going on in the truck business these days it would be easy to ignore the

fundamental premise of why someone might want a pickup in the first place:

To haul stuff around, be reliable and not cost too much money.

It's this back-to-basics concept that defines the Isuzu Hombre and its

mission. Not the fanciest, nor the most powerful, nor the most loaded with

options, the Hombre offers honest truck-hauling at an affordable price.

The Hombre is a new model on the market, but that doesn't mean it will

take time to work the bugs out. The Hombre is built by General Motors,

in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is, with some exceptions, a mechanical twin

of the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma compact pickups. That means it's a

proven commodity.

Even though it's mechanically the same as the S-10/Sonoma, it has a

different look, as the Isuzu designers have given the Hombre its own front-end

styling treatment. It's also contented differently, with an option list

that's reined-in somewhat from that offered on the GM models. Put this

together and you've got a sensible, reliable pickup that won't rip the

seams out of even a modest budget.