The Rarest And Weirdest Car You've Probably Never Heard Of (Isuzu VehiCross) Takes On Andre's Pit!
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2023
- ( www.alltfl.com/ ) Check out our new spot to find ALL our content, from news to videos and our podcasts! You probably haven't seen one of these before (or at least not for a long time) - the Isuzu Vehicross takes on our off-road course!
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#vehicross #SUV #offroad 
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This was a modern-er version of the AMC Eagle. Which was the crossover WAY ahead of it's time
Hey, what about my 1996 4x4 suzuki x90? ;)
@@20tea That makes more sense than the AMC Eagle.
It’s still far ahead of it’s time. I don’t expect to see anything like in like 10+yrs from now.
Had both lol both ahead of their time for sure
@@foggy561 👍
Just a tip, when the wheels start spinning like that, put it in "Winter" mode (there's a button, its next to the "Power" button which should always be pressed down)... it will start you in 2nd gear and combined with the TOD system, will drastically reduce your wheel spinning.
You definitely don't wanna be starting in 2nd gear like that often. It'll destroy that transmission fast and overheat. Winter mode in winter is fine because it's cold out and it implies you're slipping on ice or sleet but In the hot summer it's gonna heat up that transmission FAST
@@bldontmatter5319 Eh its a 4L30E. It'll be fine :P
I saw one of these at a Home Depot last year, painted yellow and badged as a Tonka truck. I waited to see who was driving it...words can't describe it.
I had a 2000 Isuzu Trooper, green, and oh I miss that truck. It was simple, comfortable and perfect. I wish Isuzu was still in our market.
Finally giving Isuzu some recognition, You guys should do some Troopers and Rodeos next 😄
Agree, Isuzu doesn't get the recognition it deserves when it comes to 4WD vehicles. The VehiCross, Trooper, and Rodeo are great.
As a former owner of a Isuzu Trooper I’m very familiar with this vehicle. It’s a re-bodied 2 door Trooper. That’s not a bad thing! Troopers are indestructible, unstoppable bad ass off-road vehicles. I miss mine!
My 90s era(can't remember the year) new Trooper was wonderful except it burned a lot of oil and they would not fix it under warranty, said this was normal. I figure most Isuzus were not oil burners or they would not have such a good reputation. But which years and models were the oil burners, and which were not?
@@BillyBobTup I own a 93 Trooper SOHC 3.2 It doesn't burn oil. I have heard the 3.5 LTR newer ones DO however burn oil..
@@BillyBobTup i know from experience the 3.5 from ‘98 on burned a lot of oil. The ring and cylinder tolerances weren’t great. The cylinder walls were too thin for a rebore so nothing could be done. I carried extra oil on xcountry trips. My favorite trucks ever though. A bargain after Consumer Reports bashed their safety.
I recall the troopers had that roll over issue....I had a football coach who rolled his.
With compact uni-body offroad crossovers making a comeback and are currently very popular, i think Isuzu could make a comeback with the Rodeo, Amigo, and VehiCross nameplates.
Gary Sinise drove one in the 2000 film Mission to Mars. It was supposed to be a car from the future. Your car is very cool. Thanks for sharing.
In the movie we succeed in a manned mission to Mars in the year 2020. Turns out that was wishful thinking.
I was a huge fan of the AMIGO. This at the time was weird. Now I love it
I wanted an Amigo so bad when i was a kid! I always loved this quirky vechicross too. To bad Isuzu only does box trucks now in US
I will forever miss mine. Bought new-ish in 1999 and drove it through every imaginable obstacle.
As a guy in his early 40s, that was/is the car of my dreams. I really wanted to buy one when I came home from Iraq in 2003, but couldn't find one, then life happened. The owner is a lucky man!
I remember seeing this a long time ago, but I LOVED the yellow color they had to offer. Such a interesting vehicle to say the least.
