- power
- steering
- mean looks

- gas mileage
- build quality
- VERY spongy ride

Like most people with the Rodeos, I have a very mixed opinion on the vehicle. It has plenty of power, and does have solid steering. On the other hand, everything rattles. To make things worse, the technicians who try to repair it know more about the babes that walk by....As well, gas mileage sucks...

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The Pathfinder kicks its butt, wish I would have paid the extra few bucks...

Lots of cargo room, very comfortable, great performer, suprisingly good stereo.

Slightly under-powered for a V6, slightly low gas mileage.

This is the greatest vehicle I have ever owned. I have had my rodeo for two years now and have only had to do some minor repair work, less than $500. I do a lot of off-roading and have taken my Rodeo everywhere, mud, snow, and rocks with no problems.

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Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee. Much more storage space than either one, better off road performance than Cherokee.

Engine (very strong), warranty (Very long), looks(very sharp.

AC (somewhat weak), stock tires (lousy Goodyears), stock shocks (very bouncy), squirrely ride on rough roads.

I love this truck. Very roomy, good power, nice interior ergonomics (for the most part), sharp looking exterior. I was little disappointed in a few things: rear drum brakes, some interior buttons are poorly placed, and the stock speaker setup is really bad. But I can't really complain. The truck is a great value for the dollar, and turns a lot of heads.

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I test drove an Exploder, and the ride just didn't compare.

-unbelievable warranty, best in america
-rattle free, drive a blazer/jimmy for definition of rattles
-smooth, powerful enginge
-good fit and finish quality
-great reliability history
-decent resale value
-good looks
-comfortable seats, unlike earlier model rodeos
-you get a truck that's competetive in the $30K class for about $20K
-blows away overpriced nissan xterra in every category
-6 disc changer loads all cd's in the head unit & and has never skipped yet
-real body on frame construction
-excellent towing capacity
-comes with wiring harness and plug for trailer light hookup
-beautiful paint color with good chip resistance
-great climate controls, A/C & heat work very well and are easy to use

-could use a bit more power in the upper end of the rev range (curable if you buy ECU upgrade from Superchips, but means using 91 octane fuel)
-antilock brakes don't modulate fast enough
-oil spills on top of skid plate during oil changes, however skidplate removes easily
-No slip 4wd can only be used in slippery conditions at moderate speeds
-No leather wrapped steering wheel except on LSE model
-Requires a bit of steering effort at parking lot speeds, wouldn't be as noticeable if you had a nice, grippy, leather steering wheel instead of a slippery plastic thing
-Factory parts to add foglights are expensive, just buy dash switch from dealer, aftermarket the lenses, and splice the wiring yourself

