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But while little Tom and Tina would complain from the lack of headrests at the back, anyone, me included, will enjoy the Alterra’s sound system. As to be expected from the purveyors of the VCD-laced Sportivo and Trooper, the Alterra comes with the industry’s first 5.1 surround system complete with DTS decoding capability and 11 speakers (including a detachable subwoofer)! Hooked to a Clarion DVD head unit and twin 7-inch LCD screens, complaints of “are we there yet” will become a thing of the past. Now, while the rest of the family enjoyed “Lord of the Rings” on the go, I enjoyed something else with the Alterra. Though the Alterra’s marketing campaign wants you to “alter your perception”, what makes the Isuzu a real kicker isn’t in what I saw, or heard or smelled. In fact, it’s in what I didn’t hear and didn’t feel. Diesel engines, particularly Japanese ones, have this nasty reputation of being powerful but short on refinement. Well, not so with this one. Twist the ignition and after a short shudder, it turns calm and quiet. Rev the engine and it doesn’t buckle. It’s smooth, and except for a bit of clatter, can be mistaken for a petrol engine. Impressive is the engine on idle, it simply sparks when on the move. I slid the shifter into first and the Alterra took off with gusto. Though the power and torque figures aren’t impressive on paper (145 horsepower, 30.0 kg-m), the engine and transmission works in perfect unison. Up- or downshifts are no problem as the manual has a good linkage and well-defined (albeit long) shift throws. The Alterra is quick to reach 100 km/h and the needle will simply keep on climbing and climbing and climbing. I’m quite amazed at how this engine made short work of the almost two-ton mass. The revised Double Wishbone / Semi-Elliptic Leaf Spring suspension set-up (shared with the D-Max), made the Alterra stable and not as handful to drive even on high speeds. There’s still some degree of bounciness, but I found it compliant riding through the usual bumps and ruts of Manila roads. My two-year old niece, for instance, found the ride comfortable enough to fall asleep—more than once! The steering is pretty vague as to be expected, but the Alterra is easier to maneuver than most. After spending around three or so days behind the wheel, I’m back here again in front of my word processor, thinking about how I could summarize the Isuzu Alterra. Two words: not bad. Initially, I thought the Toyota Fortuner would simply blow the Alterra’s doors off. Though I have yet to drive the Fortuner, I could botch for the Isuzu’s performance and interior space, which, on both accounts, is better than I expected. At the same time, the accommodations aren’t really as mundane as I thought as everyone except the guy sitting on the middle of the second row will definitely find the Alterra one comfortable SUV. So why’s everyone falling head-over-heels with the Toyota? Simple answer: price. I’ve been half expecting the Alterra to match, if not undercut, the Fortuner; but the Isuzu starts at a wallet-clogging P 1,389,000 for the base manual transmission with the modest 2-channel stereo system. The one I tested, the Omega White Pearl, two-tone with 5.1 surround sound will set you back a whopping P 1,434,000. And there’s the bottom line. Though I would have wanted to give the Isuzu Alterra a hearty thumbs up for being such a commendable product, I can’t. With such a pricing scheme, I too tend to leave the Alterra a bit lukewarm. This is one gem of an SUV, but shame about the price. |
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