According to the folks who make them, inexpensive 2-wheel drive pickups are the most
sought-after members of the light-hauler clan. There are good reasons for that: Many
owners are first-time buyers, while others buy in large quantity for delivery fleets,
construction companies or other service businesses. Civilizing fancy stuff such as
high-powered stereos, 4-wheel drive and luxurious upholstery do not fit their needs
and/or budgets.
What these thrift-minded customers do demand (after the lowest possible price) is
reliability. After that, if possible, a modicum of comfort. Not to mention a bit of
style.
If those are the basic attributes you're seeking from a compact pickup truck truck, the
Isuzu Hombre is well worth a once-over.
Isuzu has long been a player in the entry-level compact pickup truck game. Its initial U.S.
offering was built for--and sold by--Chevrolet; the Chevrolet Luv truck competed against the
Mazda-sourced Ford Courier and Dodge/Mitsubishi Ram 50. As Isuzu established its own
dealer body, the P'up and successors continued the no-frills policy, a strategy that
guarantees survival in an intensely competitive market.
Now the wheel has turned full circle, as General Motors and Isuzu team to produce
another inexpensive pickup. This time, however, it's GM doing the manufacturing (in the U.S.) and Isuzu doing the selling.
No shame in that. For Isuzu, it's an opportunity to keep its pickup truck customers happy
without having to foot the bill for product development costs. For GM, the Isuzu deal is a way to keep the assembly lines running at full speed. Both companies win, and so does the customer, particularly the customer operating on a tight budget.
It does not take a trained eye to see the Hombre's uncanny resemblance to the
ChevroletS-Series and GMC Sonoma compact trucks. It should look somewhat like them; it rolls
out of the same factory and is built up from many of the same components, with the
same basic chassis dimensions.
But the three trucks are far from identical, at least in appearance. Much of Hombre's
Isuzu-designed exterior sheet metal comes from GM's Brazilian subsidiary. And even
though the all new body panels--hood, front and rear fenders, grille, grille surround, and
the headlamp units--attach to the same structure found under the Chevrolet and GMC trucks,
they give the Hombre a distinctive look.
In this case, the Hombre comes out a winner, at least to those who like their trucks
to have sloping, aerodynamic noses. The effect--if any--on aerodynamics may be minimal,
since pickups are not generally known for their wind-cheating prowess, thanks to that
open cargo bed out back. But the styling effort does make the Hombre downright pretty.
Underneath, the Hombre is all GM, riding on an independent front suspension with a
live rear axle suspension attached to a sturdy ladder frame--standard pickup
construction procedure. These are pieces that have stood the test of time, which means
the Hombre should be every bit as tough as its Wild West name and as durable as its
U.S.-badged kin.
When it comes to the selection process, Hombre is a paragon of simplicity: One cab
size, one cargo box size, 2-wheel drive, and two trim levels. The base S is as
stripped-down as a truck can be without being uninhabitable; the XS is a little nicer,
but still obviously conceived with cost-consciousness in mind. It can be distinguished from its lower-cost stablemate by its standard rear bumper, something the S versions lack.
