2012 Suzuki Equator

 The compact/midsize truck segment has been thinning out for some time. Dodge killed the Dakota in August 2011 and Ford ended U.S. production of the Ranger last December -- and doesn't plan to bring the new global Ranger stateside. Toyota and Honda slapped new front grilles on the aging Tacoma and Ridgeline, respectively, and Nissan gave the similarly-dated Frontier a package. GM has confirmed a new Chevrolet Colorado, but that truck is at least a year away. There is one other compact truck on the market, however, one that hasn't quite made it into the mainstream -- the Suzuki Equator. Ask a random person on the street about the Equator and you're liable to be met with blank stares. That's partly because the Equator is a essentially a rebadged Nissan Frontier.  At first glance, the exterior bodylines of the Equator can easily be mistaken for its counterpart. Look again and you'll notice the beefier horizontal front grille, rounder headlights, restyled sheetmetal, and the Suzuki insignia on the tailgate. A little over two years ago we had a 2009 Suzuki Equator RMZ-4 in Motor Trend's long-term fleet, and it was a staff favorite for trips on and off the pavement. Now that the Equator is in its fourth year of production, our feelings haven't changed, and neither has the truck.

We took the 2012 Suzuki Equator Crew Cab RMZ-4 4x4 home for a long holiday vacation, with only 1340 miles on its fresh 4.0-liter V-6 engine. Its 261-hp, 281-lb-ft torque powerplant is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission -- a strong combo that provides the power and performance we needed for a week full of travel and yardwork. Our tester reached 60 mph in a respectable 7.7 seconds and ran a flat 16.0 seconds at 86.9 mph in the quarter mile. 

 On a 700-mile round trip from Orange County, California, to Kingman, Arizona, we averaged 17.1 mpg with a bed half full of boxes. This RMZ-4 4x4 is outfitted with Bilstein shocks, which made the drive fairly smooth on the asphalt. We experienced very little wheelhop on the poorly maintained two-lane interstate. The compact-size Crew Cab interior featured the RMZ-4 trim with red stitching and didn't have the optional $600 Garmin portable nav system. The cabin was comfy for three full-size adults, and there was room for a child seat, but we were less than impressed with the wind noise that came from the windshield.  The Suzuki Equator is equipped with such standard features as a spray-on bedliner and tiedown tracks, in addition to the RMZ-4 Moto bed extender (a $359 option), of which we took full advantage with many trips to the hardware store to repair fencing lost in recent windstorms. The four-wheel-drive system with hill hold and hill descent control came in handy on our hillside back yard, keeping the truck secure whenever we moved it. This rather simple feature is a great help when your driveway dips 39 degrees below the street surface and you're loading the bed with fresh-cut tree branches, six bags of raked leaves, and the remnants of a dead tree for a voyage to the local dump. If going full-size isn't an option for you, the Suzuki Equator is a half-hidden treasure box waiting to be discovered. It's also the only truck backed by a 100,000-mile/7-year limited powertrain warranty.

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/trucks/1206_2012_suzuki_equator_crew_cab_rmz_4_first_test/#ixzz2GHqE7o6L