Two-Door Isuzu Trooper: It Exists
Posted by Doug DeMuro in It Exists on | 26 comments
Once again, I’ve been away. This is, I swear, the very last time. It just turns out that writing a book, and then editing a book, and then formatting a book is much more difficult than I ever realized, which is why competent writers have people to do these things.
Fortunately, I’ve returned with one of my favorite “It Exists” cars to get things going again. And that car is: the two-door Isuzu Trooper.
Now, I’ve never witnessed a two-door Isuzu Trooper in person. A second-generation model, that is. We’ve all seen first-gens rotting out on the lawns of rural America. But I wish I’d seen a second-gen, because just look at this thing. It looks like a completely unconvincing Photoshop of a four-door Trooper.
In the States, we got this from 1993 to 1995. Other markets got it a little longer. And Australia got it as – this is entirely true – the Holden Jackaroo. I’d love to see the focus group results on that one.
What I like best about the two-door Trooper is that it appears virtually nothing was altered from the normal Trooper, aside from a much shorter wheelbase. So that means the car Consumer Reports rolled over as a four-door was now even smaller and less stable. This, I believe, would only amount to lots of fun.
Sadly, we’ll never know for sure. Few two-door Troopers were made, and even fewer exist. Bonus points to anyone who finds one for sale online. Even more bonus points to anyone who actually purchases one. Just go slow around the turns.
26 Responses to “ “Two-Door Isuzu Trooper: It Exists”
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I really want to run a Trooper in 24 Hours of Lemons. Team Rollover, anyone?
This would actually be hilarious…
I recently bought one ,in process of restoring it.
Equally rare is the two-door 2nd-gen Toyota 4runner. The guy I bought my Cressida Wagon from has one.
Equally rare is the Cressida Wagon!
No but really the second-gen 4Runner is very rare as a two-door, also with good reason. I do occasionally see two-door Pathfinders from that same era.
“Equally rare is the Cressida Wagon!”
Growing up (I was born in ’75), my best friend’s mom had a navy blue Cressida Wagon (’85 or ’86, I’m not sure) and it was a 5-speed! Talk about rare!
I remember someone at my school drove a white over gray two door one and even in elementary school I could never get over the cartoonish proportions.
What about the two door first gen RAV4′s? Or their even rarer convertible variant. I’ve always liked two door SUV’s, they’re about the perfect size and shape for my needs, a single guy with a big dog, who likes to go camping, but really never needs a backseat or 4 person capabilities. But they’re all either enormous (Blazer, Bronco) or embarrassing (Amigo, RAV4). I test drove an LR Evoque just because the dealer had a two door one. A perfect car for me, if I won the lotto I’d have one as a daily driver.
Weren’t all the two-door RAV4s convertibles?
I think both you AND the Land Rover dealer are praying for that lotto win. When I take my Rover in, those are the only things they have as service loaners. And you know times are bad if it’s outselling the LR2!
If you google image RAV4 2 Door you’ll see some of them (even some of the cartoonish 2nd gen 2 doors the US didn’t get), they almost look like the convertible versions with a removable hardtop, but they’re permanent. Sort of a half-assed solution to making both a two door hardtop and convertible version, kind of like the Freelander and Amigo 2 door hardtops. I don’t know why they aren’t removable like on Broncos.
I never knew that. An article all by itself, I think! What a weird decision from Toyota, who at that time was known for never making a weird decision EVER.
I think the two door RAV4 hardtops are kind of cute. They remind me of a puppy. Made me think of this http://www.creterentals.gr/file/2013/03/Daihatsu-Terios2.jpg painted like a fox for that one Top Gear episode!
Your posting prompted me to do some research (and it’s sad that I actually have this information)…
The 2-door Trooper was known as the RS model (4-door came in S and LS). All the sources I’ve found show that it was only sold during the 1993 and 1994 model years. As a 2-door “truck” it was subject to a 25% import tariff while the 4-door Trooper only had a 2.5% tariff. Because of that, it couldn’t be priced competitively.
The 1994 RS 2-door had a sticker price or $24,450 with 5-speed manual or $25,600 with 4-speed automatic. It had most of the same features as the upper-level LS 4-door, except it only had anti-lock brakes on the rear wheels. If you wanted 4-wheel ABS on the RS, it was optional for $1100!!! The only other option offered on the RS was a CD player for $550.
