Isuzu’s last VehiCROSS romps to record price
The final Isuzu VehiCROSS ever built just sold for $26,647 after buyers fees on Cars & Bids—a new record for the model. That may sound like a lot or a little, depending on where you fall on the love/hate spectrum for this oddball SUV.
If you are one to scoff at the VehiCROSS, I promise that I will convert you to the VehiCult by the end of this article.
The main cause of controversy for the VehiCROSS (or “VX” for short) is its looks. That’s fair, but the outlandish design has aged surprisingly well. The short overhangs, matte black hood, and titanium “fangs” in the grill give the VX the rugged character you want in a classic SUV, and although the black plastic cladding is a bit dated, it is integrated in the design much better than the contemporary Pontiac Aztek. On today’s streets where every car has an overly-aggressive design, the VX’s tough-while-cute exterior is a breath of fresh air while still fitting in with modern aesthetics. However, the 18-inch chrome wheels still scream early 2000s.
The VehiCROSS doesn’t just look rugged; Isuzu built it to be a very capable off-roader. The 3.5-liter V-6 makes 215 horsepower and 230 lb-ft of torque, which was quite impressive for the time. Power is sent to all four wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission and two-speed transfer case with a high-tech torque-on-demand system that uses 12 independent sensors to send power to the wheels with the most traction. An advanced-for-the-time display in the instrument cluster shows the instantaneous torque split. The body-on-frame construction is fitted from the factory with KYB aluminum monotube shocks with external heat-expansion chambers, typically only seen on off-road racing motorcycles. If you need further proof of the VX’s off-road prowess, it was a class winner at the 1998 Paris-Dakar Rally and 1999 Australian Safari Rally.
Despite its impressive offerings, the VehiCROSS was not a big seller. Many sat on showroom floors, as the $30K MSRP (more than $52K in 2023 money) was too much for many potential buyers. However, that might not carry the same sticker shock as it would now, since $50K 4Runners has become the norm.
To be fair, Isuzu never intended to sell many VehiCROSSes, but instead designed it as a “halo” car to demonstrate the brand’s advanced technology. To help speed up development, Isuzu used ceramic tooling dies instead of steel to stamp the oddly-shaped body panels. This reduced cost and production time at the expense of tooling longevity. The ceramic dies eventually wore out after a total of 5,958 VehiCROSSes were produced between 1999 and 2001 (4,153 were sent to the US and 1,805 remained in Japan). This “Sale of the Week” literally broke the mold, as it is the very last one to roll off the assembly line—a letter from Isuzu confirms it.
Despite 132,900 miles on the odometer, this VehiCROSS sale surpassed all low-mileage examples that have come up to auction and set a new record for the model. To commemorate the final VX, Isuzu gave it one-off Polar Pearl White paint. It seems the “final” VehiCROSS built holds more water than other sendoff cars, especially given that there wasn’t a specific number of cars Isuzu was trying to build.
Since scarcity is a large factor in collectability, it’s a little surprising that the VehiCROSS isn’t worth more than it is. While VehiCROSS values have been increasing slightly in recent years, they’ve nevertheless lagged behind many SUVs of the era. Average insurance quote values for the FJ80 Land Cruiser have increased 41 percent since 2020, while the VehiCROSS has only seen a 15 percent bump despite having 1/20th the US production number. Even the more pedestrian third-generation Toyota 4Runner has seen a 36 percent increase since 2020. There is a strong case to be made that if the VehiCROSS was built by Toyota, it would be worth twice as much.
Perhaps this quirky truck will get its day in the sun. For now, it’s just a great offroader at a discount with a strong cult following. Sounds a little like the FJ Cruiser five years ago…
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The 3.5 will bite you eventually if it’s one of the many that develops a major oil consumption problem. My 3.5 2002 Trooper went that way. Loved it before it went South.
Ditto’s. Thank goodness it came with a 10 year – 120,000 mile warranty. I think I had to replace just about every sensor in it at least once. My wife loved her Trooper though.
It was a cool truck in it’s day but definitely need to be up on the maintenance or it will bite you.
I always thought they looked like basketball sneakers.
Sorry!
Ugly is still UGLY…..no matter how many years have passed.
I used to cringe, then laugh out loud whenever I passed one of these hideous lumps on the road.
Excellent article, rarely do people report just how wonderful these rarities are. I must respectfully disagree with the record price, Several low mileage have been sold for more. Some day you’ll see “The Ghost’, an all original 1999 Vehicross (first year in USA) with 000366 miles, Been in climate cntrolled storage all these years, yet driven twice a year for a mile or two just to insure lubrication of essrntial parts remains.
I still have my 2001 VX bought new. It still gets more admiring comments than my 2 Ferraris, Lotus Esprit, DeLorean, Carrera, etc. Originality should be and is rewarded. The VX earned it!
i unashamedly admit i thought these looked different-cool when they came out and a few years ago when i needed a new dd i tried finding one – beyond a phony scammer i never came across one anywhere near me. Didn’t realize how few they built. Saw one in my area on the road but it’s a bit beat, but still rolling around.
I have a 2000 VX and love it. Always liked the design and the on demand or full time FWD is awesome in the snow. We don’t get too much snow in Texas but when we got snowed in for 3 days a few years ago my VX was one of the very few vehicles on the road and it was rock solid.
It is nearing time however to let it go as I’m in need of something that I can tow a little with but will always love the VX.
If the spare tire is on the roof, what is the bump on the rear door for?
The spare on the roof is bigger than original, so it doesn’t fit in the location for the original.
This has gotta be the coolest car ever. Always gets me to turn my head. There’s a nerdy rapper named, Only Won that has always used a yellow VehiCROSS in his music videos. Even Obama used his VehiCROSS music videos to inspire engineers. Check out the song “I Wanna Be an Engineer” and “Lyrical Engineer.” This car has been used to inspire the future of American engineers for over 2 decades. YouTube @OnlyWon
This particular example has been heavily modified post manufacturing. The front plastic skid plate included.
The author should have mentioned the fact that it has a sophisticated multi link coil suspension and front torsion bar springing. Along with full time four wheel drive.
This car was so ahead of it’s time people are just starting to catch up.
Morons just LOVE to use the word “dated”.