[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by car love

Just to differ a bit from this...I think just hardcore marketing will not make a brand. If the product is awesome people will come looking for it, marketing or no marketing. Case in point is Skoda, a brand very few Indians had heard about when they arrived in India but very quickly won over the hearts of people because their product was fantastic. A reverse case of this could be the Tata Aria. They tried every possible marketing technique but the product was a dud and the market shunned it.
IMO Isuzu knows that their current products have very little mass market appeal so they are taking it easy. When they do come up with a giant killer, i guess their product itself will do all the talking...

Infact its the very opposite of what you wrote. If you read the official review of the Aria, there was nothing but praise for a well equipped product,,only alarm was on the pricing over Innova. The Aria failed too not because of pricing and features but due poor after sales, too many bugs with the engine and lack of an automatic.
The izusu on the other hand had a colossal failure on the overprized and underwhelming MU7. They carry that baggage and even if the Vcross is well prized, its not selling due lack of marketing which is so important when creating a new niche segment (lifestyle pickup). Again lack of features, hard plastics, hard upright rear bench are making it difficult to convince somrone that its a lifestyle car

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

This keeps repeating every 2 months, How to unsubscribe from this call?

Next time when they call, say that the vehicle is a junk and you are planning to burn it in front of media. That should get you the test drive atleast Jokes apart, i understand how you feel. After calls and promises the car never came to me also. Just that i was passing by and thought ill drop in myself, the drive happened (for me). If they are serious about selling, they need to take peoples feedback seriously and work on sales as well as on the vehicle.

For me as a prospective customer both the sales and vehicle (power rather lack of it) was a HUGE DUD!

[tazmaan]

Originally Posted by raja_ys

I have been considering S-Cab or the V-Cross, after visiting a couple of showrooms could not get clarity, would like some inputs on the following points;
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6. Cost of Foot Mats he dealers provide. Other Options available outside Pictures would be appreciated.

There are so many question and I would love to answer your query within the quote but thats against the forum rules

As a V-Cross owner let me try and answer most of the questions.

1. The V-cross has a different suspension setup and sits much higher.
2. Though the interiors have similar layout the perceived quality is much better on V-cross.
3. Both the cars have turbo but they are different, one is FGT and V-cross is VGT (not 100% sure)
4. Unless you are going to do hardcore offloading the LSD will not be missed much.
5. I think allowed payload in Mumbai is 250kgs for private vehicle like V-cross.
6. Regarding ICE there are several Pioneer and Blaupunkt system with or without GPS which are compatible with steering controls. There are few available on aliexpress too.
7. Any music system with rear camera support can be used for installing rear camera.
8. I did buy the floor mats but don't remember the cost now. They didn't have it in stock so picked up the mats from the display vehicle itself.

I hope the above answers help you.

You can go through the below thread to get a feel about V-cross in action.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ex...jmd-isuzu.html

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by raja_ys

3. Does the lack of a LSD on a V-Cross 4*4 setup have any noticeable dis advantage of the practical real world usage.

There is zero difference in LSD vs Open Diffs in offroading, I have ample experience with Storme 400 4x4(LSD), old Endeavour(LSD) and V Cross(open diffs), these LSD equipped cars have never shown traction advantage over open diffs.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by car love

Just to differ a bit from this...I think just hardcore marketing will not make a brand.

Did I say hardcore marketing or aggressive pushing? If you think hardcore marketing means spending huge amount of money in media then you’ve got me completely wrong.

If the product is awesome people will come looking for it, marketing or no marketing.

How will they know if there’s no communication from the maker? Just check and see how many people in this country know about the brand Isuzu.

Case in point is Skoda, a brand very few Indians had heard about when they arrived in India but very quickly won over the hearts of people because their product was fantastic.

Wrong example. Skoda launched Octavia as a sedan for family and daily use. And you’re talking about 2002 market and how big was the automobile market then?

Do you remember seeing any ad or any sort of communication for Isuzu MU7? And how many MU7 have you seen on the road?
And now Imagine Isuzu is coming up with MU X to compete with two large players. We’ll all wait to see how big a splash they can make.

