On sale from November from £11,357.
Press Release
All-New Isuzu Rodeo Pickup Mixes Business with Pleasure
- Tough, style-setting new body with car-like detailing
- Spacious interior with luxurious, soft-touch materials
- Choice of Single or Double Cab, 4x2 or 4x4 drivetrains
- Tax-friendly 1,000 kg-plus payloads
- New 130 PS 3.0 litre DT for 4x4 models - bigger than all competitors
- Offers 99 mph top speed in optional 4-speed automatic form
- Rodeo 3.0 litre boasts 2,500 kg braked towing limit
- Smaller, updated 100 PS 2.5 litre continues for 4x2 versions
- Extra Urban economy of 38.7 mpg from Rodeo 2.5 DT
- New suspension with precise rack-and-pinion power-assisted steering
- Outstanding standard safety features include ABS with EBD, twin front airbags, door beams, front and rear crush zones and three-point seat-belts for all occupants including the Double Cab's fifth passenger
- Even the front passenger seat has ISOFIX child safety seat mountings
- Luxury-spec 5-seat 'Denver' boasts alloy wheels, air-conditioning, leather-wrapped steering wheel, radio/CD player, and electric windows
- On sale from November from £11,357.02 for the 4x2 Single Cab (On-The-Road but excluding VAT)
Engineered to be the most car-like one-tonner to look at and to drive, the new Isuzu Rodeo is set to make a major impact in the hotly-contested UK market for 'lifestyle' pickups. This fifth-generation Isuzu pickup will be sold in vast volumes in more than 130 countries worldwide wearing, for example, 'Holden' badges in Australia and 'Chevrolet' in the United States.
The Rodeo underwent more than 1,000,000 km of torturous testing and has already captured a 43 per cent market share in Thailand where it is built in an impressively modern factory. This amounts to 10,000 registrations per month. Isuzu (UK) Limited's ambitions are more modest at around 3,500 units per year but both the importer and its dealers are determined to capture substantial sales from the established Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota and Ford/Mazda competition.
Key customers will be public utilities, farmers and the construction industry for the 'workhorse' models. However, thanks to its comfort, performance and safety initiatives, the Rodeo Denver should prove ideal for businessmen wishing to minimise their tax bills.
Because of their 1,000 kg-plus payloads, all Rodeos allow a registered company to reclaim the VAT, while company car drivers are only liable to taxation on a fixed £500 per year - including the use of free fuel where offered. The new Rodeo also has the potential to attract loyal Isuzu Trooper owners - especially when fitted with optional side-glazed cargo tops which effectively turn the vehicle into a versatile estate car.
Prices for the new Isuzu Rodeo range are: 2.5 Diesel Turbo 4x2 Single Cab - £11,357.02; 2.5 DT 4x2 Double Cab - £12,057.02; 3.0 DT 4x4 Single Cab - £14,057.02; 3.0 DT 4x4 Double Cab - £15,602.02; 3.0 DT 4x4 Denver (manual) - £17,302.02; 3.0 DT 4x4 Denver (auto) - £18,153.02 (all On-The-Road but excluding VAT).
The Best-Looking One Tonne Pickup?
Japan's Number One truck manufacturer and a world leader in the design and manufacturer of diesel engines, Isuzu was determined to create the best-looking one tonne pickup available, combining toughness with car-like detailing. For example, the bold front-end boasts jewel-like vertically-stacked multi-reflector headlamps which swoop into the bonnet line as first seen on Isuzu concept cars. The strong-looking front grille also dominates, especially when chromed as in the top-spec Denver.
All Rodeos have wide tracks and clearly-defined wheel arch swage lines - further enhanced by chunky-looking extensions on 4x4 models. The cab design itself is especially well integrated with the load bed - avoiding the boxy, add-on look of many of the Rodeo's competitors.
Car-like detailing extends to the tight panel-gaps and smoothly-contoured surfaces which are further enhanced by the optional high-gloss Mica or Metallic paint. Even the exterior door handles have a substantial feel yet exude quality, being of grab-type design but with an especially light movement. Practical exterior details include large wrap-round rear lights and a tailgate with lip spoiler. Featuring a 180 degree opening facility, the tailgate can be dropped down vertically for easing loading and unloading.
Spacious, Ergonomic, Comfortable Interior
Considerable thought and effort has gone into the new Rodeo's interior, resulting in car-like standards of soft-touch surfaces such as the doors and fascia plus ergonomics and seat comfort previously unheard of in a pickup.
The stylish one-piece fascia would not look out of place in an upmarket executive saloon with all major controls readily at hand. Air-conditioning controls on the Denver are easy to use rotary dials and all models have four-speed wipers with intermittent control. The manual gearbox is especially slick-shifting and every variant also has a floor-mounted handbrake. Remarkably, some competitors still persist with an umbrella-type design. Rodeo 4x4 models have a fascia-mounted button to select 'shift-on-the fly' allowing 4WD or 2WD to be engaged on the move at speeds up to 60 mph. For low ratio, the vehicle must be stationary but selection is equally simple.
Other convenience features include remote keyless entry, leather-wrapped tiltable steering wheel and four electric windows on the Denver plus a single-disc CD and radio for all models which also have power steering, and anti-blind-spot door mirrors. All Rodeos benefit from extensive cabin sound-proofing with insulation placed in critical areas to heighten refinement.
Interior space is also generous with the rear seat backrest on the Double Cab slanted at a comfortable angle unlike many competitors which have a near vertical rake. Rear seat legroom is also ample. Equally, the rear doors are much wider than with the previous TF Pickup and can be opened up to 68.5 degrees allowing easy entry and exit. Headroom grows from 970 mm to 1,004 mm for the new model with shoulder room up from 1,410 mm to 1,450 mm. In addition, the driver's seat now has 40 mm more adjustment with up to 200 mm of travel.
