2018 Isuzu FTR Review


2018 Isuzu FTR Review

How will I judge this truck?

Welcome to my 2018 isuzu FTR review. Over the years I’ve owned and driven countless medium duty trucks. The first truck I’ve owned was a 1996 Ford E350 14′ cut van, then I went on to own a 2000 gas isuzu NPR, a 2005 diesel Isuzu NPR-HD, 2012 gas Isuzu NPR, a 2002 GMC T6500 (the old Isuzu FTR but with a cat 3126 engine in it), a 2002 International 4300 DT466 (the truck this FTR replaced), a Kenworth T300, and a Kenworth T370. I’ve also rented and driver various 4000 series Internationals from the old style 90’s cabs to the maxxforce trucks and the new ones with cummins. I’ve rented Hino 238s, Freightliner M2s, GMC topkicks and C6500s, and Ford F650s. The only 26,000lb trucks I can think of that I haven’t tried would be peterbilt 330s (and 335s,337s) which should be similar to the Kenworth T3 series trucks. I haven’t tried the new Paccar cabovers or the larger Fusos (I’ve tried the smaller ones).

I’ll mostly be comparing this truck to the ones I’ve owned. Specifically, the International as it has the same tare weigh (17,000lbs) and horsepower (215 vs 210, same torque rating but at different revs, more on that later). Also, the GMC T6500 as this is the older version of the same truck. Those are two trucks I’ve owned for approximately 8 or 9 years and have spent a LOT of time in, so I really have a sense for the differences and similarities. I’ve also owned 3 of the smaller NPR Isuzus so I’ve got a sense of what’s good and bad about the marque. I think having owned the T6500 and a couple of the NPRs I’m well equipped to render an opinion.

How do I feel about Isuzu?

I’ll make it known I have a very positive impression of the company from owning their trucks in the past. I’ve found them to be well constructed, well thought and very practical trucks. Unlike some other trucks, they don’t seem to over complicate components. They don’t have wiring problems, I’ve never had some computer go haywire. Everything that’s ever gone wrong with the ones I’ve owned could ALWAYS be handled by an independent mechanic. In 10+ years I’ve never had to take an Isuzu to an Isuzu dealership. The T6500 went to Allison for a filter/fluid change once, and to Caterpillar for internal engine problems. Other than that, it’s been mostly mirrors that got knocked off and basic maintenance.

Isuzu makes a no-nonsense cab. It’s not got features you don’t need. The mirrors are well placed. The visibility is excellent. You can get replacement seat fabric when you wear that out, and the dash can take a fair amount of punishment and still look good after a wipe down. The interior isn’t as nice or quiet as a Kenworth and the ride isn’t as smooth as a traditional cab. The small ones tend to feel a bit over powered, and they’re a bit “divey” under braking. The Isuzu diesels always seem like they’re loosely assembled and are quick revving. The steering always feels a bit loose too. When you hit the accelerator the truck bounces a but moving your foot on the pedal making the truck feel jumpy. If you’ve ever driven and NPR much, you know what I mean.

Relative to a cut-van (van cab with a box on the back) they’re easier to work on. The brakes are larger and last twice as long, sometimes you can even get them turned and re-use the rotors. The visibility is THE BEST for small trucks. There’s tons of parts out there, everybody has these trucks. They’re great in the city.

So, feel free to take this review with a grain of salt. I definitely went for the 2018 Isuzu FTR because I like Isuzus, I had a good experience with the T6500, and I prefer cabovers. Given the details of my general truck preference I SHOULD like the truck.

