, B-pillar, headlights, fog lights, door handles and alloys. Equally off is the awkward C-pillar and rear design of the Alterra, which look like the bastard child of the Chevy Trailblazer (good) and SsyangYong Rodius (not good). Whereas, the Ford Everest is functionally styled with a tough squared-off body style (though the CR-V lights are definitely not original), the Alterra looks like a bag of mixed nuts, thrown up and scattered about for good measure.

Inside, the Alterra does have the upper hand versus the Everest thanks to a more modern parts donor. That said, there’s simply no originality given that anyone who has seen the D-Max’s cock pit will recognize the steering wheel, center cluster, door handles, switch gear and most probably, even the seats. Modest changes though were done, to all things, the gauges—giving it more flair. Usually, it’s hard to comment about seating during a vehicle’s launch simply because not enough ‘bum time’ was spent testing it. However, the Alterra’s an exception. Although the front seats are certainly comfortable with ample adjustment (the driver seat lacks height adjustment though), the two other rows drew mixed reactions. Though spacious, the second row is comfortable only for two since the middle “pass through” seat is cushioned much like an ironing board. The last row lacks adjustable headrests and the flooring is unleveled, causing the knees to slop upward and the feet to point downward; certainly not making things that comfortable back there. Like any SUV, the Alterra’s seats can contort: second row slides, folds and tumbles 45/10/45 while the third row folds 0/100.

s to be expected from the purveyors of the VCD-laced Sportivo and Trooper, the Alterra comes with another way of saying that traffic in Manila is terrible: the industry’s first 5.1 surround sound system complete with DTS capability. Homemade movies will not look better with the standard dual 7-inch widescreen LCD screens mounted aft of the front headrests and the standard 10-speaker system with a detachable subwoofer!

So what gives with the Alterra’s “alter your perception of the SUV” routine? Here’s a clue: squint carefully at the front door and notice the words “3.0 DDi i-TEQ”. This short phrase of alphanumeric nonsense is actually the heart and soul of the Alterra. Instead of plucking up the D-Max’s already potent engine, like in the case of the Ranger/Everest and Hilux/Fortuner, Isuzu has gifted their 7-seater SUV with a brand-new 3.0-liter double overhead cam turbo diesel with common rail technology. Like Toyota’s D-4D, the 4JJ i-TEQ has variable swirl technology to improve fuel/air mixture while maintaining a clean, Euro-3 bill of health. However, Isuzu says that their common rail is a third generation unit versus the Fortuner’s second and the Trooper’s first generation units. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the Alterra is way below the Fortuner’s power and torque: 146 versus 160 horsepower and 305 Nm versus 340 Nm. The Alterra is made available with both a five-speed manual and a four-speed auto box.

Perhaps the real perception altering fact of the launch is the Alterra’s price. Expected to undercut or at least match Toyota’s superb Fortuner, the Isuzu starts at a wallet-clogging P1,389,000 for the monotone, manual transmission, 4×2 with a modest 2-channel stereo system. It goes even higher to a stroke-causing P 1,489,000 for the “Omega Pearl White” two-tone, 4×2 with the P. Diddy-ish 5.1-surround system. Plans are underway to launch an even more expensive 4×4 range come June or July of this year. On a side note though, this comes with a 3-year/100,000 kilometer warranty, the first Isuzu to be offered with such. For those who give the Isuzu Alterra is Siskel and Ebert-style two-thumbs up, rush to your nearest Isuzu dealer today!

By Ulysses Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang