Between 1982 and 1990 the first generation Fargo was marketed in Australia by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors as the Holden Shuttle. In Europe and New Zealand, the first series Isuzu Fargo was sold under the Isuzu WFR name.
The first generation Isuzu Fargo was introduced in December 1980 with a 1.6 and 1.8litre petrol engines, and a 1.8litre diesel engine.
- August 1981: 2.0litre diesel van introduced.
- March 1982: 1.8litre gasoline and 2.0litre diesel engines introduced.
- July 1982: Introduction of luxury-oriented nine-seater LS van, featuring a standard sunroof among other features.
- November 1983: Part-time diesel four-wheel drive model introduced.
- January 1984:
- November 1984: Four-wheel drive van added.
- January 1986: Changes to instrument panel.
- January 1987: Automatic transmission available on rear-wheel drive variants.
- September 1987:
- October 1988: Cab forward pickup (truck) body style added.
- January 1991: 2.4litre 4FG1 diesel engine introduced, replacing 1.8 and 2.0litre units. Design changes made to both the interior and exterior.
- August 1993: 2.4litre 4FG1-T turbodiesel standardised across the range. Three-point rear seatbelts now fitted to models fitted with rear seats and the air conditioning unit is now chlorofluorocarbon-free (CFC).