1989 Isuzu Trooper S review from North America

When I got the car I was very excited to find that it only had 68K and was being sold for $2,700! I noticed that the car was starting rough and running a bit rough. So I did a small tune up. Compression was good. New distributer cap, rotor, plugs, and air filter cost me $90 bucks.

At 73K I replaced the 4 accessory belts and timing belts for $270. Next time I'm gonna do it myself!

Also at 74K I had a new catalytic converter installed because my car failed emissions testing. That set me back another $370! Ouch.

Right now it needs a new front upper balljoint replaced and a valve adjustment (which is recommended every 15K for the 2.6 Litre engine).

This is a quality vehicle. Its important to note that this 4 door long wheelbase SUV only weights roughly 3,500 pounds. Which as anyone who is into cars will tell you, is about 1,500 to 2,000 pounds lighter than similar sized cars today.

Having such a lightweight truck means each part it less stressed. 4 wheel disk breaks, clutch, suspension components, etc. all have a longer life because there is less stress on them.

The Trooper is easy to work on, esp. for someone who isn't a trained mechanic.

For the future I would like to continue to drive it with care and maintain the truck to keep in it top running condition. I would recommend that owners buy some simple tools to do most maintenance themselves to save some cheese.

Overall the Trooper is a fine car with plenty of room. The engineering on this car is simple and utilitarian which makes it fun to work on. I plan on keeping this car for a long time.