What the Hell is An ISUZU VehiCROSS - And Why Do I Now Want One? 

The design of this vehicle is so timeless ,it could work today !!

A little interesting tidbit. These were actually hand-assembled on a separate assembly plant than their other products (at least for US market ones). My mother used to work for the Isuzu plant in Indiana. She took care of the expats that Isuzu would send over i.e. getting them apartment rooms and cars to daily and such (she spoke Japanese and English). I was about 10 years old and didn’t much pay attention to her work, but I remember hanging out with some of the engineers when they hold small get-togethers and whatnot. Somewhere in our storage unit is a Japanese market PS1 that I got from an Isuzu engineer just before they left to head back to Japan. I do remember they were all very nice people. We had a 2002 Isuzu Axiom ourselves. It never gave us issues until it was passed to me, and me being the teenage idiot I didn’t take much care of it and the motor blew around 2016. I know better now of course, and have been taking much better care of the LS 430 that I replaced it with ever since. I know in this video it was mentioned that it rattles (though modified), but the one thing that stuck out to me about our Axiom was how not-rattly it was compared to my friends or other family cars that I would get in. Everything was bolted down real well.

This needs to be brought back into production by Isuzu!

This wasn't accepted in the 4 wheel community in the western states because Isuzu marketed it very wrong. When someone found out how beautiful it is to modify, it became a huge hit in Moab! If Isuzu brought it out again but with bigger windows and waaay better build quality and a few other minor improvements, it would be a hit. I could easily see 100,000 units now that people are familiar with it.

A friend of mine had one of these back when they first came out. It was pretty cool to be honest. He loved it. Oddly enough the back seats were actually not bad. They sat up a little higher than the front seats so you could see out better. 4 of us piled into that car to head out to the bars on a regular basis:)

Hi thanks for all the comments it’s my car. I can only think that the previous owner had the maxiss done before the maxiss tyres arrived lol it’s great fun and if you had a business would be great for promoting it

I love this! Thanks for posting! I am a US owner of a VX (since 2006). Can’t bear to part with the crazy car. Your commentary was spot on! 😀

I remembered when I picked up one of these at the port in California when it came to the US. I love it

I always enjoy when you review the quirky stuff! Finding yourself wanting one is no surprise, a dozen or so only in the UK, makes me and all like minded petrol heads want one too 😂

I owned 2 of them; they were so far ahead of their time that people either loved them or hated them. I would love to find one with relative low miles…🔥🔥🔥

I didn't even know this thing existed, but I love that it does. Thank you for showcasing it, James, and congratulations on 275k!

Meanwhile, here in the States, these things are CRAZY money. A damn shame, because I'd really like one for a trail rig.

I've always loved this thing, it was one of those concept cars that actually came to life.

I bought one of these in 1999 and drove it for quite a few years until the Isuzu dealerships in the area started closing down and replacement parts were becoming hard to obtain. When I heard horror stories about people waiting for 6 months for exhaust system components I finally sold mine. It was extremely capable off-road and I spent a lot of time driving it over mountain trails in Arizona. My wife always called it "The Angry Hamster" because of the fangs in the grill but my co-workers called it "The Tennis Shoe".

As an owner of three, this video is a pleasant surprise!

Basically a cooler reskinned Isuzu Rodeo. It's like what the FJ Cruiser is to the 4runner. I absolutely LOVE the Recaro seats.

Speaking of Isuzu, if you ever get a chance to drive a Bellett, the 1600 something, the factory tuned one… It must’ve been a bit like a Dolomite Sprint, done properly. As in not the BLMC way.

That Bentley in the background looks familiar ;) I've been waiting to see the review of this, it was quite a shock to see it in the flesh. Never even heard of one of these let alone seen one before. I remember you got me to go and have a look at it rather than try to explain it to me, that was really the best option. Glad you enjoyed it, Neil seems like a top guy too!

Apparently you and I both butcher Gary Sinise's name, glad I'm not alone on that. Cheers

Sweet one just sold on Cars and Bids (US). Always loved that vehicle. Glad you got to drive it.