Fuel Economy

So we’ve not had the truck for very long, but a few days after we received it, we send it to New Mexico. Here’s how the fuel economy on a round-trip from Arlington MA to NM and back went:

odometer: 656 depart Arlington with a full tank
odometer: 1321 filled up, but I don’t have the gallons on this one handy
odometer: 1919 gallons added: 76.39
odometer: 2357 gallons added: 50.37
odometer: 2794 gallons added: 58.82
odometer: 3282 gallons added: 67
odometer: 3626 gallons added: 34
odometer: 4229 gallons added: 65

mileage we’re calculating the economy on: 1321-4229 = 2908 miles

diesel: 322 gallons

That comes out to: 9mpg

as you can also see, the truck hits the redzone on fuel at around 70 gallons. It’s got a hundred gallon tank so the fuel needle is conservative. Granted, you may not be able to get 100 gallons in the tank due to the filler placement. I’ll post later if we get some fill-ups from even emptier tanks.

Remember, this is strictly highway miles, but we where running on the governor which is set at 65, though given the brand new tires, I think we where running at around 67 in actuality. Drop that down to 60mph and we’d probably be over 10mpg.

By comparison, our 2002 International usually averaged low 7’s, the T6500 low 6’s, our Kenworth with the ISC and a 28′ trailer averaged 6.2-6.4mpg over the past year depending upon the quarter. We tend to run for time rather than fuel economy so others would probably be getting better MPG than we are.

Basic observations

What basic observations do we have in our 2018 isuzu ftr review This cab is WIDE. The mirror bars are short, there’s a lot of space between each seat. The middle seat has a bump in the floor and isn’t quite as comfortable as the other two but still perfectly fine for local work. The window seats are very comfortable. Our crew that just ran it to NM and back said it was the most comfortable truck to work in they’ve ever had. Paul, the crewchief of that job has driven just about every medium duty out there so, almost as many as me. And he’s done more long distance than I have, so that’s saying something. Plenty of storage in the dash. Excellent visibility. No problems with the mirrors. 4 cup holders.  Plenty of storage for bags behind the seats on the “parcel shelf”, which is excellent for local work. There are 3 windshield wiper blades (did I mention this truck is wide?). It’s a decent looking truck, but the interior is the best part.

The instrument cluster has a little screen that can show you various levels of fuel economy and a bunch of maintenance stuff. It’s well setup and easy to use. The stereo has bluetooth for hands-free. It works, but doesn’t sound as good as some other units I’ve heard in cars, but not that bad for a truck. The stereo mutes when you put the truck in reverse!

The european style parking air-brake is a bit different than I’m used to but I don’t have a problem with it. The Allison transmission seems to also have a parking brake built in like smaller trucks do.

This truck is quiet. It’s quiet inside the truck, it’s quiet outside the truck. I’ve got trucks that are louder idling than this truck is with the hammer down.

How does it compare?

General notes: The air-brakes themselves haven a feel a bit more like hydraulic brakes than a lot of other trucks. The front windscreen is bigger than anything else. The cab is wider than anything else. It rides more like a traditional cab than any other cabover I’ve driven. Here are some more specific comparisons:

2002 International 4300 with a 210HP Dt466:

This is thre truck the FTR is replacing. We sold it with 260,000 miles on it. The motor pulled great, had a nice ride on the highway, and had been a good truck for us. That being said it had a few shortcomings. The cupholders on those 2002s all broke within the first 100 miles, probably half of them before they got off the dealership lot. The replacement cupholder scheme for the later ones was better but nothing to brag about. You get more hood in your view with these than the M2s, the visibility is decent (better than a C6500) but not as good as a Hino, M2 or cabover. The dash was decent and practical, if a bit flimsy. The real reason to get this truck is the DT466. That engine pulled excellently from the day I got it to the day I sold it. It started better in the cold than anything else.  It had wet liners so you could in-frame it (we never needed to), and was such a common engine it was relatively easy to diagnose and deal with. That being said, aside from our 3126 going in for a rebuild with cracked rings… this engine needed much more maintenance than the similar 3126 we had. That may be a coincidence, it may be because the 4300 got more miles, or had more miles to begin with? I dunno.

