The Trooper’s big selling point for many people was the availability of a 5-door version. This made it superficially similar to the 5+door Cherokee, but that was where the resemblance ended. The Cherokee was redolent of manicured lawns and badminton players in green and pink; the Trooper carried a whiff of sub-Saharan transfeldt. It seemed to cry out for camouflage paint, homemade brush guards and gun mounts.
Like its competitors, the Trooper was built from pickup-truck mechanicals, in this case Isuzu’s 2.3-liter gasoline four with 5-speed, 4WD and independent front suspension. Like every Isuzu, except the Impulse Turbo, the Trooper needed more power. On or off road, 96 hp was not enough for a vehicle, especially when you load it up and hitch on a trailer. Speaking of the Isuzu Impulse Turbo, it was all new for 1986 and had a new intercooled turbocharger system for the 2-liter overhead-cam four to finally give the lovely Giugiaro-styled coupe the power it deserved.
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