is lots of room and it is well thought out for utility purposes, too. Thanks

to last year's interior redesign, the controls are logical and well-placed,

and function as they should without having to resort to the owner's manual

for directions.

We also appreciated the thoughtfulness of the discrete arrow on the

gas gauge on the dash which serves to remind the driver which side of the

vehicle should be facing the pump when it's time to refill the tank.

Cover the seats however you wish--cloth or an optional leather interior--they

are really comfortable. And as importantly, this is truly a five-passenger

vehicle with ample room in the rear for the heads, shoulders, hips and

legs of real people without crowding either the driver or the front seat

passenger. Even with a full passenger complement, there is ample room for

bags, boxes, sacks and satchels.

The cargo area has all sorts of handy tie-down anchors to secure whatever

you're carrying, as well as a security screen to cover stuff up. An option

on the Rodeo (standard on the Passport) which we found particularly useful

was the 60/40 split in the rear seat. This greatly facilitates the ability

to accommodate a variety of loads and/or passengers.

The Rodeo offers a choice between an optional rear spare tire mount,

or a standard inside mount, while all Passports carry their spares on the

tailgate. Neither arrangement is ideal. The inside spare eats cargo space,

the outside mount restricts vision to the rear, and we prefer underbody

spare tire stowage, which is on its way to becoming universal in this class.

The sound system--be it the standard AM/FM radio or an optional upgrade

with cassette or CD capabilities--is quite good. Air conditioning is optional

on the basic Rodeo, standard on the Passport. Both Rodeo and Passport also

offer the option of a large opening in the roof, called a sunroof by Isuzu

and a moonroof by Honda. So what's in a name? There's no night and day

difference here; they're identical in function.