The FTR, as a replacement, is a great one so far. The 4300 tared at 17000lbs, so does the FTR. Both have a removable pinable ramp, both have side-doors and lift gates. We’re using the FTR as our main under-CDL interstate truck and it cruises nicely. It feels less powerful than the 4300, despite having almost identical power ratings. I think the difference is that the 4HK1 isuzu engine makes peak horsepower and torque 200rpm higher than the DT did, but the FTR’s transmission shifts more for fuel economy, keeping the truck out of it’s peak powerband more of the time. The feeling from the seat is that the FTR has a good bit less power. This may change as the truck breaks in. It may also be psychological because the FTR makes “little truck noises” and the DT made “big truck noises”. I like to think I’m smarter than that though. I was afraid replacing a 7.6 liter with a 5.2 that there’d be power issues. There’s no replacement for displacement, but 16 years sure helps. So, on paper they’re the same, in real life the FTR feels weaker, but to be honest, I wouldn’t put any money on it. There are a lot of things that can influence your perception of power. I will definitively say it feels VERY close.

The FTR has better space for bags in the cab (and other junk). The mirrors are a little bit better in the FTR than the 4300. One of the problems with the 4300 is that the door seal and hinges wheren’t quite stiff enough so you’d get a lot of mirror shake on the highway, not so with the FTR. The wider cab on the FTR means additonial cupholders and cubbies between the driver’s and center seats.

2002 GMC T6500 with a Cat 3126 190HP:

The first thing that I notice is that I prefer the old-fashioned steel-bar westcoast mirrors, at least until they go out of adjustment. These are stable, but not quite as much visibility, mostly because I’ve put the biggest spot mirrors on our 2002 I can find, which is nice. Pretty much everything else goes to the new truck. The cab is easier to tilt by a mile. Better visibility, more comfortable seat, more power, more room, better stereo etc. One would hope in 16 years Isuzu would move the bar forward a bit. The 2002 had juice brakes, and I prefer the new air brakes.

The 3126 however makes a great noise when you lay into it. It sets off car alarms. This is still one of the best sounding vehicles I’ve ever driven. You may think it sounds crazy that a 190HP 3126 (not a powerful engine by any means) has a great sound, but it does. It must be some combination of the the way the exhaust is routed on these cabovers, but that little underpowered cat sounds like a BEAST in this truck. It’s got a very specific power band, which is nice and low and is just very drive-able in traffic. It’s got no power on the highway, you can really feel the lack of horsepower on hills. But at low speeds around town, it just feels perfect. And that’s the thing about this old truck, it’s just perfect in so many ways. It’s also an old friend. It’s the first diesel I ever bought. It’s the first 24′ truck I bought, first liftgate, first side-door. First truck that had problems starting. We go way back.

This T6500 weighs a bit more than the ’18 FTR. It tares at around 18500lbs making it not that great for long distance (it’s not geared for long distance either). This is probably due to the FRP box on it which is considerably heavier than the aluminum sheet like we have on the FTR and had on the 4300.

The new FTR is definitely technically a better truck. But this old truck sets a high bar for, it’s been a reliable and functional truck for us for a long time and it remains to be see in if the 2018 FTR competes so well in 2034.

Various isuzu NPRs:

If there’s one thing do describe your average NPR, I’d say it’s “fit for abuse”. The trucks, especially the diesel ones, feel loose. They feel like you could bury it in the mud in a salt marsh for 10 years, dig it out, hose it off and overload it, and it’d be just fine. The FTR doesn’t feel like that, at least not when new. Maybe it’s the long wheelbase, the fresh shocks, different transmission, or something else, but it feels very together and stable. It feels floaty like an old american full sized sedan. Granted some of the front end looseness that I’m familiar with in the NPRs is definitely present with the FTR, but it’s also not the same in other ways.