I remember seeing one of these on the Isuzu lot back when they were new. It was such a futuristic and bizarre-looking thing at the time. The price on the window sticker about gave me a heart attack. $35,000. That's $60,000 in today's money. Personally, I liked the Amigo better. It was nearly half the price, better looking (though more conservative), and was a convertible. No hate on the VehiCross though. It's an interesting and very rare vehicle. Enjoy your VehiCross and take care of it to make it last!
I saw one of these in 99. I was riding with my dad out in the Midwest and one passed us doing like 90 we thought it looked like a space ship back then… I’ve wanted one ever since
Several years ago. I came across a gaggle of these ascending the Moab Rim trail. None of them were stock of course but still cool to see so many in one place tackling a challenging trail.
There's no equivalent today, there's the MU-X which is a fine body on frame SUV but not the same kind of futuristic luxurious vehicle that the VehiCROSS. There's a modern nod to this vehicle though, the fully loaded top edition of Isuzu's pickup today is called the D-Max V-CROSS.
And I also do love Isuzu 4x4s, I have a D-Max.
Awesome to see Andrew find this suv and enjoy it. Most kids today have zero idea what some of the coolest cars were years ago. This is Isuzu was really ahead of its time. I owned a early 90s truck and trooper. Both were the 2.6 engine and lasted a crazy long time. The trooper would drive all day long in 2 wheel drive in Florida sugar sand. I never got stuck in that thing. Kudos to Andrew in his vision of how to really enjoy cars……
I’m a younger gen here, while everyone my age is driving brand new BMWs and Mercedes junk, I’m out here looking at weird vehicles like the Crosstour, ZDX and vehicross. Originally my budget was $30k, but I can’t swallow buying a new car that’s most likely to cause me issues or a high mileage used 4runner at a ridiculous price and was never taken proper care of. These rarer vehicles are usually babied and that’s why it’s a smart decision to keep an eye out in this market that I don’t think will ever recover anytime soon.
One of these pulled up next to me at a gas station back in '07. I don't even care for Isuzu, but I loved the thing. I miss these little impractical off-roaders. It's the reason I'll never let my ZR2 Blazer go.
Love the Vehicross. Before I knew more about offroading I thought the solid rear axle was a detriment 😂. It was also the first vehicle to introduce direct injection to boost power and efficiency. GM adopted it but i BET the Isuzu didn't have carbon build up and oiling issues like GM 3.6.
It did indeed have oiling issues. Everyone with the 3.5 ran synthetic and changed the pcv at every oil change. The oil drain holes in the piston were too small and it would just eat oil. Iirc in later years Isuzu enlarged the drain holes.
Alright, I have to interject here. Tad P is correct, but I have to add that those pistons were never in any Trooper based vehicle, only Rodeo based vehicles, like the Axiom.
The valve gaskets were also a bit of a leak as well.
But I need to explain to you why GM would never put the 6VD1/6VE1 in any of their vehicles. While Isuzu were majority stake owned by GM, GM still treated them like garbage. In the 1980s, when Isuzu was still cracking into the US market, GM supplied 60° pushrod V6s that were underpowered and generally unpleasantly vibratory. Basically, the engine was crap. So, after a few years of being in the MU/Rodeo and for the second generation Trooper, Isuzu went to the drawing board. They penned a rather unique 75° V6 that ran smoother, produced more power, and had better fuel efficiency. Isuzu basically told GM to screw themselves.
Now let's talk about that 3.6: That's because it's an Opel engine. The end.
@@der_pinguin44 true. I was talking carbon build up and the oiling issue killing timing chains following their service intervals and claiming it was customer abuse... if I remember correctly
@@fgeiger41 oh, I meant the Opel bit as a joke.
The only direct injection V6 that I know of that doesn't have carbon build up, and this is hearsay because nobody gave me the engine model and I can't be bothered to look it up because I don't like the manufacturer, is a Toyota V6 with a port fuel injector in the intake.
All DI engines have the carbon build up issue, and the other part of the 3.6 timing chain was overcomplication. They eventually fixed the timing chain, but that's all I know. I stopped researching when I started to hear about rods being thrown.
@@fgeiger41 from what I read, GM removed one of the extra timing chains, but it doesn't surprise me to read GM blaming their customers.
