Faults:

Brake lines, shoes and disc pads have been replaced a couple of times.

Front suspension has need minor work (new bushes etc)

New starter motor.

Driver's door got stuck once, pins needed oiling.

Converted to run on CNG (LPG) in 2003.

General Comments:

I've had this car for three years now, as a run-about, and generally it's been just fine.

Isuzus are quite rare in Pakistan, and as a result, spares are difficult to find.

Though not the most comfortable, refined or good-looking of 4x4s, it's certainly a well-built and reliable machine, especially compared to locally assembled cars.

It was converted to run on CNG to reduce fuel costs, and is now very economical run (though fuel economy was not bad even before) for a 2.6-litre engine.

Good off-road and on rough patches, but on long drives, he ride can be quite bumpy, and tiring for passengers at the back!

Faults:

Condensation in headlights.

Starter and fuel pump replaced.

Constantly squealing brakes.

General Comments:

This is the most reliable vehicle imaginable.

I decided 4 years ago to stop putting money into it, and yet it kept going and going!

Started every morning, in -30 sometimes, without being plugged in!

I used synthetic oil from day 1, and I'm glad I did.

Faults:

The starter had to be replaced. One blown head gasket. One water pump. My head gasket went out around 165000 miles. The same with the water pump. The starter went out around 175,000 miles.

General Comments:

I love my Trooper even with the 2.6,it has torque,and it still has the second head gasket.

Faults:

One of the rear break callipers seized, this was the only real expensive thing and cost about £250 for parts and labour.

Other than that the only things that have needed replacing are the brake pads, fan belts (there are three!) and tyres, considering I do about 30k a year that's nothing to ring alarm bells about.

Only really bad thing is that the base of the rear door has rusted quite considerably.

There are some other rust spots on the bodywork, but they are relatively easy to cure.

General Comments:

Have been very pleased with this car, did a lot of research before buying it and I think it's paid off.

I love the chunky cubist styling! It certainly stands out (quite literally- it's very tall) amongst other 4x4s in a car park and makes a change from all the tacky plastic ones see on the roads today- drivers of Rav-4's and Freelanders shy away and always let you go first at junctions!

Although there is a bit of rust on the bodywork the sub frame is in excellent order, even compared with my last car, a Rover 800 which had far more rust and was 4 years younger.

The Trooper Citations definitely a good choice, as the top of the range (in the UK at least) you get A/C heated seats and electric windows auto freewheeling hubs- all of which still work after 15 years and 152,000 miles!

It's very nice to drive and remarkably nippy for such a big car, I have the LWB version and yet the turning circle is incredibly small.

The four-wheel drive works well to and I use the 4L gears just for fun to get up hills in the country now- very impressive driving at 25mph in 5th gear! Do read the manual before playing with the 4WD though as there are points to note on the hubs and gear changing speeds!

Definitely worth getting a Diesel, my 2.8 TD does about 29.5 to 30.5 mpg consistently whether it's on the motorway or country lanes.

I treated him to Mobil1 0W40 Diesel a while back and that made a surprising difference to the economy and engine noise- well worth spending the extra £25 and getting decent oil.

One other point is that if you get the 2.8TD you can't get a manual for this engine! Probably because petrol is so very cheap in the US they didn't make so many diesels over there. The service manual (Chilton's) as well as being remarkably poorly written, arranged and to be honest completely useless doesn't feature the 2.8TD.

It is however worth trying to get the owner/driver's manual for the Trooper, as this is excellent and, for such a small book goes into a fair bit of mechanical detail. Paid £16 for one on e-bay and well worth it!