Smooth riding inexpensive SUV that drives like a sedan

Author's Rating:

Pros: Good acceleration, smooth ride, good handling, handles offroad smoothly, excellent U-turn radius and towing.

Cons: Small fuel tank, AC initially weak, rear passengers getting in out, spare tire blocks view.

Handling And Control:

The Bottom Line: 
You can't beat the performance, the warranty or the price.

Author's Review
I was in a market to buy a V4 pickup truck for work to haul computer equipment as I am in the biz. I looked at the usual Toyota, Nissan, Mazada, Ford and found that I would need to spend $13,000 to $15,000 for a new V4 pickup. Then looking through the paper one day, I saw an ad for Isuzu Rodeo Sport V6 for only $15,999. Well that just sounds too good to be true. So I call my friend a car salesman to ask him about this ad and he told me it's probably a bait & switch kinda situation, then I called my brother who loves his Isuzu Axiom and he told me that the Axiom has only a little better engine than the Rodeo.

Well that really got me interested so I went down to the dealer and wah lah there it is sitting just outside the show room, a silver Isuzu Rodeo Sport 3.2L V6, 24 - Valve, 205 Horsepower with a sticker price of $15,999. So I took it out for a test drive on the freeway going 90 and man is this SUV smooth and it accelerates fast too. I test the handling on the turns and it's not too bad. The U-turn radius is also good, better than the Honda Accord I used to own.

Going back to the dealer I was ready to buy but I needed to trade-in my 97 Jaguar with 77,000 miles which they would only give me $7,000 for the trade-in; I say screw that I can easily sell it for $10,000. The salesman then added up everything, the car, the towing package and TTL for around $16,800. Well now if you know me you'll know I always go for an even better deal so I offered them $16,100 drive out price. The salesman then went to ask his boss and after about 30 minutes later, they said yes! I couldn't believe it!! In less than an hour I bought me an brand new Isuzu Rodeo Sport V6 for $16,100!!!

It turns out that the reason they could sell it for so inexpensive was because they won these Rodeos at an Isuzu auction so they can pass the savings to the consumers.

I drove a lot of cars before (Toyota Corolla, Nissan Maximum, Oldsmobile, Buick Regal, Jaguar XJ, Toyota 4-runner limited, Nissan pickup, Honda Accord, Honda Prelude) and I can tell you right now, non can compete with the overall performance of the Rodeo Sport V6. I can go offroad, I have plenty of power for acceleration and towing, and it's a very smooth ride compared with my 4-runner limited which I spent $34,500 on.

However there are a few things not as good on the Rodeo: The fuel tank is too small, only can take 12 gallons, so you have to gas up often. It takes awile for the AC to get the car cold, especially in the Texas Summer heat where I am. It's very hard for rear passengers to get in and out of the car but I am used to this because of my 2-door Honda Sedans. The spare tire blocks part of the rear view mirror but you should see the other Isuzu the VehiCROSS which you can't see jack thru the back window.

It's not only that the Isuzu Rodeo V6 is a lot less expensive than other SUVs, but the Isuzu Rodeo V6 will outperform most of the SUVs on the market. Compared with my Toyota 4-Runner V6 limited, the Rodeo V6 is a lot smoother ride, has better acceleration and has more towing capacity. Not only that my Rodeo only cost less than 1/2 the price of my 4-Runner!!