One of my dream cars. So glad to see it featured!
There’s one on face book
Oh I loved these when they were new. There used to be sooo many cool SUV’s. Now there’s pretty much just 4Runner and wrangler.
Owned 4 80's Troopers. They were all amazing accept the gm v6 in one of them. The inline 4's are workhorse motors that tend to just never die
Oh man, I miss my VX. One of the best cars I've ever owned. My buddy had one with the supercharger on it which made it really go like stink. The AWD/4WD system in it was amazing. Only had to get rid of it when my fat arse couldn't handle the recaro seats for long drives anymore.
Yea those alpine super charger kits were epic. There's a guy on RUclips called Cody shell who's got a series on how he did his on his trooper
I loved the Vehicross since I saw the first Magazine article . . . it looks tough and quirky and like nothing else!
i hava never seen this car before this video, cool and unique
I remember this car it was used in the beginning of the movie 'Mission to Mars' that same year. I thought boy that vehicle looks like the future!
Nice to finally see an Isuzu on here. Some of the most underrated off road vehicles. I've put many jeeps too shame with my stock 99 trooper
Lies lol
That’s bs lol. Stock troopers were complete dogs. I’ve had a trooper and wranglers and the only Jeep you’re competing with a Compass lol
Holy lies
An Isuzu bison would. Basically if a trooper and a land cruiser had a baby you get a turbo diesel Isuzu bison
@@ShogunAutoworks lol you’re kidding right. The bison comes in either bus or Home Depot style flat bed configuration. It has about 4 inches of ground clearance. It’s rock climbing capability is trash and isn’t competing with any off-road based Jeep
I have the modern 4door version of this thing, the Isuzu MU'X. Still have the same design line with VehiCross. Too bad it didn't go outside Australia, Thailand and Indonesia 😊
No, that's not the modern version of this. The VehiCROSS is based on the Trooper/Bighorn, the MU-X is the modern Rodeo/Wizard. The Trooper is a different lineage, whereas yours traces its roots back to the KB Faster.
@Mr Penguin Maybe you're right. My image about MU'X is as the production version of VX4, the 4door version of VehiCross. Afterall Isuzu never made big difference with the frame between Trooper and Rodeo on the same era
I do see these occasionally here in California. Such a cool unique vehicle.
My family had an old Trooper growing up. I love seeing the Izuzu love
Man the first generation Amigo's were so cool imo, they had style, colors, character, and you just wanted to drive down to the beach in one, I would get one if I ever found a decent one
I've always wanted a Vehicross. Especially that Ironman Edition. ❤❤❤
Go Nathan! You have such cool taste. I had two Isuzu Troopers and they were both great. Fun fact: If I remember correctly the same GM 4 speed Isuzu used in the Trooper was also used in the E30 BMWs - amazingly enough.
4L30E and it was built in Strasbourg, France. Initially the 3L30 after being renamed from THM-180, it's a very small transmission that was meant for subcompact cars that made less than 100 lb-ft of torque. Pair it with the Isuzu 3.5 V6 in it's first form pushing out 215, and it was a disaster.
However, those who actually maintained the transmission every 20,000 miles per the user manual actually got a lot of life out of it.
Please try it on the harder offroad course 🙏. Pretty sure it won't make it but damm it'll look cool doing it. Great video Nathan.
You'd be surprised... I used to take my VX with the local land rover club in Uwharrie and it did every obstacle that the Discos and Defenders did.
Throughout my 30yrs of existence. I only saw this car ONCE! Very unique and alien like. Love it!
Want one. But I wonder what the windows would cost....plastic cladding...and other rare parts of damaged? Yikes
I've actually wheeled with a guy who had one of these out at badlands off road park. It actually was pretty capable! I think this is the first time seeing one since.
I haven't seen one of those in a LONG time... I miss Izusu.
This Veri Cross still looks modern and contemporary today. It’s only missing all of todays electronic tech and toys.
like that JDM CRT reverse camera screen!
It would've been more successful if they done a 4-door version. Hell, they made a concept of one but didn't bother bringing it to production.
