2006 Isuzu Ascender LS review from North America

Like the Trail Blazer the A/C pressure relay acted up and had to be replaced (known issue on Trail Blazer). Also the rear hatch latch has a plastic sleeve that is like a shim to cushion the closing and action on the latch, the plastic spit causing the latch to jam and not close (I unjammed and took to dealer for repairs).

Another issue with this body style is the rear window on the hatch; the hinge for the hatch-back is on the window, and if the window is open and hatch is tried to be opened, you can BEND the hinge and need to replace the window/hinge (cannot do independently), this means painting the new window hinge. Isuzu replaced for free, but to me it's a design flaw.

Last design flaw is the sunroof drain lines; they are too small and can be easily plugged, making it leak on driver and passenger (same on the Trailblazer).

These are items you need to own to find out, but been great other than these few things.

I see others talking about the mileage, must be the 2 wheel drive models, as mine (4x4) gets 13mpg city and 18ish mpg highway. Not as good as I hoped, but for the size and weight you get OK.

I wanted another truck, wife wanted a luxury car so she said an SUV would be OK if had lots of bells and whistles.

The Ascender has lots of space and rides great, the 3 rows of seating on our 7 passenger makes hauling the gang around easy. I wanted the 7 passenger since I needed the back space for hauling, the 5 passenger was just a little too small for all I haul. On a recent scout camping trip, we loaded 7 people and all the gear for a Friday - Sunday trip. Hard to do that in most SUV's, but not the Isuzu.

I like to keep my vehicles for at least 10 years to get my moneys worth, so I wanted a vehicle that was reliable. Many friends have owned Isuzu for 10+ years and still running!