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I spoke to my dealer this weekend, he said they refuse to order any Ascendors for the showroom, and will only order them if a buyer absolutely requires one, and with that they need to put down a healthy deposit on it.
-mike
They have ordered a bunch of Rodeos and Axioms. They like Isuzu, just not the Ascendor, since you can go down the block and get the GMC and Chevy Versions for cheaper it doesn't pay to stock it, and support it in the repair shop. I'm not sure what Open Road is doing yet, but I'm about to pull the trigger on an extended warranty for my Trooper so I'll check out what they are doing over there.
-mike
Apparently the Ascender is coming to Canada later this year. So says the newspaper anyway. No word that I've seen on the Isuzu Canada web site though.
I test drove a Mercury Mountaineer and Ford Explorer at the Ford dealer. Too bad they are both just a Ford.
LOL how is the styling and exclusivity different from the Envoy XL? It's the SAME vehicle, just with a different front fascia and wheels.
As for awful off-road?
o Wheelbase is HUGE since it doesn't even come in the non-XL version, this is a major bad thing for offroading.
o Envoy/TB/Bravada/Assender have the WORST angles of approach and departure in the industry
o Comparing them to an Explorer or Expedition isn't saying much, those are also pretty crappy offroad vehicles themselves.
o It's narrower, shorter and less legroom in the front seat than my Trooper is.
o Ground clearance and items that can get snagged and caught when offroading on the underbody are horrid.
o 17" wheels are difficult to get offroad tires in that size
o Non-boxy interior means less usable storage
o 400 Dealers to service these VERY repair prone vehicles compared to 1000s and 1000s of Chevy or GMC dealers where you can get your Envoy/TB fixed, and out of those 400 dealers most have probably never even seen an Ascendor, so good luck in getting it fixed correctly the first time.
o Almost no off-road market items made for the Envoy/TB/Bravada/Ascendor, although you can get some nice Altcheeza tail lights, lowering kits, side skirts, and replacement HID headlight kits for it, can we say Bling Bling boys and girls???
Positive things:
o 3 Rows of seats from the factory, Isuzu should have put in the 3rd row that the rest of the world got in the Troopers
o Nice torquey/powerful engine, although it does have electronic problems, so I'm not sure how reliable it will be
o Rear lift glass/Lift gate, nice for sticking items out of when carrying back from Home Depot etc. They could have put a drop-window in the 70% section of the Trooper rear door to accomplish this.
-mike
The reliability of these vehicles is also vastly improved. Lots of initial bugs but they are mostly gone now. I was speaking to a service guy at my local Chev dealer and he said they are really good trucks now.
Like Subaru and other niche players Isuzu can't just offer a run-of-the-mill SUV. If they do, they are trying to compete in an area where larger companies will totally anniahlate (sp) them.
If you read my response, I was responding to libertycat, who asked why the Ascendor was a poor choice for off-road, hence my slant toward off-road abilities (and lack thereof).
As for reliability, just read the edmunds board there are 20-50 posts a day there with all kinds of DESIGN problems, not problems that are manufacturing related, but just poorly designed items (like when you fold down the rear seats you have to have the front seats moved up or the back smacks the back of the front seats) along with tons and tons of computer related problems (rear wipers come on at random times, random other problems that are fixed by "rebooting" the car)
My question to anyone who is an avid fan of the Ascendor: Why would you buy the Isuzu version over the Chevy or GMC version???? I have not seen 1 compelling arguement to date as to the reason to buy the Isuzu version (warranty is longer, but there are 1/100th as many dealers to service them).
-mike
I have read the GM triplet board and there are not anywhere near 20-50 complaints a day ever. There are 20-50 posts a day if that's what you mean. Most of the complaints are from first year owners also.
I think we have already been through this discussion?
On another note, Ed Wallace is a car guy here in Dallas who gives an auto review on the news every Friday morning. This morning he was reviewing the 4WD Ascender. He really seemed to like its foul-weather handling ability. It's been icy in Dallas this week, so he has been able to drive it in some poor conditions. I think the only complaint he had was with the auto climate control, he said it would occasionally blow cool air from the vents. He also said the Ascender is the most under-advertised vehicle from Isuzu that nobody knows about.
On-road it has a pathetic Auto-4wd system that is not at all as advanced as the TOD system offered in the Trooper/Sorento/Axiom...
-mike
If you live somewhere that snow/ice isn't a factor then the 2wd with traction control and the locker will be more than adequet. IMHO.
-mike
-mike
tidester, host
I don't know why I'm bothering to explain, but here is my explaination: It has different front and rear fascias and wheels, which overall makes a VERY different look. You don't even bother to defend your exclusitivity point. If Isuzu doesn't sell that many of them, they will be exclusive.
I guess that I need to find a way to rent a team of horses / mules & wagon to get to my property to check on it from time to time, pull my camper, or to gain access to a fishing area on a stream w/ my gear.
Everyone has different needs & preferences. Your point is...you like your Ascender for what it does for you?
The ride is the same as the Envoy XL, I have driven both. However, I don't believe the Ascender offers the optional ECAS system on the GMC, does it?
-mike
The suspension and shocks are not different types at all, they may have a different valving/rate and/or different spring rates, but they are all coil front IFS and Solid rear coils.
-mike
I agree though, it is a better buy than the Envoy XL if you don't need a lot of the amenities (BOSE, leather, ECAS, heated seats). Especially with the longer powertrain warranty.
Out of curiosity, how much off MSRP are they selling for?
I didn't think you could get leather and BOSE with the Ascender. I didn't see the options on Isuzu's web site. When I asked the sales guy at the Isuzu dealership about getting leather seats he told me they could have it added aftermarket. Does the Ascender have 16" or 17" wheels?
-mike
That wouldn't take much given the average at best stuff they have now.
So for the average guy who can't afford a new car every 2 years they are darn good values.
-mike