The convertible concept probably would have sold better. It was a bit to eclectic to be a 4 door family car IMO.
i live in Pittsburgh, PA and actually looked at a new Isuzu VehiCross at an Isuzu dealer in 2000. the Isuzu's were rather popular at the time due to the success and entertainment of the "Joe Isuzu" commercials played by an actor and part-time comedian. but i have to say, the VehiCross was just too WILD and CRAZY LOOKING compared to other vehicles at the time. i believe i looked at a new 2000 model but ended up ordering a two-door Jeep Cherokee Sport with all the off-road options you could get. no other U.S. SUV had all the "body panels" look as the VehiCross at the time although in 2002, Chevrolet did introduce a pickup truck called the Avalanche which had a lot of plastic body panels on it as well as other "special" design features. Isuzu offered the "more normal looking" Trooper at the time but i still liked the small Cherokee more so i bought one. i still own it and it is pretty rare as it is a 2 door with the off-road options.
Did this year and model burn oil excessively, like my (95? not sure) Trooper did(could not get it fixed under warranty)? Except for that problem, I loved that Trooper.
This had a transfer case that was unique to this model. It wasn't just a tarted up Amigo. It was its own thing. Also, if you wanted an on-demand locker, it should be doable as I believe these came with a Dana 44 rear axle. Regardless, they were cool right off the showroom floor.
It's actually a beefed up 44 specific to Isuzu and Honda. This one should have come with limited slip just like the rodeo from the same year.
I thought those was so cool when they first came out!
Who else wants TFL to buy a VehiCROSS?! 🙏🤷🏼♂️
the vehicross is super rare, only about 4500 where sold in america and theyre very capable offroad!
always loved these. thought they looked weird, but still loved them
Someone around the corner from me has one of these, took a while to figure out what it was too. It's the only one I have ever seen!
The vx was one of my impractical favorites. I've had troopers, a rodeo, and an amigo, but never found a vx i could buy. A guy in my neighborhood had a yellow one with the supercharger, but kept it until it rusted to death.
Man what a time capsule. It's been eons since I even heard mention of these. It's still a fascinating looking piece of work. Really enjoyed this video y'all.
My neighbor had one of them brand new in the early 2000s(not sure if it was the same model) up until a few years ago. At first I hated it but as I got older I appreciated how wacky it looked, I love how different every manufacturer was going with back then.
I had a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo. Absolute beast of a car. I miss that car
When these came out there were a couple in my town driving around. The weirdness was great, we need more of that! Up here where I live in the Great White North where we salt the roads to within an inch of their lives in the winter, Isuzu's just turned to rust in very short time and they were gone from the market by the time they could figure it out.
Suzuki was the same, the early ones started to rust the moment you drove them of the lot but by the time the brand left left the market, they had it figured out. You still see Suzuki SX4's all over the place here and for the most part they're holding up well.
The 90’s was big with this plastic. This vehicle was ahead of it’s time. And it was expensive for it’s day. Love this vehicle. Would sell well if they were to have sold it today.
I have heard of it! A friend of mine had one in Dragon Green. He lived in the country and had a steep gravel driveway that often got muddy and slick. The Dragon was one of the few "cars" that could climb it with no problem. :)
I had a job coach i worked with when i was in highschool that got me a job some place over the summer back in 06, he had one of these and took me for a drive when we went to talk to my employer at the time i recognized this from test drive offroad 3 at the time.
Isuzu's are highly underrated. It's really too bad they decided to source parts from GM. They could've eliminated a lot of the reliability issues and probably done better in the US.
Hopefully Isuzu comes back to America with Amigo and Vehicross and troopers
I remember when these came out. Man I feel old. Thanks a lot, TFL. 😂
This was a very competent off road vehicle. Also 2 door Mitsubishi monteros were excellent. Superior to todays jeeps
I remember wanting one of these back in the early 2ks.
Always loved the 2 door RAVs. Very difficult to come across one. Crazy all wheel drive system
I remember going to the lot to look at an Isuzu Hombre and seeing one of these. Bright yellow/orange if I recall. Looked wild back then, and still does today.
