[Anil Rajani]

Apart from the list mentioned previously in the thread, no new accessories to talk about.

Cost has not been disclosed as yet and neither have the brochures been made available.

Test drives are to available shortly Ive been told.

A couple of things:

- The A/C was very good. Possibly the cabin size helps.
- Very impressive ground clearance.
- Rear door is a tad smaller than what one is used to but ingress and egress isnt hampered at all.
- If im not mistaken, the truck stands around 6ft tall. This was only a visual approximation because im 5'11 and the roof was around a few inches off eye level.
- Instrument cluster with the sweep on ignition is pretty cool.
- Steering adjust for rake only. But finding a comfortable seating posistion is a breeze.
- One of the few vehicles where the end/edges of the hood is visible. This will be a boon for a lot of people.
- Getting in and out even without the side step was easy. So i dont think its particularly a must have feature. Also adds to the ruggedness IMO

On road price Chennai is about Rs 15.19lakhs I was told. This is including bumper to bumper insurance cover provided by ICICI and through the dealer. So shopping outside should lower that by a fair margin.

Only thing I could possibly wish was an optional A/T but it is what it is and thats not on the cards at the moment.

[bordeaux]

Originally Posted by Anil Rajani

- One of the few vehicles where the end/edges of the hood is visible. This will be a boon for a lot of people.

I miss that so much in my Honda City coming from Opel Astra. I could park Astra with 3-4 inches margin but with Honda City I am not sure even if there is a one foot distance.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

The front seats are good but the rear seats do lack under-thigh support. I tested the rear seats of both V-cross and Imperio double cab quite extensively at the Auto-expo, because I will be buying one of the two for my farm.

OK, I'm talking about V cross here and let me explain why I said that.

You've tested that car in Auto Expo extensively. And that was the only place then for any prospective buyer to check.
I've traveled and driven this car extensively for 200km plus.

Did I have a negative feeling about those seats? No I didn't have and don't have and please take this as my personal preference.
At the same time I do not expect every single thing to be perfect in a car of that price range.

Is there a room for improvement? Yes, there is and that's applicable for any product. Isn't it?

Sorry for this late reply.

[maddy42]

Rudra sir was this on good roads and could you share some pictures when you have time? Also would you recommend this over a thar for the farm user ?

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Rudra sir was this on good roads and could you share some pictures when you have time? Also would you recommend this over a thar for the farm user ?

It was good roads, bad roads and no roads put together. It's any day better than a Thar for farm user.

I'm sorry, I can't share pictures now as I'm bound to respect that NDA agreement with client.

[maddy42]

Thank you sir and respect your observation. Those words are confidence inspiring. Hope Isuzu tastes the deserved success.

Maddy

[84.monsoon]

Had a close look at the V-Cross today. It is a trial run production vehicle from the factory, some bits are missing and some trim areas are not fully finished.

My impressions:

1. Spacious cabin, especially front row. I am 6'2" and I could sit very comfortably, with about and 1.5 inches of headroom still to spare between my head and the roof. (I cannot say the same of the new Endeavour which I test drove recently, I had my head rubbin against the ceiling in that vehicle)
2. The fit and finish is very good. The plastics are not soft touch, but high quality and immaculately put together. The Circular AC control is top notch (I guess the same unit as the one in the Chevy Trailblazer) with a smart temperature display at the center.
3. The seats have decent side bolstering, but not really as supple and deeply cushioned as I expected. We will have to wait and see the final production quality since this is a trial production run vehicle.
4. The back row is fairly spacious, however the seats are set low and the angle of the recline of the backrest is a tad upright.
5. The instrumentation looks a bit dated. The central display between the speedometer and odometer is more modern.
6. The trial run vehicle did not have the infotainment system, the salesperson showed a photo of it and it looks pretty smart.
7. The steering wheel looks delightful, with nice high quality switches and controls for audio, bluetooth telephony etc. According to the sales person, it will be possible to integrate rear camera as an accessory into the ICC and have a reversing display. This is a must have since the truck is very long - over 5.2 Meters.
8. The gear lever and handbrake are finished pathetically and look like they are only fit for a commercial truck. I hope this is improved in the final product. The salesperson said Isuzu is making a number of improvements between the trail run vehicle and mass production vehicle.
9. The paint quality is very good. The build quality is excellent with very uniform panel gaps.
10. The vehicle is very long, although not as wide as I imagined. This width should be reasonably easy to manage for city driving and parking, although U-turns will be a pain with over 12m turning radius.


