Isuzu VehiCROSS Overview

If you're looking for a sport-utility vehicle that immediately sets you apart from the crowd, you don't have to go much further than the Isuzu VehiCROSS. This show-stopper began life several years ago as a concept car that was popular among auto show visitors. It was launched as a production vehicle for 1999.

The VehiCROSS name seems designed to position this macho machine as the functional equivalent of a cross-training sneaker, and indeed, it's got the appropriate mechanical credentials for serious on and off-road driving. But the most remarkable aspect of the vehicle is its daring styling. The VehiCROSS has a Star Wars quality to it, as if Darth Vader penned the design.

This radical appearance extends to the unexpectedly spacious interior, but it does create some compromises a potential buyer should consider, particularly when it comes to limited rear visibility. Overall, however, the VehiCROSS brandishes serious defining character in an increasingly crowded and homogenous SUV market.