Ive always had a place in my heart for these!

I was watching a few clips of the Black Bear pass in the US and there is a clip of two of these doing that pass, not for the faint of heart.

I loved the look of these when they came out, and I still do. Someone near me has one and I always slow down to gawp at it.

It's definitely one of those vehicles that sort of was obscure before it even got old. I have only ever seen one other one which hasn't been modified. Another oddball thing around this period was the Renault Scenic off road variant which came out and was hugely advertised but sold in very small numbers.

A car I would not even have known existed, had it not been for you, James. Won't be getting one myself, but it sure is very cool.

so we had one of these off the IM Group press fleet in September 1998 (just looked out the article). Had a rear view camera. I will have to dig some picture out!

We've had lots of Isuzu stuff here in Australia, some badged as Holdens like the Gemini, Piazza etc and some badged as Isuzu. The MU-X is a really cool looking 3 door 4x4. Not quite as outlandish as this but they do look pretty damn cool..

I have wanted one of these since they came out, being of a certain age, they looked like something from the future, an earthbound moon buggy! Just awesome ❤👏👏👏😉

I adore the look of it with the modifications

When I moved to the US in 2000, I went to the auto show in DC. They had one of these and I was quite intrigued buy it. I started looking for on e a few years ago and they were either beaten to death, high mileage or insanely overpriced. They did do a rather spiffy looking Ironman edition in black and yellow. For two people is a reasonable off road vehicle but you might as well whip out the rear seats and make use of the space for storage. This is the type of car you definitely need to install a back up camera on.

Am here after seeing Ye driving these

In Japan the VehiCROSS has a backup camera and its one of the first car to do so.

Oh wow, I owned one of these back in 2001

I may be nuts but a convertible of this will sell with proper ads. The one version was so cool. PS I am an original owner 1999.

I ❤ it. So fun and different. The designer must have been eating Japanese mushrooms; so much better for it.

Like other Isuzu products of the era (trooper, frontera etc) amazingly capable off road. Unlike other similar products...... what a look! I can see so many parts from trooper/frontera on the inside. I would have one given the chance. Fuel economy figures are about the same as similar age Vauxhall monterey V6s from what I remember. I'm not really east anglia, but not far off it and once things are more organised round here you are welcome to come along on some lanes :)

You need to get a Pajero Evolution on the channel after driving this.

I remember the vehicross from the game test drive off road 3 on ps one that i loved back in 3rd grade.

Always loved these and wanted one so bad. I believe that there’s quite a following in the US with off-roaders.

I came here because of KanYe West, and now I want this car.

I loved this when it was in production. Of course I haven't driven one, but I recall seeing it in motoring magazines in addition to spotting one on the road here in Cape Town and being impressed by the design. In a way it also goes with this show's synthwave outro music.

There had been one for sale at a local low value 2nd hand car garage near me for years, can’t remember it still being there now but makes me want to check! Purple over grey bumpers and small window to body panel ratio, looked fun just unusual

Who’s here after seeing Ye whippin one of these ??

One of the cars that I've always fancied but for one reason or another never bought. There's a standard looking example on a driveway near Derby that I drive by regularly and always makes me smile! 👍

To me this looks amazing especially the wide track with these tires, i personally like all these unusual shapes, but the fact it's short and wide is really attractive to me... Japanese gas is actually lower octane then in US, you have to use RON to AKI conversion

I first learned of this car on Hoovies Garage, when i was in California last year I saw one for real & for sale, inside it reminded me of my 1990’s SWB Shogun. I momentarily thought about importing it back home as it looked so cool, but it was quite pricey as US used car prices are much higher than UK plus cost of shipping etc & it was LHD & high mileage.

My family had a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo. Super solid suv and stupid reliable. I miss that car so much!

I remember driving with my brother one day and we just saw one of these for sale at some used car dealer. We literally stopped and turned around to stare at it cause we were so confused what it was.

I really like the looks of it. Never seen one!

