Isuzu Alterra walkaround impressions

[mbt]

Inspected an Isuzu Alterra today... impressions:

Looks as awkward as it does in photos
The rear quarter windows are shaped horribly. If they'd have squared off that window, I think it would have looked much better. There's a fine line between distinctive styling and ugly styling. The taillights don't seem to have been given much thought. Viewing from the side presents a D-Max pickup-with-a-canopy profile, while the front says nothing else but pure D-Max. The Toyota Fortuner is much, much, much more creatively done. The Alterra concept seems like a quick afterthought to the D-Max compared to the Fortuner's well-integrated and well-thought out packaging.

The interior is drab and seems plainly-styled, although the instrument cluster is nice.

But then again, looks are subjective, so look at the photos and judge for yourself.

Interior raises my eyebrows and makes me ask out loud, "Huh?"
The first-row seats are fine, but open the rear doors and you'll see a 40-20-40-split bench. Actually, it's more like two buckets flanking a narrow jump seat. And that jump seat is as flat as a board and as hard as one. Sit on it, and well... imagine sitting on an ironing board. It's narrow (perfect for those with half a rear end!), short, and hard as a rock. It also makes me ask out loud, "Why the heck did they just not remove this useless jump seat?" Sure, it folds vertically (in a similar fashion to how the CR-V's table between the front seats folds), opening up an incredibly narrow aisle to the third row, but if they just ditched this pathetic afterthought of a seat in the first place, and added armrests to the outboard buckets to make them captain's chairs, then it would be better for everyone.

Fold the seatback of the second row chairs, and you'll come across another design goof: the seats dont tumble forward. All they do is slide forward on fixed rails. Translation: Access to the third row sets a record for impossibility. And comedic value. This is unforgivable for a three-row vehicle. This reinforces my first impression that this vehicle's concept is a quick, ragged afterthought to the D-Max. Maybe Isuzu designers thought, "Well, we have a pickup, say, why dont we graft a roof on the bed and throw a bench at the back?" Apparently, that's all they did, and they didn't bother with making the conversion livable, or even checking if it was.

Speaking of that third-row seat... Once you've succeeded with the acrobatics needed to get into the way-back, you'll find that the seat is flat, lacking headrests, and set just a few inches off the floor such that your knees will almost be touching your chin. Thigh support is non-existent. Head support is non-existent. The only saving grace is a relatively generous space for your feet. You can plant size 10 Reeboks flat on the floor with your toes facing forward, with some space left to wiggle. But overall, this third-row seat is just very slightly better than the Ford Everest's, which is to say, not much. Compared to this, the Fortuner's and Innova's third row is business class, and the APV's is first class.

Strictly for children only.

Expensive, much too pricey for what you get
The Alterra is available only in rear-wheel drive, with a choice of manual or automatic transmission. Leaf-spring rear suspension and rear drum brakes are standard.

Isuzu Alterra M/T:
(gold color): P1,389,000
(blue or gray color): P1,399,000
(pearl white color): P1,414,000

Isuzu Alterra A/T:
(gold color): P1,444,000
(blue or gray color): P1,454,000
(pearl white color): P1,469,000

"5.1 SES" entertainment package adds P20,000.

yikes! how much is the fortuner again?

Overhead airconditioning vents appears well-done
Both the second- and third-rows get their own overhead vents. Much better than the Fortuner's cooling configuration (where only the third row gets awkwardly-placed dedicated vents)

Tentative verdict:
This appears to be a poorly-thought out SUV conversion from the popular and competent D-Max pickup. It's as if Isuzu didn't bother with this design beyond grafting a roof and bench seat to the D-Max platform. All in all, it seems a half- or even quarter-hearted attempt to make an SUV out of the D-Max. Unfortunately, the most the Alterra seems to offer is an entertainment package with fancy audio and video, and probably, some people will be wowed by this standard feature. Beyond this, those people will scratch their heads at the rest of the package.

Point me to the Toyota showroom please. If you want fancy audio and video on your SUV, you'll have many options in the aftermarket.

[mbt]

photos:


^ look closely at how small, flat, narrow, and hence useless the center seat of the second row is.


^ ridiculous ingress and egress to the third row. the second row seat does not tumble, it only slides forward (in the photo, thats the farthest forward it will go).

[ILuvDetailing]

photos:

^ ridiculous ingress and egress to the third row. the second row seat does not tumble, it only slides forward (in the photo, thats the farthest forward it will go).

be carefull when getting out of the third row seats, might twist your ankle if you're not carefull

[mazdamazda]

^ ridiculous ingress and egress to the third row. the second row seat does not tumble, it only slides forward (in the photo, thats the farthest forward it will go).

mas madali pa yatang lumabas sa hyundai coupe kesa sa alterra. ;)

[mbt]

^ *that dumb jump seat folds, but the aisle is so ridiculously narrow. *note the knees to chin sitting position of the passenger in the third row. *Nokia 3650 in the cargo bay provides scale reference.



^ *The ECU and air intake are mounted just behind the right headlight. *Well-done aircon ducting. *Attractive gauges.

[carlocaraddict]

hmmmm.....is that an ironing board in the middle passenger seat?

[Monseratto]

Sir MBT,
Sinubok niyo rin yung third row seat? Umabot ba yung tuhod niyo sa leeg? If you were to use this SRV for long trips, probably only four peeps will survive comfortably, the rest will either have aching backs or numb legs. Probably those Japanese designers think South East Asians don't know the word comfort.

[mbt]

ganun na nga hehe.

[benchph1]

So much for Research and DeVelopment
is that how isuzu uses the term SRV?

they should have just brought the ascender!

[zechs]

any pics?

[mbt]

coming hehe

[mbt]

andyan na yung pics hehe (at the first few posts). enjoy!

[voltes_V]

lol. that rear end looks really crappy is all I have to say.

[garyq]

mbt: nice review. very practical and good pix.

[111prez]

hmmm, isuzu alterra motto: "the world is yours -- fortuner"

peace!

[boybi]

sinira ng Alterra ang magandang image ng D-Max!

[vicoyski]

When will we be seeing your testdrive report on the Alterra?

[mbt]

When Isuzu will be offering one :D hehe

[oldblue]

will it be more attractive kung binuo na lang yun last L & R windows, instead yun parang may arc pa or something? or magmukang Everest sya?

[geode]

even if ayusin nila ung aesthetics, i think the ride discomfort ng passengers is enough to discourage a lot of buyers (that center seat sa 2nd row is really a joke!).