IMO Isuzu knows that their current products have very little mass market appeal so they are taking it easy.

What exactly does it mean when you say ‘taking it easy’?
What’s your guesstimate on the V Cross number they’ve sold so far in this country? Try to find out and you’ll be amazed.

And with a descriptor like ‘Adventure Utility Vehicle’ they better be aggressive with their marketing.

[BlackPearl]

Last week Isuzu had arranged for Tame the Terrain event in Newtown, Kolkata. It was a great opportunity for us to check out the off-roading ability of the V-Cross and meet the rally legend Mr. Hari Singh.
It was a well organised event and the trail prepared was the best among all the events conducted by different companies. I loved the side inclines (rollover angle test) and the vehicle balance test. The passenger side incline was 35 degrees and the driver side was 38 degrees How I wish Mahindra to organise similar events here to showcase the abilities of the Scorpio, Bolero and Thar!

A few pics from the event -

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

There is zero difference in LSD vs Open Diffs in offroading, I have ample experience with Storme 400 4x4(LSD), old Endeavour(LSD) and V Cross(open diffs), these LSD equipped cars have never shown traction advantage over open diffs.

Have seen your videos, thanks a ton for great videos. We had experts at the Isuzu event here in Pune arranged by the Pune Path Finder guys. We tried the experiment you did too on my Storme 4x4 with LSD. When the wheel is completely in Air the locking does not take place, exactly the same which we saw in your videos.
The experts there immediately mentioned that this is not the way LSD works are we are doing wrong experiment with it. LSD helps only in cases where both the wheels are spinning. LSD works only when the wheel with least resistance starts spinning.
We tried this scenario with my storme and we could clearly hear the LSD kicking in with distinct KAT KAT sound and the storme moving ahead on loose sand.
But its very much true, MLD is way better than LSD, but i feel LSD definitely helps in sluch etc and have dealt with it lot of times in our events.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldgCaaOSVe0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSy0yrZYhUI

This is exactly how it works on xenon LSD and Storme LSD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IUfFdMDaW4

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

Have seen your videos, thanks a ton for great videos. We had experts at the Isuzu event here in Pune arranged by the Pune Path Finder guys. We tried the experiment you did too on my Storme 4x4 with LSD. When the wheel is completely in Air the locking does not take place, exactly the same which we saw in your videos.
The experts there immediately mentioned that this is not the way LSD works are we are doing wrong experiment with it. LSD helps only in cases where both the wheels are spinning. LSD works only when the wheel with least resistance starts spinning.
We tried this scenario with my storme and we could clearly hear the LSD kicking in with distinct KAT KAT sound and the storme moving ahead on loose sand.
But its very much true, MLD is way better than LSD, but i feel LSD definitely helps in sluch etc and have dealt with it lot of times in our events.

My point is, LSD works for sure in some way, but for offroading it does not divert enough power even when both the wheels are moving to take it up a slope. We tried it even on Jeep Wrangler, with Traction Control completely switched off, the behaviour was identical to open diffs. All 3 cars(Storme, old Endeavour and Wrangler), showed no significant advantage over open diff equipped cars. So mention of LSD in brochure no longer appeals to me. My comments are not only on basis of the video i had posted, I have been observing this for long in our regular offroading.

BTW someone mentioned MLD is compatible with Storme, not sure if it is correct.

Even here LSD did nothing, one wheel on each axle kept spinning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64dZydZKP7g

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

My point is, LSD works for sure in some way, but for offroading it does not divert enough power even when both the wheels are moving to take it up a slope.

BTW someone mentioned MLD is compatible with Storme, not sure if it is correct.

Even here LSD did nothing, one wheel on each axle kept spinning:

Exactly LSD has only some amount of intrusion. It will never give the advantage of lockers to climb such heavy inclines.
Lets look at this angle - these are heavy highway capable vehicles not meant for hardcore off roading. On these LSD helps in snow, slush , beaches , loose gravels and medium inclines which we come across in 95% of the cases.
The best application i see is on the commercial Xenons. The municipalty people whom i asked to who were carrying goods in xenon said this car doesnt get stuck in muck (Chikkal) in rainy seasons.
Even in my storme when one rear tyre was completely in air the LSD was not helping. It only made clicking noises and pushed my car when we tried with one wheel on a big hard surface and one just loosing traction in sand , we could hear a loud tak tak and car moved ahead.