I don't even like SUV's. However, my girlfriend decided last year that she had to have one. Our $20K budget turned out to be insufficient for the 4x4 four-runner, xterra, pathfinder, or explorer we hoped to get a deal on. The xterra was the smallest & weakest of the lot, but the the dealers were selling at full list and more around here. We had resigned to drop down in class to a Suzuki Grand Vitara (the only real truck of the mini-SUV's, besides the Santa Fe & Escape weren't out yet) when my girlfriend spotted a Honda Passport one day & remarked at how good-looking it was. Wow! A light went off in my head. We had totally forgotten to look at Isuzu Rodeos (she had no idea they were the same). I have several friends that own & love their rodeos. Reliability history on the 3.2L engine is phenomonal. Most people don't know that it's the workhorse drivetrain used in the Trooper for years. The mechanics i talked to recommended the the 3.2L version highly, but did note quite a few common problems with the 3.1L used in earlier rodeos. We went to the dealer and found a beatiful mica bronze one (people love the color of this truck). Mica bronze has a metallic flake and really gives the truck a luxurious look. My jaw hit the floor when the salesman said he'd present my lowball offer of $22,000 to his manager (the other manufacturer's sales people had practically kicked me out the door, especially toyota). The truck stickered at $28,600 with the alloy wheel upgrade, 6 disc changer, and 4x4 options. We negotiated to $23,200 and i tell you if i wasn't frustrated by 4 months of shopping, i could have snagged it for less. You can get one of these right now with the same options for $21K if you're smart & patient. Our 2000 model has the 10 year drivetrain warranty, which you can't get if you buy a passport. This would be a $1,000 extended warranty option anywhere else. When I went under the truck to do the first oil change i was shocked to find heavy gauge steel skidplates all over the underbelly of the truck. Other mfrs we'd looked at charged for this as part of an off-road package. Additionally, there was a super-thick layer of black undercoating on everything under the truck. I was impressed! To date, we've put 15,000 miles on it without a single problem except a burnt out turn signal bulb. The engine is far more quiet than I ever expected. Low-end power delivery is excellent. Mileage is about the norm for the class, but only requires 87 octane fuel, unlike the sports cars I'm used to driving. The 16 alloys look good, clean easily and come with excellent bridgestone tires, these tires are quiet on the highway and yet so grippy in poor weather that we rarely have to use the 4wd system. The ride is not harsh, but is a bit bumpy (found similar ride quality in other truck-based SUV's). Load her up with 4-5 people and a bunch of gear and she drives beautifully though. The ride can get skittish over bumpy ashphalt, so reduce speed in these conditions. Hauling a 1000 lb trailer has been the max we've towed, didn't even know it was there. Brakes have good stopping power, but need a little extra pedal effort to achieve it. If you get the gray interior it does look cheap and plasticky, but our tan interior actually looks pretty nice and has good control layout except that it's easy to accidentally engine the "winter" drive option (no big deal, you're justing starting out in 2nd gear, you'll notice the difference in acceleration and switch it back) and the 4wd button is right next to the cruise control button, so be careful not to accidentally hit it while turning on the cruise control. by the way, the hidden spare tire under the back end is a no-cost option, get it. Wheel on the back makes truck longer and harder to park, it's less likely to get stolen (add a lock), it looks my nicer, and you won't have to replace your bent up tailgate if you ever get hit in the rear. There's still just enough room left for the tow hitch too. The bottom line is that this is the best deal in mid-size sport utes. Even if you can get an awesome deal on a pathfinder or 4runner don't forget that you'll pay for an extended warranty if you want to match the rodeo's coverage.

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toyota 4runner - compares similarly for much more money, feels less roomy
nissan pathfinder - better power & ride quality, much more expensive
xterra - rodeo kills it in every category and you can buy it for less even though its sticker price is much more
explorer - very similar, explorer has better controlled ride, but costs more and is less reliable
jeep cherokee sport - feels like you're driving something built in 1970, not even close to rodeo and others, but it's very price competetive and has the coolness factor of being a jeep

Power
Big gas tank gives good range
MPG is OK for V6 SUV
Looks Great
Warrenty

Poor rear visability
Plastic intertier scratched easily
Roof rack is suspect
armrest is small

Great SUV. I just finished my first road trip around Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. It rode great. I got over 18 MPG and that was towing a tent trailor AND had 3 bikes on the roof. It was roomy for three adults and lots of gear (4 adults would be crowded) It had plenty of power to pull everything up the hills of Colorado, with only a little downshifting.

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Pathfinder too $$, 4Runner too $$$, Durango, Cherokee

Good power, fairly quiet engine for an SUV. Decent cargo space and 4 wheel drive linkage is good.

Short wheelbase is brutal. Radio is junk. Rear seat passengers will not like going more than across town.

After 3+ years and 46,000 I have mixed feelings about the Rodeo. Nice engine, fair transmission and subpar ride. The switch to the current shorter wheelbase makes rough roads a real chore. The older, larger version rode better. Ok mileage for a small SUV and interior space is good. Interior materials are ok if a little spartan for 25k. Better than American competition drivelinewise but a notch behind in ride.

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Chevy Tahoe, Ford Explorer, Nissan Pathfinder

Good power, fairly quiet engine for an SUV. Decent cargo space and 4 wheel drive linkage is good.

Short wheelbase is brutal. Radio is junk. Rear seat passengers will not like going more than across town.

After 3+ years and 46,000 I have mixed feelings about the Rodeo. Nice engine, fair transmission and subpar ride. The switch to the current shorter wheelbase makes rough roads a real chore. The older, larger version rode better. Ok mileage for a small SUV and interior space is good. Interior materials are ok if a little spartan for 25k. Better than American competition drivelinewise but a notch behind in ride.

