D R I V E N

Let’s play a game called evolve the AUV.  The objective is to turn a light truck-based utility vehicle from its primitive origins into a well-mannered, civilized creature that wants to pay a visit to the opera. 

First evolutionary task is walking upright.  Not that difficult because AUVs are already tall to begin with.  Among them, the Crosswind XUV stands out, its height equaling that of its full-sized SUV sibling, the Trooper.  Add some visual muscle using a two-tone paint job with corner-to-corner body cladding, flared fenders, aluminum stepboard, and glittery taillights.  Attach large tires, front bumper cap with extra lights, functional roof rails, and tailgate-mounted spare tire, and it handily passes for a more advanced specie of utility vehicle.

The next important upgrade is to the interior.  Let’s cover the seats in an acceptably luxurious material—how about leather?  The Crosswind goes so far as to provide black-and-gray Montana leather.  The XUVi dispenses with fake wood, which is quite a relief.  Simple black plastic is the material of choice for dashboard and consoles.  Instruments are also straightforward, offering all the necessary readings in a no-nonsense font.  For controls, there are ancient slide switches for the aircon and a twist-type handbrake lever—undoubtedly retro, but we doubt that these will ever become hip.

Brute force capability is almost a given in this category.  With its 2.5-liter, direct-injection, normally aspirated diesel producing 80 hp and 167 Nm of torque, the Isuzu seems tepid on paper.  How does it do in the concrete jungle?  As expected, the Crosswind excels at truckish tasks.  Throw a bunch of boxes, crates and furniture in the rear compartment and it’ll merely shrug.  Ask it to climb a steep incline (say, Eastwood City’s parking ramp) with a full load of people and it won’t break into a sweat.  Bags of low-end torque allow it to drive uphill as easily as if the landscape was flat.  Strangely, when the landscape is flat, it doesn’t seem to accelerate that much faster.  There’s enough grunt for decent initial getaways at stoplights, but it loses steam as the speed climbs past 80 km/h.  The automatic may save you from the rubbery manual gearshift, but it will subject you to being passed by Kia Prides.               

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