Got my June 2006 edition of Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-road Magazine, which had several features of interest.

One was on page 112, "The Best 4x4's on Earth", where Jerrod Jones lists his favorite 4x4's, noting some truck history and miscellaneous tidbits about the rigs, basically explaining why he thinks they are among the best ever.

So, lo and behold, there's a '98 Isuzu Trooper on the list!
He lists the merits, including four-linked coil rear suspension, beefy D44 rear with "9.61-inch ring gear (that's bigger than a Dana 60, folks!" and 1.5-inch axleshafts.

Nice to see some Isuzu kudos from the boys at Petersen's.

what an axle ... it's an Isuzu-derived part, and sports a 9.61-inch ring gear ...