2008 Isuzu Ascender User Reviews

Pros

Road stability and power. Visibility and looks. A quiet smooth ride. Rear wheel drive.

Cons

Electrical problems

Purchased As New

My 2006 Isuzu Ascender has good road stability and handling especially on curves although it's a rear wheel drive vehicle. With an adjustable drivers; seat I have excellent visibility mainly at crowded and corner intersections. Fuel economy is fair for the size and power of the vehicle. Aerodynamics is good when on the highway during high winds, and the V-6 provides the power needed to accelerate and eliminate tight spots. However,when the vehicle is in its' warm-up stage, the engine reminds me of a heavy breathing dragon sucking in air voraciously which prompted my brother to ask,"what is that?" I wish that I had more information about what's going on inside of the engine. I can tell that there's new technology inside of the engine compartment. It sounds like little balls have been floating around in the engine that fall to the engines' bottom when the engine is cut off. For the most part, the engine runs quietly. "I'm just an engine listener." I like my Isuzu Ascender, but have recently aquired some seemingly minor electrical problems. The rear speakers to the stereo have gone out, and the drivers' side power window hesitates and freezes sometimes. I hope to get this problem corrected soon especially with winter coming. Overall, and although I like the Chevrolet Tahoe and Dodge Durango, not to mention the Chevy Z-21 with all of the bells and whistles, I would buy another Isuzu Ascender if I'm ever in the buying mode again....read morehide

Pros

Plenty of room, nice ride

Cons

Transmission lags slightly if the vehicle is fully loaded down.

I have a 2005 Ascender 4WD that was bought new. It has 16000 miles on it and we love it. It is essentially an Envoy without paying 10000 more. I have towed trailers long distances, gone camping, family vacations and not one hickup. We don't live far from work or shopping so any miles we have are from the above three things. We have 5 children and we all fit and the kids are comfortable. Best vehicle I have ever bought and I have owned over 10 vehicles....read morehide

Pros

Features are standard unlike most other Manuf. and the 3rd row seating is the roomiest of ANY SUV.

We got our Ascender at about $17k's new. I had been looking for a 7-8 passenger vehicle and been shopping around for weeks. Nissan wanted at least $28k's for their Base model, and the 3rd row could hold a car seat or a toddler, but no adult legs could fit back there, it was a joke. And the same goes for Chevrolet.
We are very happy with the room inside, have had several 6' + men in that 3rd row and they have all praised the leg room and they could actually be comfortable. The Dual Air zone is a HUGE BONUS, that was standard, yet with Nissan you have to "upgrade" by another $1,000. Mechanically it has been great, no major problems to spekk of. The only thing that I guess I do not like, and this is to say for ALL SUV or hatchback vehicles, is the dirt that seems to automatically cling to the back of the car. I am assuming because of the design, but that is nothing that is Isuzu's fault, this is with any SUV.
We also havce done road trips from Galveston, TX to Chicago, IL and we have noticed a good mileage for a full size SUV. And everyone has commented to me how nice it looks and not so HUGE like the Tahoe, or Yukon's. Much more compact, yet when they look inside they are confused how there is so much room yet looks smaller than there big SUV's... one friend was so upset that they bough a Tahoe after seeing our Ascender, and how much money they spent compared to us....read morehide