Walkaround
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All Amigos are two-door models. The Amigo is essentially the two-door version of the four-door Isuzu Rodeo. They share powertrains and other components. So if you want four doors, look at the Isuzu Rodeo. For 2000, the Amigo sports updated front and rear styling.
The first decision when buying an Amigo is whether to get the soft-top or the hard top. Which you choose says a lot about your lifestyle and where you live. The Soft Top looks best turning onto Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach on the way to Hungry Valley's off-road park. The Hard Top looks ready to head into Michigan's Upper Peninsula for a week of trout fishing.
Amigo Hard Top looks more upscale and is more practical than the Soft Top. The Hard Top provides better soundproofing, improved visibility with glass windows, improved weather protection, and heightened security for valuables. The most noticeable result of the non-removable hard top is its handsome, more sophisticated appearance. This aesthetically pleasing new look vaults the Amigo ahead of the box-on-wheels look of many other sport-utilities. The hard top lends a more rakish appearance to the Isuzu Amigo. It complements the already athletic appearance of the Amigo's lower body, where wheel wells are packed with 16-inch Bridgestone Dueler tires. And it looks especially good with the optional gray painted fascia and fender flares. Made of polypropylene, the hard top covers the rear half of the Amigo formerly occupied by the fold-down soft top. The hard top comes only in black and is non-removable. Making the top removable would have added greatly to the cost of the hardtop Amigo; Isuzu officials said their research indicated most Jeep Wrangler owners never removed their removable hard tops. The hard top comes with a heated rear window. The hard top neatly hides the huge rear roll hoop and support bars necessary for a vehicle without a full body.
Amigo Soft Top features an easy-to-use removable top. By releasing two interior roof clamps, unzipping the rear and side windows and unsnapping the top from the roof frame, the top can be removed and stored. Rear and side windows are replaceable should they become scratched or lost.
The 2000 Amigo sports updated front and rear styling and a hard-face spare tire cover with gate-mounted spare. The hood slopes to a cascading egg-crate grille and air dam combination restyled for 2000. Adding to the Amigo's visual appeal are small fog lamps and art deco taillights. The large rear tailgate door with its relatively short window eliminates the square appearance of most sport-utilities. Its blister fenders with gray overfenders and form-filling tires add an appealing muscular demeanor to the Amigo. The spare tire-mounting bracket supports a high-mounted rear stop lamp that is fastened to the lower portion of the tailgate door. When the tailgate is opened, the spare swings with it, allowing safe and easy access to the curb whether the soft-top is up or down.
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