Exactly like the last video posted.

Swastik Fab - Lambda dealer was with us during all this experiment, even he mentioned lets not do wrong experiments with LSD, the use and working is totally diff.
He mentioned he has MLD for safari and can fit it. Hasnt fitted one. But he was like if the storme is easily doing that Isuzu was doing what more are we expecting from this kind of heavy suv. Also we discussed that the MLD is sometimes irritating, it kinds of engages and immediately disengages. So a cable based Manual locked which Lambda provides would be the best bet.
Am planning to try one in my Storme.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

My point is, LSD works for sure in some way, but for offroading it does not divert enough power even when both the wheels are moving to take it up a slope.

@anshuman bhai: The video posted may not be a situation where any of these systems would help. Try checking these different vehicles (axle set up) behavior on a smoother incline where you can try constant continuous momentum. Maybe a more firmer ground or maybe gravel type section (since its summer now) would be able to demonstrate a better outcome you can document over videos. Then you can gauge the amount of assist these traction devices provides.

In such soft sand, we have tried fully locked spools at rear, and trust me it is all about traction from tyres, overall momentum / power output from engine to wheels and the weight advantage of the vehicle that would finally determine the outcome. Yes spools gave us the edge but rest of the parameters were equally important.

[4x4addict]

I live in the hills in Ooty, with narrow winding roads and big vehicles are a pain to use. I had actually never even bothered to take a test drive of the VCross after looking at the turning radius and dimensions in the brochure.

I am in the market for a 4x4 Commercial pick up and asked the sales rep to bring the commercial (Single cabin) 4x4 pick up for a test drive. I drove it around for about 15 kilometers and found it very usable in the hills. I thought this was because the single cabin was shorter than the double cabin. But, the sales rep told me that the the wheelbase and turning radius is same as that of the VCross. So, I asked him to get me VCross for a trial today.

I got to say, I was pleasantly surprised at the how nimble and manageable this vehicle is despite the length. I tried a few tight about turns where i use my Thar regularly and found it required just an additional reversing compared to the Thar to turn around. Overall, I came away quite impressed and am considering this vehicle for my Thar replacement.

There is about 1.75 ft behind the rear leaf spring perch that can be chopped off. If one does this and alters the bed or puts a checked plate rear box, it will be a good alternative to the Thar. I think if they price the MUX correctly they have a winner on their hands.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

I got to say, I was pleasantly surprised at the how nimble and manageable this vehicle is despite the length.
=====
There is about 1.75 ft behind the rear leaf spring perch that can be chopped off. If one does this and alters the bed or puts a checked plate rear box, it will be a good alternative to the Thar. I think if they price the MUX correctly they have a winner on their hands.

BINGO!! and little more of power would make it perfect! Everyone was complaining about the size of the vehicle and always discouraged me, but after i did the test drive, these ^^ were my exact thoughts.

Infact am also seriously considering moving from Thar to V Cross if finances work out. Definitely i would go for the remap, since the stock vehicle was too slow for my liking, coming from a Code 6 remapped Thar

Otherwise it would make perfect sense, for offroad trail driving plus some intercity run's for which i use the 4 wheeler these days. It is comfortable, refined, has decent safety equipment and can carry the bike behind if i become too greedy with my wish list!

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Definitely i would go for the remap, since the stock vehicle was too slow for my liking, coming from a Code 6 remapped Thar

The remap is absolutely required. I found it easier to overtake in my duster 110 4WD than with this vehicle. It is just enough. Any idea what numbers code 6 can take the VCross to?

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

The remap is absolutely required. I found it easier to overtake in my duster 110 4WD than with this vehicle. It is just enough. Any idea what numbers code 6 can take the VCross to?

Not sure but 20 bhp should be doable without drastic changes to the vehicle, you can check with Sam he has got it done for the vehicle.

[raja_ys]

Anyone have a idea of the ampere rating of the alternator in the Vcross