Base price: $27,000 (est); XS, $29,500 (est)
Vehicle type: front-engine, rear- or rear/4-wheel-drive; 5-door 5-passenger wagon
Interior volume, F/R (cu ft) 53–55/42
Cargo volume, seats up/maximum (cu ft) 35/85
Wheelbase 106.4 in
Length/width/height 182.6/70.7/67.2 in
Turning circle 38.4 ft
Curb weight 3900–4200 lb
EPA city/highway mpg 16/20
Fuel-tank capacity/range 19.5 gal/312 mi
Passive restraints driver and passenger airbags
POWERTRAIN
3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V-6, 230 hp; 4-sp auto
SUSPENSION
F ind, struts, unequal-length control arms, torsion bars, anti-roll bar
R rigid axle, multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar
BRAKES
F/R vented disc/drum; 4wd, vented disc
ABS standard
|
ISUZU AXIOM
Isuzu debuted the Axiom last year, and all that’s new for 2003 are some reconfigured option packages. It’s a crossover vehicle with a difference. Other crossovers—such as the Lexus RX300— use a modified passenger-car platform but, since Isuzu doesn’t make any unibody passenger cars, the Axiom combines a boxed-section, ladder-type frame from the company’s Rodeo with a spiffy new body. The suspension is also from the Rodeo: independent up front with unequal-length control arms and torsion bars; a five-link coil-spring live-axle setup at the rear. The Axiom’s engine is another known quantity—the Trooper’s 3.5-liter V-6, modified to bump horsepower to 230. Despite its truck origins, the Axiom has a fresh look, smartly turned out interior, and a nice array of standard equipment—all of which help make it a reasonable alternative to the big-box SUVs.
|
