It’s been years since the Isuzu Crosswind was discontinued. It had a good long run, but that has also left the company without a people mover. The I-Van tried to fill those shoes, but even that is no longer in production.
So, what would be a good alternative? Well, we might have found a suitable candidate from Indonesia.
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We start off with the Isuzu Traviz. Over there, it's called the Traga and is also available with a wide selection of body styles, one that includes a ‘Blind Van’. Okay, so it’s a cargo carrier, and we already have a variant that does that job. But hear us out for a second here.
In terms of looks, the Traga Blind Van bears a passing resemblance to the old I-Van. However, given its segment, this is likely smaller than the I-Van and more like an L300 Versa Van. See where we’re going with this?
Granted, the windows are blocked off (hence, Blind Van), but we do see window cutouts present. It’s possible that there might be a passenger van version down the line, but that’s up to Isuzu Indonesia. Still, the fact that it’s there opens up that possibility. Adding sliding doors might be helpful, too. Also, the tail lights sure look like it came from an early-model Crosswind.
Looking at all that space in the back makes us wonder how many seats can fit in there. Per Isuzu, there’s 5.2 square meters worth of space there, so it can easily carry a lot of parcels and more than enough for a few seats and some passengers.
Mechanically, it’s the same as the Isuzu Traviz we get here. The Traga Blind Van is powered by a 2.5-liter turbodiesel engine that’s good for 78hp and 176Nm of torque. The only transmission pairing available is a five-speed manual. Suspension arrangements are also from the utility van and pickup version, meaning there’s double wishbones with coil springs at the front and leaf springs at the back.
Should Isuzu decide it’s time to give the passenger van segment a try again, the company could try and tap local body builders to try and make that happen. If so, the company might have a winner on its hands.
