A U T O     B U Z Z

Predicting a further boom in the Asian Utility Vehicle market (no doubt boosted because of the government's deferment in their revised taxation scheme), Isuzu Motors Philippines unveiled their latest variant in their Crosswind range.

The XUV, an acronym for eXtreme Utility Vehicle was unveiled last Thursday at the Caramba Restaurant at Fort Bonifacio.

This latest variant is poised to challenge the sportier variants of the Toyota Revo (VX200) and the Mitsubishi Adventure (Super Sport).

Although lacking a gasoline engine, the XUV is powered by same robust 2.5-liter turbo diesel engine found in the XTO variant. The engine boasts of 85 bhp at 3900 rpm and a torque reading of 189 Nm at 2000.

According to Isuzu, the theory behind the XUV was to produce an AUV with the striking features of an SUV. Thus, the XUV was given a boost in its ride height (1891 mm vs. 1765 mm), widened thanks to new body cladding as well as having SUV cues such as 235/70 R 15 tires and a rear-door mounted spare tire cover.

As for features, the XUV has a lot of body kit to keep any person happy such as bumper overrider with steel chrome garnish, full-body cladding with side step board, a revised multi-reflector rear combination lamps, and yes...even gold badging! In addition, it gets aluminum roof rails as standard.

Inside, the XUV gets an all leather interior with body-colored matched stitching to give a more "European" look. Imagine...even the twist-type handbrake receives perforated leather! An upgraded single CD-player with 6-speaker system is also found aboard the XUV.

Available in a striking range of colors that is quite similar to the Civic SiR of the past (e.g. Copper Orange, Sonic Yellow to name a few). The Isuzu Crosswind sells for PHP 809,000 for the 5-speed manual and PHP 849,000 for the 4-speed automatic.

Isuzu claims that they will sell at least 400 units of the XUV per month.

[ BUZZ MAIN ]