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MM Retro Write-Up: 1996-1999 Acura SLX
IN A NUTSHELL: A rebadged Isuzu Trooper, roomy and space-efficient, but also sharing the Trooper’s tipsy-handling.
In the 1990’s, Honda was on a roll, with its well-built, reliable, and wildly-successful Accord and Civic variants, and winning accolades from auto magazines left and right. But, at the same time, more and more new-vehicle-buyers in the U.S. were starting to move away from traditional sedans/coupes and gravitate to SUVs, which, at the time, were becoming less like military vehicles and more and more family-oriented. However, most of the SUVs were still truck-based, as the coming Age of Crossovers was in its infancy, and had not really taken off yet. Sales-wise, the undisputed King of the family-oriented SUVs was, at that time, the also wildly-successful mid-size Ford Explorer….a spin-off of the Ford Ranger truck-platform. It was closely-followed by the Crown-Prince of the SUV world, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a couple of other mid-sized Princes…..the Dodge Durango and Chevrolet Trailblazer.
For whatever reason, perhaps because the company management simply did not understand the American truck/SUV market, or because they did not understand the concept of a family-oriented SUV, or because they just felt that they didn’t want to spend company $$$$$ on new SUV development……. anyhow, for whatever reason, Honda decided to hold off selling SUVs here in the U.S. They were making money hand-over-fist from the huge number of Accord/Civic sales and millions of happy repeat-customers.
Eventually, though, as the 1990s wore on, it became obvious to even Honda management that SUVs, even family-oriented ones, were not some Johnny-Come-Lately fad, but were here to stay. So, they decided to toss their hat into the ring and try and pick up some of the ever-increasing SUV sales and profits. The problem was, of course, as a result of earlier company-decisions, they had nothing to immediately offer. Since it would take several more years to develop all-new SUVs from scratch, Honda managers decided to contract with another Japanese-brand automaker, Isuzu, to borrow SUVs from them until their own Honda SUVs were ready. Those upcoming Honda SUVs, of course (CR-V and Pilot) turned out to be crossovers, not truck-based SUVs….but that is another story, for another write-up.
Isuzu had long-experience in building trucks and SUVs, and Honda officials generally felt comfortable about entering into a business-deal with them. By the terms of the agreement, Isuzu would produce the Honda Passport (a rebadged version of the compact Isuzu Rodeo SUV) and the Acura SLX (a rebadged version of the mid-sized Isuzu Trooper SUV). Acura, of course, was Honda’s premium/upmarket-division, so it got the larger and more refined of the two Isuzu SUVs….with some nice added trim and touches inside. These two Isuzu-sourced products were not as dead-reliable as most Honda products, but were reasonably well-built.
In return for receiving Isuzu-built SUVs, Honda agreed to produce the successful and ultra-refined Civic for Isuzu, and allow Isuzu to sell those rebadged Civics, in the home Japanese-market, as the latest version of the Isuzu I-Mark sedan/coupe. By that time, Isuzu was still selling in the U.S. market, but, although continuing to produce some Chevy/Geo-brand cars for GM, had dropped their own line of Isuzu-badged passenger-cars here. Unlike their experience with trucks and SUVs, Isuzu was never very successful in producing regular cars. I remember test-driving driving an original I-Mark here in the U.S., and although tough and with solid materials, it was quite unrefined, and had one of the crudest suspensions I ever sampled on a regular family-sedan….the shocks and springs on it felt like they were welded-on-solid. The Civics of that period were vastly-better cars overall, and Isuzu benefitted from that deal.
OK….back to the SLX. On paper, and, to some extent, on the road and in the hands of consumers, it was a pretty nice product. High. boxy, and space-efficient, it was very roomy inside for its outside dimensions. As long as you didn’t overdo it in the corners (more on that in a minute), it rode and drove fairly decently for a body-on-frame/truck-based SUV, had a manually-shifted transfer-case and off-road-capable 4WD system, although it was still a part-time system, unusable on dry pavement, and including auto-lock front-hubs so the driver or someone else didn’t have to physically get out of the vehicle and manually lock them. Unlike the standard 4-cylinder Trooper, the American-spec SLX only came with a 3.2L SOHC or DOHC V6 engine and 4-speed automatic transmission. It was felt by the marketers that the traditional three-pedal manual on some Troopers would not sell very well in the U.S. on an Acura-badged family-oriented SUV, and that most owners would appreciate the V6’s extra power when towing or loaded up for a family vacation.
