Tough pickup gets sporty

When it comes to choosing a pickup truck, Isuzu is always near the top of buyers’ list. Which explains why their Fuego model has been at or near the top of the sales charts for the past many years.

The Isuzu Fuego should be credited for being one of the first to move pickup styling towards car-likeness. Styling cues like rounded edges, a sloping nose with a body-colored grille, integrated bumpers, and wrap-around tail lights give it a more contemporary and car-like appearance.

However, adding a front bumper overrider with integrated foglamps, applying silver-gray-finished plastic overfenders and side body cladding, and painting the rest of the vehicle an eye-popping yellow is guaranteed to get a lot of heads turning towards the direction of your pickup. This is exactly what Isuzu wrought with its top-of-the-line Fuego 4x4 Sport.

Forget car-likeness. This is one mean-looking truck. Yellow only serves to heat up its looks. It does not make the Fuego Sport look wimpy or feminine at all. Match the flashy exterior with a set of huge 8"x16" alloy wheels and steam-roller 245/75R-16 tires and you have the vehicular equivalent of a World Wrestling Federation toughie.

But while looks count for a lot, it’s what’s under the hood that matter most to many truck buyers. And when it comes to underhood beans, the Fuego 4x4 delivers. While 100 hp at 3800 rpm and 23 kg-meters of torque at 2300 rpm is hardly class-leading (the Ford Ranger 4x4, Nissan Frontier 4x4, and Mitsubishi Strada all have the upper hand here), it’s still plenty enough to propel the Fuego with gusto. Engine heroics are courtesy of a big displacement (2.8 liters), turbocharging, and Isuzu’s class-exclusive direct injection technology.

The Fuego Sport 4x4’s powerplant is connected to a part-time four-wheel-drive system with a 4-speed automatic transmission and a 2-speed transfer case. While the drivetrain plays the leading role, the chassis is very much in keeping with traditional pick-up practice. Front suspension duties are handled by independent double wishbones with torsion bar springs and a stabilizer bar, the latter to aid cornering. The rear suspension uses leaf springs matched to a rigid axle.

Speaking of suspensions, if there is one dynamic aspect that singlehandedly announces the Fuego’s pick-up truck identity, it’s the ride. Like most trucks, the Fuego rides firmly, especially if the rear cargo area is unladen. Surprisingly, however, the ride of the Sport 4x4 seems a bit more compliant compared to Fuegos of a couple of years back, despite the bigger and heavier wheels and tires. Score one for the Isuzu product planners.

Inside, the car-like description is truly appropriate. The design, texture, and overall ergonomics of the dashboard, door panels, and seats seem to have been inspired from a car, not a utility vehicle. But this is just par for the course as the same can be said for most modern pickups. What sets the Fuego Sport apart is its use of a truly flamboyant yellow-and-black leather interior color scheme. While it may not be the first to do this (the Ranger Pinatubo Edition had the same interior color treatment), it does so more convincingly than the Ford. The Fuego’s seats’ fit-and-finish are likewise superior even if the Ranger is more refined overall.

With pick-up owners using their vehicles as daily drivers rather than cargo haulers, manufacturers are going out of their way to make their interiors as hospitable as possible. With all-power features commonplace already, Isuzu turned its attention to wood trim on the instrument panel, power window control bezel, and inside door handle bezel; and more leather on the shift knob, center console, and steering wheel (the latter perhaps too much as the wheel is just too thick). A CD-ready stereo cassette player with six speakers, maplights, and keyless entry with alarm round out the Fuego Sport’s list of comfort and convenience features.