1997 ACURA SLX 3.5L V6 4AT AWD (216 HP)

Vehicle Overview

In its quest to offer an SUV for the American market, Honda made a deal with GM and it rebadged the Isuzu Trooper as an Acura SLX.

The 1996 model didn’t work well and it was improved in 1997.

When General Motors and Honda Motor Company decided to help each-other on building cars, few models emerged from that agreement. The agreement stated that the Japanese car-maker had to deliver the engines and General Motors will deliver the chassis and Isuzu will bring its diesel engines to the table. The American company had a third of the Isuzu shares. Isuzu, on the other hand, was allowed to build the Isuzu Oasis, which was the Honda Odyssey MPV. It was a mix of badge-engineering between the two car companies that involved more brands.

The two-box design of the big Acura SLX was carried-over from the Isuzu Trooper. The car featured body-on-frame construction, with a low range gear fit for off-road. The front fascia was redesigned according to Acura specifications, but mostly only the grille was different than the one found on the Isuzu Trooper or Opel Monterey (European version).

Inside, the base model featured cloth upholstery while the upper trim level received leather. The instrument cluster featured the same layout as the Isuzu, with six gauges and the tachometer and speedometer larger than any other gauge, with the indicators for the automatic transmission between them.

Unlike the Isuzu Trooper or Opel Monterey, which were available with diesel engines as well, the 1997 Acura SLX was fitted exclusively with the 3.5-liter unit was installed but, unfortunately, the roll-over tests revealed that the car was unsafe, scaring the customers. In 1999, it was dropped from the Acura’s range.