Hi BP,
Google Sketchup, the free version, in the latest release is quite powerful, but unfortunately, doesn't allow the add-ons which turn it into a very useful tool.
Sketchup-Pro (the one you have to pay for) comes with all the add-ons. One of the young guys at work uses it for presentation previews to impress the clients, at prelim stage. Very good, very quick.
I have ordered a copy of Sketchup Pro + add-ons for myself to produce instruction sheets for my pending kitsets, and other things. A lot cheaper than the 3D modeller I'm slowly, painfully learning.
If I remember correctly Autocad-lite supports iso view, even though it will not draw or modify in 3D.
As to the deletion of features once Autodesk got their hands on it, this seems a common happening with relatively cheap good software.
Best of luck
kiwi