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Chevy Tahoe, Ford Explorer, Nissan Pathfinder

powerful engine,handles great on and off-road. Good gas mileage for a SUV, Looks great. Perfect sized truck (small enough to be sporty, big enough to get the job done)

The body side molding has fallen off three times and I was robbed by the dealer when they made me pay $100 each time to get it fixed. Factory tires are junk (leave it in the driveway on a rainy day or snow storm) Premium sound system 6 cd changer skips constantly (save your money and put in an after-market one)speakers are junk too! (sound tinny) Big turning radius compared to a jeep. Interior fogs up in the rain no matter what you do with the defroster.

Great car that was designed well. However, engineered poorly. I've had many problems with it. It seems like its in the shop every month for a few days. I'll never sell it though because i have invested too much in it by adding after-market products. This truck is great for long ski trips. I changed the suspension to a gas system by Tokico. Added 30inch BF Goodrich all terrain TA's to my 15inch wheels. Added a Brush guard by Steelhorse with Hella model 500 fog lights. Changed out all my speakers and added two amplifiers with a 10inch Subwoofer. Im still looking for things to add to my truck to make it better suit my lifestyle.

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Jeeps(nothing beats a jeep but they are too expensive) Explorer (handles like a top-heavy rv, rough on bumps.

Excellent power (V6) and handling for a vehicle this size, and you can't beat the warranty or value, when compared to similar, or even higher-priced SUVs. Relatively trouble-free vehicle which drives and looks great! It didn't hurt that Isuzu offered zero percent (0%) financing, either.

My only complaint is that this SUV is too sensitive going over speedbumps, and I don't like the fact that when you have the transmission fluid checked, you have to take it to an Isuzu dealer, and spend $200 to do so.

Just traded in my 1999 Rodeo LS for a 2001 model. Excellent vehicle. My 1999 model had over 30,000 miles on it when I traded it in, and I never had a single problem with it! Great power (V6 - 205 HP), excellent handling, in an extremely good-looking vehicle. I researched and test drove many other SUV's, and I don't believe there are any out there that can come even close to the Rodeo for sheer value, performance, reliability, and warranty. Options galore are built in (standard).

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I test drove the Ford Explorer (Sport and 4-door models), and found them to be anemic compared to the Rodeo, with far less options for the almighty dollars. I also drove the Toyota 4-runner, which is an excellent vehicle, but grossly overpriced.

I like the limited-slip differential (HOW much does Toyo want for that "option" on it's 4Runner?? LMAO. Strongest engine in it's class for '98. Runs well on trails, but could use a bit more sturdiness for anything real serious.

Ground clearance, small armrest upfront(have to fight over it with the missus!), auto transmission cannot be serviced easily - there's not even a dipstick to check.

Great SUV, great acceleration, power, etc. I've taken it on several long trips, and some pretty intense trail rides. I'd like to see more ground clearance, and more of an "aggressive stance", much like Durango has done. I believe now there is a lift out from CalMini... Great, how many thousands will it take to put the Rodeo up high enough to not have to drag the skidplates? And then of course, you void the warranty. I suppose it's an excellent all around SUV, very roomy, and handles well. We encountered a deer coming around a highway onramp at about 40-50 mph. I'm convinced anyone could have rolled or lost control in that situation, so good defensive driving plays a part in knowing how to react. But the Rodeo's responsiveness and smoothness was impressive. I wish (as an avid off-road enthusiast) there was a way to switch the ABS (anti-lock breaks) off and on. I would not like to be pointed down some slick-rock and have the vehicle decide that the brakes need to pulsate. Other than that, it's a great all-around vehicle for a family of 5. The roominess is outstanding, and slams that of either the 4-Runner or Pathfinder. As a large person, I was cramped in the Toyo, and the Pathfinder's seats go straight to the ground in the rear, so any passenger in the back seat has doesn't pick up the extra few inches to tuck their toes under the front seat... This means they have to pull their knees in closer - uncomfortable.

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Suzuki Samurai - No SUV will follow my Sami where I can take it, at least not without major mods. Still have the Sami, but the Rodeo is definitely more roomy and comfortable.
I like the 4Runner, but it offers nothing more for the price, and the availability of suspension and lift components.
Ford Explorer? No thanks, I want something that lasts.