The retarder (engine brake, exhaust brake, etc) seems to work much better on the FTR than our 2005 NPR diesel. It shifts more like how you would shift if it was a manual. The FTR hangs on the current gear for a while which is excellent of you’re using the exhaust brake to modulate speed in traffic on the highway. If you wait a little while it’ll drop gears and rev to get the most out of the braking. I was really impressed with this. It seems much smarter than our 2005 npr diesel as far as that goes.

Some short wheelbase NPRs get a bit bouncy under acceleration. The way the turbo comes on all at once makes the truck lurch a little, which moves your foot a bit, which makes the throttle seem a bit more jumpy, which makes the truck bounce, which jostles your foot, which makes the throttle jumpier, etc. The FTR isn’t like that. The turbo doesn’t come on so hard, the long wheelbase and floaty front end kills the bounce. It’s much more civilized.

Hino 238:

I really liked the Hino interiors and I think the FTR is similarly spacious and pleasant to be in. The retarder (engine brake, exhaust brake, etc) was really nice on these trucks, very intuitive and functional. The FTR is similar actually. I think the Hino has a handsomer more car-like dash, but unfortunately I think they’re pretty ugly trucks, I think the FTR is a much handsomer piece of a equipment. How much does that matter? Probably not a lot. I like the 238 mirror setup, but I actually like the FTR better.

Freightliner M2:

These are ubiquitous, and clearly a good truck. I however don’t really like them. I think the pillars are too thick, door windows too small. The nose has a good slope and the windscreen subsequently has good visibility. They have great cupholders, and an OK dash. Having the key on the left side of the column is nice for starting the truck without getting in. But I just subtly don’t find them intuitive to drive. I find the FTR to be a much more pleasant truck to be in. The build quality seems a bit nicer and it has much better visibility. The M2, and other standard cabs (but the m2 especially) is tight on space for bags if you’ve got a 3 person crew in it, the FTR excels there. I think if I’d ended up with an M2 instead of the 4300, I’d be an M2 guy, but

GMC C6500:

If you liked the C6500, you’re easy to please. There was much wrong with these trucks. The cupholders where in the doors so when you shut the door you sprayed hot coffee all over your ankles. The dashes rattled like the world was ending. The mirrors where designed so that you where guaranteed to kill as many cyclists as possible, windows where the same. The best thing about these trucks was actually the seats, which where rather comfortable and stable. I think the attractive element on these was the price. Some of them came with the big 6HK1 isuzu engines, some with Cat C7s. I never noticed which of the rentals I had which engines, I hated them all. I can’t think of a single way in which these where superior to the FTR.

Kenworth T300/T370:

The biggest difference is where the driver sits within the lane in these trucks relative to the FTR. The cab on a T3 is so narrow, you’re somewhat close to the center of the lane. When you get out of one of these and into an FTR it’s really hard not to hug right side of the lane by accident. The Kenworth dash is much classier than the FTR, and it has some real “big truck” advantages. Pre-trips on these are well set up, much better so than the FTR. The big simple and clear gauges vs the integrated gauges in the FTR cluster are nicer, but not too big of a deal. I prefer real west coast mirrors to the plastic mirrors you get on most trucks, and so the T370s win there.

It’s really the nuances of these trucks that make them great. The way the air flows when your roll down the window is a real thing of beauty. It’s like driving a car from before cars had air conditioning. If you’ve ever driven a car from the 60s, you know what I’m talking about. Before A/C, the only way to cool down the driver was opening the windows. In contemporary cars it’s much harder to modulate how much air you’re getting, and how much turbulence. The T370 does that superbly. The FTR does it decently, better than M2s, Internationals, or most truck. But the Kenworth is such a nice place to be because of little stuff like that.

I think the real differences will emerge when the mileage creeps up. The isuzu dashes don’t tend to hold up as well as the Kenworth dash does. Rattles, creaks, etc. The Kenworth build quality seems a good bit better, but it’s also a more expensive truck.

