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Driving Impressions

We had the opportunity to drive the new Equator on country roads and highways around San Antonio, Texas. This western part of Texas was warm and dry, and the roads lead us through suburban sprawl some 55 miles north of town, where we visited Knibbe Ranch, an historic longhorn cattle ranch that served as a base for further testing.

Starting up the RMZ-4 test unit takes only a twist of the wrist, due to Bluetooth remote keyless entry. As long as the key is in the truck, the ignition switch can be turned by hand, lighting up the powerplant.

We found the Equator easy to shift and drive with the five-speed automatic and V6 engine. With two passengers and nothing in the bed, ratios are close enough for smooth, part-throttle acceleration. Once on the highway, the truck settles into a 60-mph cruise at about 1800 rpm.

Up to about 75 mph, the cabin is nicely quiet, certainly quiet enough to talk or enjoy satellite radio without using too much volume. Wind noise at average highway cruising speeds was not excessive to our ear; actually, the major source of NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) was from the tires as they rolled over certain paved surfaces. Smooth tarmac allowed the tires to be very quiet, and they tolerated road cracks and chips well, but there was one paving material that tended to make the tires sound quite loud, and a good part of the road noise on those particular surfaces leaked into the cabin.

When passing on the highway, throttle response is about what we'd expect from a V6 behind an automatic overdrive transmission. The engine develops maximum horsepower at 5600 rpm, and maximum torque at 4000 rpm. With the overdrive keeping rpm down below 2000 rpm, a stab at the throttle brings about a quick downshift and an increase in engine noise. But it still takes a few seconds for the engine to bring rpm level up high enough to catch fire and move out. We wouldn't say performance is insufficient, because the job gets done efficiently, which is what the Equator is all about anyway.

The Equator comes with speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion steering, and it feels light and balanced. There is enough steering precision to allow for spirited back-road hustling, and in relaxed driving it's easy to keep the truck in lane without much need for correction or management.

The brakes, consisting of discs on all four corners, provide easy-to-modulate, very progressive stopping power at the very top of the pedal; there is nothing squishy, grabby or overly assisted about them. We got into the ABS only once, and that was on a dirt road, but the event made only a light ticking sound with minimal pedal feedback.

Empty pickup trucks have never been known for great ride quality, especially not when equipped with high-performance Bilstein shocks, but we found the Equator comfortably damped for a pickup, especially for a 4x4. The suspension design is basic and simple, a front wishbone independent suspension is teamed with a leaf-spring setup in the back. Generally in these situations, the rear half of the truck tends to hop around as it follows the independent front suspension, but we really didn't feel that this was happening to an objectionable degree as we drove. In fact, we discovered that the more we drove the Equator, the more we liked it. It steered well, braked well, and the seats still felt good after a fair amount of driving.

That appreciation was enhanced when we took the Equator off-road, on a Knibbe ranch trail that had been marked off for our testing. The trail took us along graded dirt paths, down loose, dusty hillsides and in and out of a wide creek bed with clear water flowing about 12 to 18 inches deep. Much of the trail could have been navigated in 2WD, only about half actually required four-wheel drive. But there were certain sections, such as at the river crossing, that required 4-Lo and a judicious driver. One of our fellow testers managed to get stuck by rocking back and forth in the riverbed. During the ensuing rescue, we learned that there is only one vehicle recovery attachment point, under the front bumper, which was not readily accessible in that situation. Suzuki does not offer a factory receiver hitch, which would have made the rescue easier, but there is a rear beam intended to make the mounting of a receiver hitch easier included in all but Base models.

Rocky sections of the trail were handled easily in 4-Lo, but at one point the combination of wet tires, muddy rocks and steep hillside made it necessary to use the electronic locking differential. We pushed the switch, the dash indicator light came on and we crawled slowly and steadily to the top. Ground clearance, at 8.9 inches minimum, made it possible to pick our way through good-sized rocky sections without contacting any of the three skid plates. Clearance under the rear axle is a full 10.1 inches.

Muddy sections had been prepared as well. These consisted of 40-yard bogs created by backhoe and flooded with water. The soil in the area was heavy, black and thick, making for a particularly greasy mud. We found that we could run through the mud consistently, but the BFG Rugged Trail tires did require a good amount of throttle to self-clean in this gummy mud. Anyone dealing with this kind of mud on a regular basis, or anything worse, would probably do well to install a true mud tire.

While we did not have a chance to load the bed of an Equator with its maximum payload, somewhere around 1400 pounds, our test session did include a boat-ramp test. Slippery boat ramps are a common challenge when loading and unloading boats and personal watercraft. Water was low at Canyon Lake marina, so the concrete boat ramp was long and steep. The Equator needed only moderate throttle to pull a 3800-pound Ranger bass boat from the water and up the ramp, although four-wheel drive was needed to pull away on the wet surface. For situations like these, we find the selectable locking rear differential provides the margin of control we want. Sometimes, it's the difference between burning rubber and making it look easy.

One of our colleagues took an Equator for a weekend fishing trip towing a Triton TR 20 bass boat weighing in at about 4000 pounds loaded. The Equator had no trouble with the load, cruising wide-open interstates for a 480-mile round trip at speeds up to 70 mph. The driver found that his mileage was just so-so for that trip at 12.6 mpg, which is consistent with what we would expect. When a V6 is heavily loaded, you'll operate more at full-throttle, and the V6 will be less efficient. However, most mid-size pickups are driven empty most of the time, used as a second car, daily commuter or grocery getter. In those situations, probably 90 percent of the total mileage, the V6 is going to get better economy than a V8. If mileage is your first priority, it's worth noting that a base Equator, with four-cylinder engine and manual transmission, is EPA rated to get 19 mpg around town, and 22 mpg on the highway.

Maximum towing capacity, given as 6500 pounds, would be for a 2WD, V6 sport model, and only with a weight-distributing hitch. With a standard Class 3 receiver hitch, Suzuki spokesmen suggest towing capacity would probably become something in the vicinity of 5000 pounds, depending on the model. Anything more than that, or even approaching that, and we'd recommend a full-size pickup.

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