Background
To give you a little perspective on the Oasis, let me give you a little background information.

To start, I'm not an Isuzu fan and never have been. Living in Alaska, I've seen too many Troopers with sub-100k miles rusted out and/or in the shop for serious engine repair. Alaska can be tough on vehicles, though, so your experience might be different elsewhere. Nonetheless, under normal circumstances I would never purchase one of their vehicles.

This is not an Isuzu; it's a Honda. Before looking at this vehicle, I spoke with the Honda dealership about the vehicle because it looked so much like the Odyssey. Apparently Honda and Isuzu struck a deal that was mutually beneficial: Honda gave Isuzu the Odyssey minivan design in exchange for the Isuzu's Rodeo SUV design.

From a mere business perspective, this deal quickly enabled each company to get a product to market in two 'hot' segments, namely that of the SUV and Minivan.

The Pros
This Minivan does not drive like a minivan. Because this vehicle has a low center of gravity and a rather wide wheelbase, the ride is quite nice. Absent is the weight-shift you inevitably feel in other vans and SUVs. I drive this vehicle at 80 mph down winding roads (in the summer, of course) with absolutely no lean, which is very important to me.

Dual air bags and all-disc anti-lock braking are standard, which are both nice features.

If you hadn't noticed, there are no sliding doors on this van. This is a straight 4-door vehicle, which is unique to this design. I'm not a fan of the sliding door, so I like it. You're preference may be different.

My model holds seven, with two front bucket seats, a middle split bench and a two-place rear seat which conveniently drops into rear stow area if so desired. The middle seats can be removed rather easily for additional storage space.
Adults can have real difficulty getting into those rear two seats, though, and I recommend it for children primarily, although the space is sufficient for me to sit. By and large the seating spacial design is good to great.

The mileage is actually pretty good, listed at 21 city/26 hwy. I get around 22 mpg. The tank hold 17 gallons.

I've had no need to repair this vehicle as yet, and it has provided four good years of service.

The Cons
The Oasis has a 140-horsepower, 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine, driving a 4-speed automatic transmission. This is not enough horsepower, in my opinion. The engine can be peppy at slow speeds, but I am disappointed with the pickup and load capacity. I've heard more recent models boosted to 220 horsepower, which is much better.

I've got to say something about the seat comfort, which is poor. On long trips, the middle split bench is very uncomfortable and I usually end up laying down if I'm seated there. The front seats are a little better, but not enough to recommend them. The seats in a Mitsubishi Montero, for example, are markedly superior. Perhaps newer models have improved seats.

This is a loud drive. The engine is not well enough insulated, I guess, and you can hear the rather gutless engine working from the cab. It doesn't both me much, but my wife is very annoyed with it. The road noise is high as well. The combination could be enough to discourage a purchase should you be one who undertakes long daily commutes. There is no wind noise.

Final Analysis
The Odyssey and the Oasis are the only vans I'd drive. I'm a stickler for drive quality, and no others compared. Later models, should they learn from this, would address comfort, power, and noise to make the near-perfect minivan

Amount Paid (US$): 16000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1997
Model and Options: Automatic