2009 Suzuki Equator Review

Suzuki has enjoyed enormous success in the U.S with the sale of motorcycles, ATVs, dirt bikes and outboard motors. Most of them they had to be towed or lugged around by pick-ups made by other companies. Now Suzuki wants to change that too, and has entered with the launch of the Equator, which is basically another version of the Nissan frontier. There is a huge similarity between the too, given the fct that the equator and the frontier are manufactured side by side in Smyrna, Tennessee.

The two share the same engine specs and come in two choices; a 2.5 Liter V-6 DOHC 16-valve making a 152-bhp and has a torque of 171lb/ft; the other available spec is a 4.0 Liter V6, DOHC 24-valve, pumping 261-bhp and 281 lb/ft and also share the same 5-speed automatic transmission although, the Frontier has the 6 speed manual option too. The vehicle layout is also the same with a front engine, rear wheel drive or a 4 wheel drive. They are available as a 5-passenger, 4-door pick-up with VDC, HDC, and Hill Start Assist; short or long bed; and extended cab or crew cab.

The Suzuki weighs in somewhere between 3700-4500 lb and can carry loads up to 6500 pounds of adventure gear. The equator as expected, not only looked like the Frontier, it performed just like it too, in spite of being slightly longer than the Frontier which is a good thing. It could pull-off  a 0-60mph in just 7.7seconds. the mileage readings were decent, ranging anywhere between, 12-19mpgs in the city and 20- 23mpg on the highways and the CO2 emissions recorded 0.94-1.15 lb/mile. The V6 felt very powerful but  also clumsy and noisy. Another problem with the Equator was the turning circle, where a U turn would suffice any other trucks, the equator required a three-point turning cycle. The turning point cycle is about 43.6 feet .

The interiors are spacious and typical Suzuki, nothing grand. the features are very basic, nothing to write home about. The Equator provides good towing capacity, spacious interiors and  decent off-roading capability, complete with a seven-year or 100,000-mile transferable power-train warranty, which is way better than that of the Frontier. The Suzuki Equator is priced at $23,000-$29,000.