Check out Isuzu’s new lightweight truck, the Travis

MANILA: The 2018 Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) was an exciting time for car enthusiasts. We got acquainted with a whole bunch of vehicles including Mazda MX-5, Nissan Warrior X, and BMW X4. Among the things introduced to us was the lightweight truck concept Isuzu VT-02. A year later, it's finally here with a new name - Isuzu Travis.

Isuzu Travis is basically the Philippine version of the Indonesian Traga, which has been around for quite some time. So what took it so long to get here?

For starters, Isuzu Traga has right-hand drive whereas Philippine cars require left-hand drive. Another reason is that Traga comes with a Euro II engine under the hood. It needed at least Euro IV to pass local standards.

These two issues must have prevented Isuzu from producing and selling Traga in Philippine territory. With the 2020 Isuzu Travis set to launch next month, Isuzu Philippines probably found a way to fix them.

It's possible that Isuzu Indonesia adapted its factory's facilities to build the left-hand Travis alongside the right-hand Traga. Another possibility is that Isuzu is shipping parts to Santa Rosa, Laguna, for local assembly.

As far as the engine is concerned, the automaker must have found a Euro IV engine that fits the chassis of Isuzu Travis. But these are just speculations since we don't know its exact specifications yet.
Generally, you can expect Travis not to be much different from Traga or the Isuzu VT-02 concept from last year's PIMS. Although if there is one thing that's changed, it's the rear end. The original concept had a passenger carrier box on the back. But this could still change for the production model.

Travis also has a visibly shorter and lighter exterior than Isuzu's N-Series medium-duty trucks. A fitting design, really, for a lightweight truck. While we haven't seen its interior, we can surmise that it will have a simple, no-nonsense design.

When it launches, the Isuzu Travis will be a direct competitor to updated Mitsubishi L300. Only time will tell whether it can surpass its rival.

Also Read: New 2020 Isuzu D-Max specs, features, and variants