Suzuki built it’s reputation on the small vehicles and great motorcycles. In the past 50years of their existence in the Philippines, they have made inroads to the hearts of the Filipino people with their quirky small little vehicles that offer value for money and well-bulit, reliable motorcycles. Suzuki is called the small car experts and they have earned that moniker time and time again because of their offerings.
But did you know they also sold a mid-sized pickup truck back in 2008 – 2012? Say what? Suzuki and mid-size. Two words the doesn’t seem to go together in the automotive world. Enter the Equator, Suzuki’s attempt at breaking into the American mid-size pickup truck market. The Equator basically had a rebodied and rebadged Nissan Frontier (D40). Sharing the Nissan’s F-Alpha platform chassis, it shared many of the driving attributes of the Navara.
It was powered by a 152hp 2.5l inline 4-cylinder (QR25DE) and an optional 261hp 4.0l V-6 cylinder engine (VQ40DE). Both powerplants were Nissan-sourced. Transmission offered was a 5-speed manual, as well as a 5-speed automatic. Drivetrain options were the usual 2WD and 4WD.
It can be bought in two bodystyles, a Crew Cab 4-door version and a Extended Cab 2-door version. And a it came in short bed and long bed configurations.
The interior was smartly appoined with seats that had ample bolstering for those offroad excursions. Again, here in the interior, the Nissan connection is evident with very similar dashboard lines. Safety features were the standard fare of the times. ABS, front and side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags were offered standard on all trim levels. There was traction and stability control available on the top trim levels.
All in all, the Suzuki Equator was a good performer. A capable mid-size pickup on and off the asphalt. That, and you could carry your Suzuki motorcycle in the bed too. Now, would you have bought one, if they offered it locally?