Our 1987 Suzuki Samurai studio vehicle is (finally) being tested.
Few vehicles can take on our Goldmine Hill obstacle in the snow. Of those, we would consider even fewer vehicles to actually attempt the uphill climb.
Despite sporting substandard (for off-roading) tires, we brought the Samurai to Gold Mine Hill on a balmy 45-degree (Fahrenheit) day. For those of you who don’t know, Gold Mine Hill is located between Boulder and Nederland, Colorado. We frequently go up there to test crossovers, SUVs and trucks with all-wheel drive (AWD) and four-wheel drive (4WD) systems.
The idea behind purchasing the 1987 Suzuki Samurai was simple. It has to do with the fact that TFLcar, TFLtruck and TFLoffroad acquire project vehicles tend to be expensive. The fact that our off-road ATVs can cost up to $30,000 is eye watering as well. We wanted something on the other side of the scale, something capable, small and endearing.
Our 1987 Suzuki Samurai comes with its original 1.3-liter, four-cylinder engine that makes 60 horsepower and 76 lb-ft of torque. It has a five-speed manual transmission and a proper two-speed transfer case. Differentials are open and there is an old-school manual locking front hubs up front.
In this video Roman finally lets me take the sweet little Suzuki Samurai to Goldmine Hill. Prepare for awesomeness!