A great head turning vehicle which I would imagine is a ‘hoot’ off-road. Love the looks 😮

It’s really funny for me to see the RU-vid car world review this vehicle now and say it’s super rare and odd. In fact, I’ve known this vehicle since I was 6 or so (am now almost 25 years old), even as a European. Back then, I had a video game that featured exactly this car, even with a lot of racing livery and huge tires. The game was called OFF-ROAD ARENA, you can still find it on Google. I played so many hours as a child! I’ve never seen one on the road though.

Thanks J, definitely a bit bonkers that one! 🙏🙏

Dope spec

There was just an awesome Vehicross on the US based Cars n Bids that unfortunately ended up priced slightly out of my range of comfort so I gave up on it (and I regret it a bit). These are sweet vehicles that certainly draw attention. Fixing them up look a bit challenging, however.

Your videos are so interesting James you talk about real cars and real facts about cars god bless you my son I hate Top Gear x

This thing looks rather beastly. Gives the impression of absolute indestructibility while going anywhere…

Even from new, I always thought these had a bit of a Hannibal Lecter face to them, but they still look super cool. Still futuristic looking 4x4 in the perfect size.

Hi James, I imported one of these from a friend in the states complete with red leather (😎) and sent it over to Spain as our holiday car. We used it for a few years over there. With a 3.0 quad cam v6 was great fun, especially off-road on sand etc with all the gunt and decent suspension! We used to lift my young daughter into her child seat via the rear door over the top of the rear seat back because the access was so poor via the two side doors. That always got us some looks from the bad parent police. It was terrible on fuel ended up, driving it back to England when it was no longer required over there (when we could no longer lift my daughter in 😂). Cost me a fortune in fuel to get it back but a good fun drive with loads of conversations to the tune of what the hell is it? If you think about it, this was the first real ‘crossover’ production vehicle as it pre-dated, the Range Rover Evoque etc.

Iv recently got into off-roading in a little vitara , it’s a super cheap hobby that’s a lot of fun to share with my dad once a month Come along, you might like it A full day out costs less than 50 miles in My rs4

Whilst VehiCross was not for sale in Indonesia (I saw one though and I basically flipped even though there were Gallardo STS and 718 Spyder next to me), Isuzu's presence in Indonesia is pretty much guaranteed. We have this diesel MPV thing called Panther, and since it was first introduced back in 1991 all the way to its final year of 2020, it only saw 1 major model change. Because... why mend it if it's not broken? The thing is slow, but as bulletproof as tank and as dependable as a well-paid sherpa. Us Indonesians were gutted when Panther was discontinued.

Late 90’s? My buddy got a grey one 4x4 around then, I had just got a Rodeo at the time and was blown away how cool that thing was. They still do look pretty sweet

A friends dad in back highschool had one. I thought it was so cool!

It took me a long time to track one down, but we had #1279 for multi-decades before a collector talked me out of ours about two years ago. For the US market ones, they sound pretty decent for a larger V6 with a full exhaust, and leaving it in TOD mode made it feel a lot lighter than they were. There's a few niggles on the early years (technically All of them were early years due to limited build volume) but oil leaks are a common failure point as is some burning, and the window tracks have cheap plastic parts that will break at random. Ours didn't have those issues as I knew about them prior to purchase, but they're out there. For a V6, they get pathetically low MPG (like 15 with 33" tires) but they're built damn tough. Mechanically they're stout and share parts with the Trooper II, but if you ever had a body problem, good luck finding replacements...

Imagine having huge tyres with Maxxis written on them in massive white letters and then recreating the word on all 4 arches but spelling it wrong 4 times 😂. The Vehicross as a car, is cool as penguin piss though

I had a black Isuzu Piazza turbo handling by Lotus and it also had many asking what it was. In Sweden where i live the Piazza was very rare car especially the Lotus version. Love the look of this Isuzu too! Cheers lads!

There used to be one of these that I saw in Belfast often. It was lifted and paint with black raptor bed liner, it looked like something from Judge Dredd!

Although I'm a "dyed in the wool" Land Rover guy, I always thought this vehicle was awesome. It's such a beast ! Would I have one ? Hell YES !

