Isuzu's Red Rider NPR
Hot paint and a hot V-8 make this a fun one.
And wouldn't it look neat with dual chrome stacks?
Tom Berg
Senior Equipment Editor
Hop in this little cabover, pull the shifter into Drive and step on the gas, and its big-inch V-8 growls under its breath as the truck scoots away like the proverbial scalded dog.
The bright-red paint suddenly makes sense, even if you know that marketers at Isuzu Truck had other ideas in mind - commemorating the company's 20th anniversary in the U.S. with thoughts of a child's little red wagon.
This is the Red Rider version work truck, Isuzu's NPR. This model's Cardinal Red paint job is set off nicely with stainless steel wheel covers and varnished wood stake sides on its hardwood-floored body. General Motors' 300-horsepower Vortec 6000 gasoline V-8 makes it go, along with a four-speed-overdrive 4L80-E Hydra-matic with lockup torque converter.
Isuzu's NPR series, also sold as Chevrolet's T - and GMC's W3500 and 4500, are stronger than they might look. The NPR comes with a 12,000-pound gross-vehicle weight rating and in an HD version with a GVWR of 14,500 pounds. Most are sold with Isuzu's 190-hp 5.2-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel, whose unlimited-mile warranty has been extended from 24 months to 36 months. The diesel-powered trucks go about their business in thrifty, able and unassuming fashion, but those with the GM 6-liter/366-cubic-inch gasser are the fun ones, and the Red Rider package dresses it in an appropriately hot uniform.
Red Riders also include a small oval badge on each side and a 14-foot stakeside body for hauling. Unfortunately, the body was empty so I couldn't form any judgments on the truck's hauling ability during the short driving stint along a few streets in a Scottsdale, Ariz., resort. But that gutsy engine and its responsive Hydra-matic transmission should prove up to any work tossed at the truck and please its driver, as well, because - let's face it - small trucks are expected to keep up with fast traffic.
The truck was such a kick to drive that I took it around the course three times, enjoying not just its power but also a tight turning radius that makes it such a useful vehicle on congested, narrow streets. There's more leg room inside than you'd think; even though my legs are short, I like to stretch them out and I didn't feel hemmed in by the front wall. Entry is easy once you get used to the cabover drill of both climbing and pulling yourself inside. And you slide down off the seat to get out.
The Red Rider I drove was an '05 with squarish frontal styling and quad rectangular headlights. Faces of 2006-model NPRs have new, sculptured styling and swoopy looking headlamps. Interiors have fabric seat covers and a tachometer as standard. But I figured the Red Rider could be improved.
I suggested to Todd Bloom, Isuzu's marketing vice president, and Dan Cutler, executive director for low-cab-forward product planning, that a special edition should have some additional special features, like dual chrome exhaust stacks. I pointed out how the truck's standard dual-header, single-muffler, frame-hung exhaust could easily be modified to make it look like a 1970s Dodge Little Red Express pickup (which has gained collector status). You'd sell thousands of 'em, I insisted.
But they didn't bite on the idea, noting that there'd probably be emissions certification complications. Besides, they planned to produce only 200 Red Riders and the trucks were already in the pipeline. These were distributed to dealers, and you may see one on a lot right about now. Grab it fast, or demand another and Isuzu may react by making more of the special models.
Or you could dress up a V-8 powered NPR yourself - with or without dual stacks.
