2004 4x4 Truck Of The Year Vehicles

Isuzu Axiom XSHighs*Unique look*Responsive engine*Sanitary engine compartmentLows*Poor leg room*Limited suspension travel*Doesn't look like a 4x4

VerdictFamily ski wagon with low-range bonus

The Isuzu Axiom made a return appearance at this year's 4x4 of the Year thanks to a new 250hp direct injection (DI) 3.5 V-6. What makes this engine so unique is the location of the fuel injectors. Typically a modern gasoline engine injects fuel into the intake manifold upstream of the intake valve. That way the fuel rushes into the combustion chamber when the intake valve opens, and air floods the chamber. On the new Isuzu engine each fuel injector is moved from the intake manifold to the cylinder head so that it is actually spraying fuel into the combustion chamber. This technology has many advantages, but the most notable are increased power, less risk of detonation or knock, better fuel economy, and cooler combustion chambers. This technology is not new, but historically it has been extremely expensive and limited to use on automobiles costing more than $100,000. How did Isuzu get it into its entry-level SUV? We have to believe it has leveraged diesel technology (Isuzu did help design the Duramax engine) to develop and pay for the wicked little V-6 you see here.

But enough about the engine. Isuzu's Axiom still offers the very functional Borg-Warner torque on demand (TOD) transfer case that permits full-time four-wheel drive. It has the same Hella foglights that throw tons of useful light at night, and the same unique package that is reminiscent of the VehiCross but longer and sleeker.

Unfortunately the Axiom still has limited ground clearance. It's a bottom-dragger and got more underbody scars and scratches than anything in the test except the Ascender. That's why for the second time in three years we ended up liberating our test Axiom of its cowcatcher front end, which longs to be a road-grader. Perhaps the biggest surprise from the Axiom came from the rear suspension. It was hands-down the worst vehicle to drive across the fire roads on our test because the rear suspension would bottom and bounce till the driver got hit with an errant snack box or judging book. It's hard for a vehicle to win points when the judges get beat up just driving it.