I had a 2001 model that I got brand new for 21K in 2002. Took a Greyhound to Chicago to get it and drove it home. God I still miss it 😢

I remember around 3 years ago i saw one parked in Dunstable, i was amazed, i never knew about them. 😅

Jay, you need to drive yourself a Piazza! Shame you're on the wrong side of the pond, I'd let you take a look at my '89 Impulse Turbo! I'd totally buy a Vehicross if I saw one. Funny coincidence, I saw one of their last vehicles, the Axiom, on my way home from work yesterday. I wouldn't say Isuzu was unknown here in the US. Rodeos and Troopers were very common sight on the road in the late 90s and early 2000s, and you still see them around today. Such a shame that GM gutted them. That 75 degree V6 really does sound different, doesn't it?

I know of at least one in New Zealand, came across one towing a boat trailer at a beach in Auckland a few years ago. A very interesting, quirky and fun car, at least to look at.

A perfect everyday unit …. In a Canadian winter … and for the summer camping …. And underground parking…. :o)

I seem to remember ex-Lotus designer Simon Cox created this? Great design which has stood the test of time.

Buddy of mine at work bought one of these back in the early ‘90’s. It was a really cool car except it no access to the back other than through the tiny hatch.

Isuzu suffered from living in the directionless General Motors Household. Great Video!!!!

I gotta say I like it.. even for todays driving.. looks like fun!

I almost expected it to come around a corner in the Jurassic Park livery!!

I have wanted one of these since they were new in the nineties. I always thought they looked like Godzilla’s head. I definitely remember seeing them in the states before 99’ but I also lived near the biggest Isuzu dealership in the country.

Back when I was into Jeeps, a guy in one of the clubs I used to ‘wheel with had one of these. I remember it being a 5-speed manual, but maybe I’m wrong.

When I was 20 I almost bought one of these - we got Loads of them in New Zealand as grey imports ex Japan.

Lovely soundtrack!

The big claim to fame for these were the ceramic stamping molds used for the sheet metal. This allowed cheaper molds to be made for lower cost, but also have reduced life, hence limited production.

"Ladies, Gentlemen and everybody else", love it lol

Never heard of this, mad thing.

I literally just drove past a yellow one for sale here in Montana lol. I want one

I believe the Toyota Caldina GT-4 has similar, if not for the same type of front seats

Isuzu Rodeo , Isuzu Amigo or a Opel Frontera all the same SUV . This Isuzu SUV may have been known as the MU in most of the world, but in the States it was sold as the Amigo starting in 1989. It was all so sold as a Honda Passport .

I’d love one of these…So weird, and unashamedly different.

The Legendary Vehi-Cross is the quirky and rare 4x4 to exist I'd rather have this over any new suvs

This man is not reading any text,he know things :-)

Now I love that. Landy drover though 😂

What does the rear tailgate weigh withthe tire in it an what is up withthe tail pipe

I love these things and I want one too lol.

Always been tempted, never been drunk enough. 😜

One of the best!!

Normally when James reviews SUVs I'm straight into the comments section saying that SUVs are idiotic cars driven by idiotic people. But that Isuzu is idiotic in a good way, and about 86 billion times cooler than a Nissan Kumquat. Which is probably why no-one bought them. I want one too, you win James.

I have only seen one of these, that was some years ago on Malta. Apparently the Isuzu importer sold a couple of them.

i thought these were SO COOL & futuristic when i was a youngin. Id love to build one today with a V8 LS swap!!

Isuzu we never got the Vie Cross in Australia there maybe a couple of JDM private imports and l have driven many Isuzu trucks and trucks from other manufacturers and my conclusion is that the Isuzu is the best rigid truck to drive and they have been manual and an automatic but in Australia at one time was owned by GM and in the 2008 l bought a Holden Rodeo flat top ute we did get the Isuzu MU standing for Mystery Ute which was a 4X4 short ute well not officially a ute because it didn't have a tray as for this funky looking Isuzu looks good

I like the styling!