The SLX, however, like the Trooper, did have one noted weakness…one that was also shared by a number of other SUVs of that vintage (Mitsubishi Montero, Ford Bronco II, Jeep CJ-5, etc….and, of course, the notorious Suzuki Samurai). Unless you were careful on sharp corners (which, IMO, anyone driving a truck-based SUV should be), the tall/high-stance and elevated center-of-gravity could leave the vehicle lying on its side…or on its roof. Like those other SUVs I mentioned, the SLX/Trooper failed the handling/rollover-test given by Consumer Reports, which runs the test with vehicles equipped with special outrigger side-rails (not shown in the picture above) that protect the vehicle from an actual flip-over, but show how much body-lean/tilt can be expected. And, of course, it must also be remembered that full roll-control and stability-systems were not in widespread use on SUVs at that time. Volvo, always safety-conscious, over and above the stability-system for steering-response, produced the first body-roll-control system for an SUV, and Ford benefitted from it by being Volvo's owner at the time.
The SLX (or the Trooper, for that matter) never sold in the U.S. in Ford-Explorer or Jeep-Grand-Cherokee numbers, but managed to keep its head above water until the CR test panned it…..then, sales dropped off considerably.
By that time, Honda’s own in-house crossover-SUVs had finished development, and came to market as the successful Honda CR-V/Pilot and Acura RDX/MDX, so, of course, that business-partnership with Isuzu was no longer needed or feasible. All four of them were successful, but the CR-V, in particular, like the Civic and Accord had earlier been, was a huge success, and, even today (2022) continues to be one of the top-sellers in the crossover market. The Acura MDX, which effectively replaced the SLX, did not quite equal the CR-V’s sales numbers, but has continued to find many happy and satisfied customers each year, although usually outsold by its competitor Lexus RX. Isuzu itself, overtime, became less and less of a factor in the American market, lacking both dealerships and products. At the time they folded and pulled out of the American market, they were selling nothing but a rebadged/decontented Chevy/GM truck (Isuzu I-270/350) and a decontented Chevy Trailblazer (Isuzu Ascender). They pulled out just in time (2009) for GM’s bankruptcy LOL.
And, as Always, Happy-Vehicle-Memories
MM
__________________
DRIVING IS BELIEVING
IN A NUTSHELL: A rebadged Isuzu Trooper, roomy and space-efficient, but also sharing the Trooper’s tipsy-handling.
In the 1990’s, Honda was on a roll, with its well-built, reliable, and wildly-successful Accord and Civic variants, and winning accolades from auto magazines left and right. But, at the same time, more and more new-vehicle-buyers in the U.S. were starting to move away from traditional sedans/coupes and gravitate to SUVs, which, at the time, were becoming less like military vehicles and more and more family-oriented. However, most of the SUVs were still truck-based, as the coming Age of Crossovers was in its infancy, and had not really taken off yet. Sales-wise, the undisputed King of the family-oriented SUVs was, at that time, the also wildly-successful mid-size Ford Explorer….a spin-off of the Ford Ranger truck-platform. It was closely-followed by the Crown-Prince of the SUV world, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a couple of other mid-sized Princes…..the Dodge Durango and Chevrolet Trailblazer.
For whatever reason, perhaps because the company management simply did not understand the American truck/SUV market, or because they did not understand the concept of a family-oriented SUV, or because they just felt that they didn’t want to spend company $$$$$ on new SUV development……. anyhow, for whatever reason, Honda decided to hold off selling SUVs here in the U.S. They were making money hand-over-fist from the huge number of Accord/Civic sales and millions of happy repeat-customers.
Eventually, though, as the 1990s wore on, it became obvious to even Honda management that SUVs, even family-oriented ones, were not some Johnny-Come-Lately fad, but were here to stay. So, they decided to toss their hat into the ring and try and pick up some of the ever-increasing SUV sales and profits. The problem was, of course, as a result of earlier company-decisions, they had nothing to immediately offer. Since it would take several more years to develop all-new SUVs from scratch, Honda managers decided to contract with another Japanese-brand automaker, Isuzu, to borrow SUVs from them until their own Honda SUVs were ready. Those upcoming Honda SUVs, of course (CR-V and Pilot) turned out to be crossovers, not truck-based SUVs….but that is another story, for another write-up.
