this is not an illusion... Isuzus are really very well built trucks, but the engineers obviously did not care much about the clearance. The way how the sub-systems attached to each other is not good for the ground clearance and for the lift overall.

When I had helped by buddy to lift his Montero 3", I was surprised that the CV angles on his Montero became almost neutral after the lift ! The Montero's CVs are designed very lift-friendly: on a stock truck, the angle is negative; when you lift it, it becomes neutral. Compare it to the usual Isuzu problems with steep CV angles.

The same is true in regard to the configuration of the transmissions and TCs (especially if you compare it to the Toyotas). With the same tire size, a stock Isuzu has less ground clearance than a stock Tacoma.

We just have to try harder.