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My 1999 Isuzu Trooper.  It has the Performance and Luxury Package. Red Mica with Gray Leather interior.

When I first purchased my Trooper, I really did not like those "Spyder" wheels and would have traded them for the "S" Trooper wheels.  Now I've changed my mind and think they really really look sharp.  I get a consistent 17mpg fuel economy and the Trooper engine does not use any oil at all.  I don't use synthetic oil - just regular Havoline 10W30. I have about 25,000 miles on it and have not had any problems whatsoever other than put in gasoline, change oil, and scheduled maintenance.  Well, let me be totally honest and tell you that the rotors did warp at 500 miles which the dealer fixed, and I did neglect to rotate the tires until 12,000 miles and the tires developed a roar that was annoying for while but has since disappeared.  As you might guess I am sold on the Trooper -- yes that's right -- this 1999 is my second Trooper - my first Trooper was a 1989 LS that was a great truck too.  The "roll-over" hype is all myth - I've never had a sensation of it ever doing that.  The quality of materials and construction is world class - it don't leak and it don't squeak.  I drive my Trooper in "Power" position all the time and it will accelerate as fast as most anything down the Interstate on-ramp.  My old 1989 Trooper was a little sluggish but this 1999 will "sh*t and get".  The interior design is perfect for my 6'3" size.  I test drove the Toyota 4-Runner and the Ford Explorer and felt really cramped.  The Trooper provides a "Land Rover-ish" feel inside.

Reliability, Fuel Economy, and impressions over the first 70,000 miles and 5 years:

I've updated my spreadsheet which details the cost of ownership of a 1999 Trooper for the first 70,000 miles. It's at:  http://www.isuzu.8k.com/First-70k-miles.htm

I calculate that average fuel economy over 70k miles is at 16.6 mpg. I buy mostly the cheapest Sams or Cosco gasoline. Some other information I take from this data is that:

• Maximum range was 367miles at 22.3 gallons - must have been very little useful fuel left that time:-)
• With the exception of the first fuel up, my Trooper has never given me less than 15mpg with the range consistantly between 15 and 18mpg.
• Fuel economy jumped to over 18mpg in the Sept-Nov 2001 time frame. The odometer was almost 30,000 but was after an alignment where tires were rotated in an "X" pattern. But, about 2 months later, the fuel consumption fell back closer to its overall average consumption level. Be interesting to see what happens after the 30k service.
  

So far, an I will knock on wood, there has been no major repairs and my Trooper uses no oil. I'm using mostly ordinary Havoline 10W30 oil but wonder what would the numbers be if I had used Synthetic oil.

Also, my Trooper had 20 miles on the odometer when I purchased it. I know at least 10 of those miles was me test driving it. Thus, I know it was never abused:-) It ran with the break in oil to 2,676 miles. I remember keeping the speed down below 60mph, no quick accelerations, and babying my Trooper the first 1,000 miles. After that first 1,000 miles, it regularly was driven 65-75mph while on the Interstate. My Trooper uses hardly any oil between oil changes which average just under 4,000 miles between oil changes. I do very little off road driving. I do pull a 10' trailer occasionally carrying lumber, mulch, etc.

I think this data indicates that my Trooper is a pretty good example of Isuzu quality and I wonder if we can deduce that a similar break in procedure will cut down on later oil consumption and improved fuel economy for owners of new Troopers.