Isuzu had long-experience in building trucks and SUVs, and Honda officials generally felt comfortable about entering into a business-deal with them. By the terms of the agreement, Isuzu would produce the Honda Passport (a rebadged version of the compact Isuzu Rodeo SUV) and the Acura SLX (a rebadged version of the mid-sized Isuzu Trooper SUV). Acura, of course, was Honda’s premium/upmarket-division, so it got the larger and more refined of the two Isuzu SUVs….with some nice added trim and touches inside. These two Isuzu-sourced products were not as dead-reliable as most Honda products, but were reasonably well-built.
In return for receiving Isuzu-built SUVs, Honda agreed to produce the successful and ultra-refined Civic for Isuzu, and allow Isuzu to sell those rebadged Civics, in the home Japanese-market, as the latest version of the Isuzu I-Mark sedan/coupe. By that time, Isuzu was still selling in the U.S. market, but, although continuing to produce some Chevy/Geo-brand cars for GM, had dropped their own line of Isuzu-badged passenger-cars here. Unlike their experience with trucks and SUVs, Isuzu was never very successful in producing regular cars. I remember test-driving driving an original I-Mark here in the U.S., and although tough and with solid materials, it was quite unrefined, and had one of the crudest suspensions I ever sampled on a regular family-sedan….the shocks and springs on it felt like they were welded-on-solid. The Civics of that period were vastly-better cars overall, and Isuzu benefitted from that deal.
OK….back to the SLX. On paper, and, to some extent, on the road and in the hands of consumers, it was a pretty nice product. High. boxy, and space-efficient, it was very roomy inside for its outside dimensions. As long as you didn’t overdo it in the corners (more on that in a minute), it rode and drove fairly decently for a body-on-frame/truck-based SUV, had a manually-shifted transfer-case and off-road-capable 4WD system, although it was still a part-time system, unusable on dry pavement, and including auto-lock front-hubs so the driver or someone else didn’t have to physically get out of the vehicle and manually lock them. Unlike the standard 4-cylinder Trooper, the American-spec SLX only came with a 3.2L SOHC or DOHC V6 engine and 4-speed automatic transmission. It was felt by the marketers that the traditional three-pedal manual on some Troopers would not sell very well in the U.S. on an Acura-badged family-oriented SUV, and that most owners would appreciate the V6’s extra power when towing or loaded up for a family vacation.
The SLX, however, like the Trooper, did have one noted weakness…one that was also shared by a number of other SUVs of that vintage (Mitsubishi Montero, Ford Bronco II, Jeep CJ-5, etc….and, of course, the notorious Suzuki Samurai). Unless you were careful on sharp corners (which, IMO, anyone driving a truck-based SUV should be), the tall/high-stance and elevated center-of-gravity could leave the vehicle lying on its side…or on its roof. Like those other SUVs I mentioned, the SLX/Trooper failed the handling/rollover-test given by Consumer Reports, which runs the test with vehicles equipped with special outrigger side-rails (not shown in the picture above) that protect the vehicle from an actual flip-over, but show how much body-lean/tilt can be expected. And, of course, it must also be remembered that full roll-control and stability-systems were not in widespread use on SUVs at that time. Volvo, always safety-conscious, over and above the stability-system for steering-response, produced the first body-roll-control system for an SUV, and Ford benefitted from it by being Volvo's owner at the time.
The SLX (or the Trooper, for that matter) never sold in the U.S. in Ford-Explorer or Jeep-Grand-Cherokee numbers, but managed to keep its head above water until the CR test panned it…..then, sales dropped off considerably.
By that time, Honda’s own in-house crossover-SUVs had finished development, and came to market as the successful Honda CR-V/Pilot and Acura RDX/MDX, so, of course, that business-partnership with Isuzu was no longer needed or feasible. All four of them were successful, but the CR-V, in particular, like the Civic and Accord had earlier been, was a huge success, and, even today (2022) continues to be one of the top-sellers in the crossover market. The Acura MDX, which effectively replaced the SLX, did not quite equal the CR-V’s sales numbers, but has continued to find many happy and satisfied customers each year, although usually outsold by its competitor Lexus RX. Isuzu itself, overtime, became less and less of a factor in the American market, lacking both dealerships and products. At the time they folded and pulled out of the American market, they were selling nothing but a rebadged/decontented Chevy/GM truck (Isuzu I-270/350) and a decontented Chevy Trailblazer (Isuzu Ascender). They pulled out just in time (2009) for GM’s bankruptcy LOL.
And, as Always, Happy-Vehicle-Memories
MM
__________________
DRIVING IS BELIEVING