I got a chance to take a short drive in the vehicle as well around the block. My impressions:

1. The seating position is high and magnificent. Great visibility all around.
2. The engine noise is very well insulated inside the cabin. The only time you hear it is during hard acceleration
3. The clutch is super light but log travel.
4. The gear lever has long throws and is a bit notchy, but acceptable gear shift quality. My Ecosport has smoother gear shifts.
5. The steering wheel is a pleasure to hold. Absolutely right sized, has the right amount of resistance.
6. Rearward visibility through the glass back wall of the cab is very nice. Better than most SUVs I have driven.
7. As you fire up the engine and release the clutch the massive vehicle moves forward without accelerator input, but not in as agile a way as some other vehicles like my ecosport. However, once you apply throttle, it moves forward smartly.
8. The first two gears are quite short, needed to upshift at lower speeds than I anticipated. There is almost zero turbo lag.
9. The vehicle is quite agile in third gear, and all it takes is a tap on the accelerator to get the SUV to regular city driving speeds of around 40-50 kph.
10. I could not try the 4th and 5th gears due to the shortness of the drive. I am sure this is where we will see the true power of the d-max.
11. Gearshifts are not effortless, yet not laborious either. I felt the process was way easier than shifting gears in the Innova (not present one, not sure of the newly released one)
12. The A/C is very effective, instantly cooled the cabin in no time.
13. The ride is quite bumpy. The salesperson warned me before the drive that due to slight over-inflation of the tires it could be so. Will need to for a full test drive to determine if this is truly the case with normal inflation. The 245-70R16 tires have a deep side profile, so it should help to have a good ride.
14. Overall I would not say it is as effortless to drive as the new Ford Endeavour (which I booked and subsequently cancelled due t to the long waiting times and big increase in prices after the budget), however it is easier to drive than the present generation Innova, which as long throws and long travel and rather stiff clutch.

Overall really impressed with the value to price equation of this truck. A true 4X4, with fairly comfortable seating for 5, modern features like 7 inch touch screen infotainment system with bluetooth, a great A/C with Auto Climate, superb build quality, refined and powerful engine with excellent fuel economy (based on international reviews). Basically you are getting a vehicle from the full size SUV category (such as Fortuner/MU-7/Endeavour/TrailBlazer) for less than half the cost.

Ended up booking a black color one with a 50 K deposit. The deposit is non-refundable.

[indian21r]

I went to the showroom in Hyderabad today. Vehicle may arrive tomorrow or day after. As of now I was infomed that booking amount is 50000 which is fully refundable. I will block one tomorrow as Saturdays we do not buy big metal stuff.

In meantime checked the commercial version. Size is big. Maybe a pain on narrow roads. LBut the thought of getting out it gives a big big kick.

Rudra looks like you are pretty impressed with the car. Hope I will be too. Eagerly waiting for the teams review. Hope it will be up quickly

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

although U-turns will be a pain with over 12m turning radius.

I'm sure you meant turning diameter and not radius. Thanks for the impressions on the car. Any comments on the braking? How heavy/light did the steering feel? Did you get a chance to see what tyres it was shod with?

[84.monsoon]

Attaching a few photos as well...

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Thank you sir and respect your observation. Those words are confidence inspiring. Hope Isuzu tastes the deserved success.

Maddy

Even I am looking for one for my farm. However the closest showroom/service centre is 300kms away, which is making me consider the Imperio double cab instead. I so want to go for the V-cross and I might finally buy one as my personal vehicle, but I'll have to think practically for something that will be needed for daily use at the farm. I hope you have a service centre nearby.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Even I am looking for one for my farm. However the closest showroom/service centre is 300kms away, which is making me consider the Imperio double cab instead. I so want to go for the V-cross and I might finally buy one as my personal vehicle, but I'll have to think practically for something that will be needed for daily use at the farm. I hope you have a service centre nearby.

The V-Cross is just as much about the Isuzu brand as it is about a spacious capable 4x4 pickup with loads of features. Reliability and simplicity are its strong suits. What do you expect to happen to the car? Unless you expect major failure, the Isuzu ought to be able to be serviced anywhere with ease.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

I'm sure you meant turning diameter and not radius. Thanks for the impressions on the car. Any comments on the braking? How heavy/light did the steering feel? Did you get a chance to see what tyres it was shod with?

Thanks for pointing out, Ishaan. Yes, I meant turning diameter.

I did not get a chance to test the brakes. The SA did mention major enhancements to make the brakes more effective compared to the previous generation Dmax. The steering neither felt too heavy nor too light. I would say it felt Goldilocks right☺️

The tiers were MRF, if I remember right but only half registered the brand so I could be wrong. I was focusing on size which is 245 70 R 16

[maddy42]

Rdst: Our farm is in Coorg and this is more of a thought. We already have a 540 and a jeep so need to figure if we really need this though! The nearest service station is Blr which is 250 Kms away. Am pretty sure over a period of time Mysore should get a dealership catering to the Hassan Coorg markets.

Hope this vehicle succeeds as I hate the front of the imperio. What's the pricing?

Maddy

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Rdst: Our farm is in Coorg and this is more of a thought. We already have a 540 and a jeep so need to figure if we really need this though! The nearest service station is Blr which is 250 Kms away. Am pretty sure over a period of time Mysore should get a dealership catering to the Hassan Coorg markets.

Hope this vehicle succeeds as I hate the front of the imperio. What's the pricing?

Maddy

The imperio double cab top variant is around 7.8L ex-showroom. They had a modified version showcased at Auto-Expo which looked pretty awesome though.
http://indianautosblog.com/2016/02/m...po-2016-215363