Mitsubishi L300 finally found its match with Isuzu Travis

MANILA: Last year, at the Philippine International Motor Show, Isuzu Philippines unveiled a lightweight truck concept—the Isuzu VT-02. It was Isuzu’s contender to the likes of Mitsubishi L300, Kia K2500 Karga, Foton Tornado, and Hyundai H-100. Not much has been marketed about the concept truck since then. Not till Isuzu Philippines finally announced a November 2019 launch date and a new name for their truck—the Isuzu Travis.

The upcoming Travis is the brainchild of a partnership between Isuzu Motors Limited and Isuzu Global CV Engineering Center, a group company controlling the truck engineering for emerging markets. Designed for emerging markets, the new Isuzu Travis is a cab-over truck with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 2,950 kilograms. It has a lightweight cabin based on the N Series and a frame-based off the D-Max for maximizing loading efficiency and high fuel efficiency.

What Isuzu Philippines has yet to reveal is the interior of the Travis. Since it is a commercial vehicle, we don’t expect much flare for this hauler. It will likely have the same interior as the Traga. What could be different is the rear body configuration. When the VT-02 was introduced last year, it had a passenger carrier box at the back, which can be subject to change for the production version.

The delay in the production of the Isuzu Travis could have been due to two things: first is the original Traga’s right-hand-drive configuration and, secondly, the engine. To be sold here, Isuzu would have to either retool its Indonesia plant to build a right-hand drive model or equip its Santa Rosa, Laguna plant to assemble the Travis.

In terms of the engine, the Indonesian Traga uses a 4JA1L Euro 2 engine capable of producing a maximum power of 80 hp and 191 Nm of torque. Though it passed for Indonesia’s Euro 2 emissions standards, it will not pass the Philippines’ Euro 4 engine and Euro 4 emission standards requirement. The most likely solution would be for Isuzu Philippines to source a different engine like the 4JH1-TC found in N Series trucks, which can produce more power at 106 hp and 230Nm of torque.

Will the new Isuzu Travis be able to compete with other small truck manufacturers despite it being a latecomer in the hauler category? Only time will tell.

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