All of this is funny, but the best part is they called it the RS like it was some sort of lightweight racing version of the Trooper. That pricing is crazy and still today, 20 years later, no one would buy it at those levels… especially if they were charging a grand for ABS!
Jackaroo would do just fine in focus groups in slang-crazy Australia, since it’s a well-known term for a worker on cattle or sheep stations. I’m from Australia, and as I recall, my eyebrows remained resolutely lowered when I first heard of the Holden model. I didn’t exactly know that it was used to describe trainees but still, it was a familiar term.
Good to see you posting again, both here and on TTAC.
I figured it was an Australian term – the only legitimate explanation for a name like that! Frankly I wish that name came here. Probably wouldn’t have kept Isuzu afloat, though.
Thanks for the kind words. Happy to be back. I won’t leave again!
Here’s a brief video review of the ’93 Trooper RS (and Rodeo). It’s only about six minutes long, but you still may struggle to stay awake. It’s from MotorWeek (which was beyond lame back then)…
http://testdrivejunkie.com/1993-isuzu-trooper-rs-rodeo-test-drive/
Actually noticed several of these (as well as similar vintage Toyota and Mitsubishi 2 doors) on a recent vacation in rural France. Wonder if they enjoyed lower taxes vs. their 4 door cousins? And by several, I mean 5 or 6 n two weeks, which is probably more than I have ever seen ever in the US.
I have noticed that rural Europeans tend to get into 2-door SUVs. New two-door Suzuki SUVs, for example, are still really popular over there even though they look like they were designed in the ’80s.
I lived in the SF mission district from Aug 2007 to Jan 2012. There was an RS parked near Harrison and 26th for the entire time I was there. It had a smashed back end but it clearly still drove to some extent, since it moved to different parts of the streets (have to avoid cleaning tickets at least). I didnt realize how rare they were, since there are so many 1990s Japanese SUVs in the bay area, it kind of blended in. I think there were 4 1990-1996 Monteros in a 4 block radius of it.
So what do these bonus points allow me?
http://york.craigslist.org/cto/3881756900.html
I was surprised (and impressed) to see a lot of 2nd gen Holden / Isuzu Tooperoos still going strong on the roads of NZ last year. In the UK I believe it was known as the Vauxhall Monterey.
Two friends of mine in the US still run the ones they bought new in 1999 and 2000 and swear by their ruggedness and reliability.
All the same, the 2 door version does look like the clown car version …
They sold a bunch of these as the Vehicross, right? The Vehicross was pretty much just a 2-door Trooper with a unique body on it. The unique body panels were poured in a ceramic mould that was only good for about 5K units. So once they ran through those, that was it.
There are currently 23 Vehicross listings on AutoTrader.com.
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/searchresults.xhtml?zip=30319&endYear=2014&Log=0&modelCode1=VEHICROSS&startYear=1981&makeCode1=ISU&sellerTypes=b&numRecords=25&searchRadius=0&mmt=%5BISU%5BVEHICROSS%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&captureSearch=true&Log=0
As a side note, my neighbor has a bright yellow one. He loves it, but he’s a little odd.
I grew up in a 2 door SUV in GA, as dad bought a new 1977 FJ40 when I was 6. It became mostly mine at 16 with about 50,000 miles on it(mom drove it to town and back once or twice a week). Man I have a thousand stories to tell about it. I moved on to a ’91 CRX Si. Eventually after surviving my brother at 16, dad sold it with 120,000 miles on it for much more than he paid for it new. I kick myself even today for letting him do it, as he offered it to me for a song. Yeah that story had nothing to do with the Trooper(other than 2 side doors), but I just wanted to tell it!
Coincidentally to this posting, my gen II Trooper is launching on it’s last long distance (2000+ miles) journey this morning for parts up Northeast. With exception of a couple of starters and a transmission or so, it has been dead reliable. The comfort and cargo space haven been amazing, and yet it is actually smaller than same-year Explorers and Trailblazers.
I will miss using it dearly on my commute, well except for the sloppy handling/no side airbag thing. But I will enjoy visiting it twice yearly on our jaunts ‘home’.
Isuzu screwed the pooch in 2003 when they replaced it with the Ascender, but truthfully they were already playing their end game…
Now’s your big chance to own a low mileage one that doesn’t appear to be all rusted out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-Isuzu-Trooper-RS-Sport-Utility-2-Door-2-6L-/330959139080?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4d0eb3b108
The Chicken Tax probably made this and every other two-door, imported SUV too expensive.