I remember seeing a brochure on the 1988 Amigo. It listed the minimum ground clearance at 11.8" !! I almost bought one,but it was just a bit out of my price range while i was in college 😢
The Vehicross was the coolest SUV on the road, but crazy expensive. I loved my Trooper. Bummer they got out of the market.
I think my favorite off-roader was my '01 Trooper. That thing just managed to find traction. It didn't have the huge angles but where wranglers were spinning tires it just sailed on through. Shame things didn't work out for Isuzu here, I'd still drive them.
Cool quarky suv and they made an Ironman Version as well.
Have heard of it... and there is one running around in the small town of Sheridan, OR!!
Love these had one that I added lockers M/T tyres a winch sliders skids, then met the future wife and buying a house it had to go to fund it and stop me being away every weekend in the mud playing and fixing in the garage in the week for next time.
The only way to get one was a Japanese import but handy right hand drive came with a decent gearbox manual or auto camera and many weird accessories but cute, would love another but rarer than hens teeth now and are either rough or prestine and not cheap.
There is one of these in my town, same guy who's had since it was new when I was a young guy. Still looks great
I’ve seen a few of these around the US. I was always so fascinated with them, they look badass and the ones I saw had beefy all-terrain tires and a few off-roading/travel set ups you might expect. Great video thanks!
I have one for over 23 years and still love it.
always loved these. wish there was a modern version
I am old. I had a Rodeo but wanted one of these. The engine and drive train was actually common and shared with Honda so I bet he can get parts when needed.
Ayy Isuzu at the ranch! Would love to one day get my trooper there. Would be a super far drive tho lol
Had an Isuzu pickup back in the early Nineties. I liked the VehiCross when they came out; just overpriced by my perspective. It definitely stood out...
Saw one of these with a lift at Moab one year. Handled the trails just as well as any Jeep.
The movie Mission to Mars which was set a couple decades into the future, used a Vehicross outside a home as a prop for a futuristic car. It worked.
I had a yellow hotwheels/matchbox of this as a kid and ever since then I've been on the lookout for one in the wild, only ever seen one in person. Have always liked the design since then.
It’s a cool truck/suv/whatever!! I liked them when they first came out, but was so far in debt at the time there was no way. I needed trucks then! Now, maybe an interesting find??
Thanks for sharing this vehicle with us for a bit!!
I remember when it cam out, I was into fast old school cars but I loved this truck. I occasionally see a guy with one in the DC area. It’s always the same guy so it’s pretty rare around here.
I owned 2 of them (1999 and a 2001); great vehicle, it turned heads everywhere it went…❤️❤️❤️ Yes way ahead of its time…🔥🔥🔥
I remember those and the axioms. I loved those
Surprised to see one behind me on my commute in Hartford, CT area yesterday.
I've been searching these lately. Seems like it's been passing through the worlds mind
The dung beetle can’t be stopped!
I got 2!
First one I saw was a proton yellow way back. Had wanted one ever since.
I always liked and wanted one of these little Isuzu's back in the 90's.
My neighbor owns one is off roads with it ALL THE TIME. It’s surprisingly capable.
Love these videos!!
A well thought out cool vehicle, keep up the reviews Nathan 👍
Very cool a little vehicle, we never got them here in Canada but I’ve had multiple people tell me my modified off road Neon looks like one.
I owned a yellow one for a few years loved the way it drove on road an off great fun machine wish I still have it.
My best friend had the ironman edition throughout high school in 2009. It was a very fun vehicle
I was floored to see two of these on my drive home from DeKalb one day
Great video; well done! I’m in Australia and my Dad just finished restoring his Vehicross! It looks great and goes real good! He’s thinking of selling it though. Damn shame.
Always liked it. Still looks good. Thanks for posting.
Owned my '99 Vehicross for 17 years after buying it new, longest I've ever owned a car.
👏👏 GREAT JOB GUYS .. HAVE A BEAUTIFUL THURSDAY EVERYONE ✌️
Fabulous thank you!. And yet I love my two door JL!