Miscellaneous International 4300 rentals:

Some generations of these trucks where super gutless (the vt365, some emissions DTs, some of the newer small Cummins ISB units). The FTR has much more power than many of those. The old pre-emissions DT466 trucks that where decently spec’d did have some good power though and compare favorably. Cupholders varied based on year, seats based on spec. The FTR has better build quality overall than any of the 4300s I’ve driven. The air-ride 4300s usually rode a little better, and the longer wheelbase is nicer on the highway, but the FTR compares favorably to many of the spring ride trucks on the highway and exceeds all on smaller roads. Little stuff like the center console, interior door-skin, fuse cover, glove box and grab handles all seem tighter, better on the FTR than any of those internationals. The FTR has aluminum tanks and steps which will no doubt prove better in the long run than the typically cheap spec’d stuff on the ‘binders.

Various tractors we’ve rented:

Volvo VNLs have better dash “cubbies” like a Hino does. The Freightliner Cascadias have a more solid interor door skin than I find the FTR to have. A real engine retarder on a semi with a manual transmission will of course do a better job than the exhaust brake on the 4HK1, but the FTR mimics it better than the T370 and smaller Isuzus do.

What’s wrong with it?

Like anything, what’s right with it can also be what’s wrong with it. With such a wide cab, the driver is very far over to the left side of the truck. If you’re used to a narrower cab, you may find yourself hugging the right side of the lane until you get used to it.

It’s a bit squeaky, the front suspension clunks a bit on some nasty potholes. It feels like it has bad bump steer on the same potholes.The truck feels a bit looser than you’d expect for a new truck. This is a bit of an Isuzu thing as the other one I bought new felt the same way. Our 2012 Kenworth T370 tractor with 130K on it feels way tighter than this truck or our 2013 NPR did new.

Paul felt it handled loosely in high cross-wind situations in Texas, but a lot of vehicles have that problem. There are also a lot of contributing factors to that feeling, so it’s hard to say how much is the fault of the chassis and how much is about weight, wind, etc. The jury is out on that one, but it’s worth mentioning.

If you drive at night, and have the dash back-lighting turned up, you’ll see a reflection of the gauges right where your driver’s side spot mirror is, rendering the mirror useless. If you turn the dash lights down (which I prefer anyway) this problem goes away.

Isuzu won’t sell you one with aluminum wheels (or they wouldn’t when I bought this one). Usually I think a lack of options for a manufacturer is a good idea, as it keeps costs down and simplifies things. However, wheel choice seems pretty simple and practical. They also won’t sell you one with air ride, which is the real atrocity.

A real pre-trip inspection means tilting the cab. Checking the oil means tilting the cab. Checking the transmission fluid means tilting the cab. Tilting the cab with a cup of coffee in those excellent cupholders is a fatal mistake.

It feels a bit under-powered (see above, How does it compare?). It isn’t on paper, but in real life I wish it had a little more pep. It also sounds like a little truck, which is because it has a little truck engine in it. I hear it come down the load in the office and I think to myself “what IS that thing out there?”, I go to the window and it’s my truck. Sometimes it sounds like there’s nothing but a bendix air dryer driving down the street. It’s a bit odd but I’ll get used to it.

I’ve listed every little nit I can pick with this truck, but really…

… see below in conclusions.

Conclusions of our 2018 isuzu ftr review

This is an excellent all around truck. The gripes I have are pretty minimal. My drivers all love the truck. It’s very practical, and so far with 6,000 miles on it, reliable. From what I can see, enough stuff is off-the-shelf NPR bits that this should be pretty cheap to maintain.  Time will tell if it’s really a good truck, but with the information I currently have, I think it’s likely to be one of the best. I think the 4 cyl 4hk1 engine is a great move on Isuzu’s part. It may feel a bit underpowered by the “butt dyno” but it’s also completely sufficient for the type of truck it is, and what it should be used for. It’s also reliable, proven and mechanics understand it. It’s not some weird bespoke european mill, and it’s not unknown/unproven tech.