2000 Isuzu Trooper Reviews, Pricing & Specs

So I've owned my Trooper for a year since Feb 2011 and it's had it's ups and downs. Bought it used with about 126,000 miles on it and it seemed great! Took it on it's first long trip up the mountain for a camping trip. The next day we left and once we were down from the mountain it had a little slippage trying to catch gears. Long story short the transmission had leaked the whole way down and by the time I got it home was nearly out of fluid. Took it to local auto parts store to get fluid for it however I could not find the transmission dipstick or anything plugs. So I went back into the auto parts store and asked if they knew where it was on my truck. Turns out the transmission on my trooper and a lot if not all I believe are sealed systems so you have to inject fluid from the bottom (pain in the ass). Went through a lot of hard times with the dealer and everything else trying to get the car in working condition because the three times the dealer who sold it to me did repairs they broke more stuff and the beginning of this year I found out the truth which is they put in wrong parts and did horrible work all along causing my transmission to get totally buggered. Early this year had the transmission rebuilt and since then it's run fine. As for performance it handles well for a large bulky vehicle, steering is a little stiff compared to other cars I've driven but I got used to it in a couple days and it doesn't bother me a bit. It has great acceleration for it's size, now that the transmission is fixed it shifts really smoothly and doesn't jerk. Braking is great, and after 140,000 miles it's not spongy at all. Overall I think it handles great for the whale that it is. As for build quality It hasn't had any problems besides the transmission (which is a common transmission widely used, 4L30E). I don't know what caused the transmission to originally have problems and the total destruction of it was caused by the dealer installing wrong torque converters and bashing up other parts of it, not to mention poorly reassembling it and loosing other parts. So I really can't say much about that. Other then that no problems, just standard wear and tear replacement, I replaced the timing belt and water pump when I got it and only other thing I've replaced is the fuel filter. Solid vehicle no squeaks or rattles. Appearance is all up to personal opinion, I think it's a nice looking car. It is rather large and bulky but I like it. Interior is very nice, not too cluttered. For being such a big vehicle it is pretty comfy inside. My girlfriend likes the room of our 99 Tahoe better but I'll swing either way, it's nice to feel cozy and snug rather then sliding around on turns. All personal opinion though. Gas mileage is a bit of a bummer especially now, I generally get 16 MPG in the city and up to 18 on trips. Quite a drop from my 95 Maxima which averaged 28 MPG and got up to 32 on trips. Maintenance wise only the transmission rebuild was costly. Other parts for it are average price. Fun to drive? I like it! When I got the car it has it's stock audio system in, which is complete crap to be honest. So I installed a custom system myself, nothing crazy, just new front and rear speakers and a couple 15's in a custom box in back, a new deck with an aux in and I'm more then happy. You can definitely cruise around and it maneuvers really tight for being so big, as long as your not going up a super steep incline you can accelerate with no problem. Cruising around is nice and it makes traffic more bearable when you're higher off the ground in a truck or SUV, and for me with a nice sound system it's a breeze. My only problem is I wish I had gotten a 4x4 but paying for college and food comes before fun. Hope this review helps!Apr 24, 2011