A long time ago, I owned an Isuzu Pickup. It was a ’93, red, with a basic gray cloth interior. Regular cab, short bed. A light-duty hauler that came in handy almost every day of the week for mountain biking excursions to nearby South Mountain Park in Phoenix. That Isuzu was no-frills, but well made and always reliable.

This new 2006 Isuzu i-280 reminds me of that old red pickup. It’s basic but pleasing in a purposeful, no-frills kind of way, even though our test model was equipped with niceties such as power windows, power door locks, remote keyless entry, and a decent sound system with a CD player. The sticker price is under $21,000, but everyone knows nobody pays sticker, which means the local Isuzu dealer, desperate to sell you anything on the lot, is gonna deal and you’re out the door for well under 20 grand.

At that price, this makes a nice choice. A bedliner, alloy wheels, and a chrome grille dress up the outside, and the cabin is constructed of decent materials that fit well together. Rear access doors open to reveal jump seats for kids, or they can be flipped up to create a roomy storage area.

The 2.8-liter inline four isn’t going to win any drag races, but it’s torquey and the manual five-speed is easy to shift, so you get down the road just fine. The soft urethane steering wheel is nice to grip, and the seats are reasonably comfortable even if the driver’s bucket lacks a height adjuster. The brakes are hard to modulate – I never did get used to their grabby nature – and if you attempt to pitch the i-280 into a corner with too much speed you’re going to be rewarded with tire howl and plenty of body roll. Ride quality in town is fine, likely smoother with a load in the bed, and four visible corners make it simple to park.

Bare-bones trucks aren’t popular with consumers, but plenty of people who use pickups the way God intended will find this i-280 appealing. And with a warranty that’s longer than the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon on which it is based, why wouldn’t you give the Isuzu a try?