This 400-class sport-utility ATV line debuted for the 2002 model year as part of Suzuki’s push to strengthen its utility lineup in North America. Suzuki announced the Eiger 400 series in its 2002 annual report, noting that full production began in May 2002 at Suzuki Manufacturing of America in Georgia. The nameplate covered both two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive versions, and it was positioned as a rugged, mid-size work-and-trail machine rather than a pure recreation model.
The line quickly became one of Suzuki’s core utility ATVs in the U.S. market. Official recall documents show the model still in production as a 2006 model year ATV, confirming that the Eiger name remained in use through that model year. Suzuki’s own historical materials describe the Eiger as one of the mountain-named sport-utility models introduced during the early-2000s ATV restructuring, alongside the larger Vinson 500. In later years, Suzuki’s 400-class utility ATV family continued under the KingQuad name, but that is a separate nameplate rather than a continuation of the Eiger badge.
For enthusiasts, the Eiger is remembered as one of the key transitional Suzuki utility quads of the early 2000s: a simple, durable, American-built ATV that bridged the company’s earlier utility models and the modern KingQuad era.