Mazda B-SERIES PICK-UP RANGE
Mazdas B-Series Pick-Up Operates In A Burgeoning Market Segment And Has All The Tools To Do A Great Job - Sounds Like A Recipe For Success. Steve Walker Reports
We Brits have taken a real liking to the pick-up truck with its rugged, offroad, outdoor-activity image and its big, imposing on-road presence not to mention its potential for circumventing the Tax mans best efforts to lay his hands on our cash. Leading manufacturers have been quick to capitalise too, introducing new models and raising the profile of forgotten pick-up ranges that had been left languishing in dealerships, unloved and unwanted. As a result, suddenly the product that remains transportation of choice for our American cousins has gained a firm foothold in the UK and
Mazda hope that their latest B-Series Pick-Up can reap the benefits.
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Lets get one thing straight: To us, pick-up trucks like the
Mazda B-Series might send all the right messages but if you took one across the pond to cowboy country youd get a whole new perception of their position in the grand scheme of things. Drive the B-Series here and you feel important. Theres a gruff rumble from the turbocharged diesel engine and youre sat up high on those big bouncy wheels looming over superminis, city cars and soft-roaders. For all anybody knows, you could be off for a hard days work or on your way to participate in some absurdly dangerous adventure sport.
In America, the pick-ups spiritual home, the B-Series, or any other UK market model, would be dwarfed by the gigantic open-backed beasts that prowl the highways. Unchecked by exorbitant fuel prices, limited space or consideration for other road users, US pick-up buyers have demanded bigger, bolder and brasher models. To the extent that, if one of these monsters pulled up alongside your B-Series at a stop sign, you might only be on a level to gaze fearfully across into the vast chasm of its wheel-arch, your thoughts muddied and confused by the deafening roar of its gas-guzzling V8. That said, on these shores, the Mazda B-Series is up there with the big boys in terms of size power and desirability - the less said about those crazy Americans, the better.
Its built in partnership with
Ford and their Ranger pick-up is nigh-on identical but Japanese manufacturers dominate pick-up sales in the UK, so Mazdas far-eastern heritage could be a trump card.
"Mazda B-Series is up there with the big boys in terms of size power and desirability"
In acknowledgement of the dual appeal that pick-ups have in this country, Mazda chose to split the B-Series range down the middle and the results are as follows. On one hand, they are offering an entry-level single-cab model and a standard double-cab, both targeted at business users looking for a low-cost 4x4 commercial vehicle. On the other, theres the ranges lifestyle-orientated contingent, a double cab model going by the name of Barracuda. With this model buyers get a largely superficial range of add-ons like alloy-wheels, chrome mirror coverings, a chrome rear bumper and tubular chrome side steps (yes, there is a lot of chrome).
Then there are more salient extras like an MP3 compatible CD stereo, electric door mirrors and remote central locking. All B-Series models get two front airbags and an immobiliser. In the B-Series engine bay sits a 2.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine with 109PS on tap.
It can spirit the vehicle along at a fair old lick and 266Nm of torque at 2,000rpm should be enough to extricate you from the stickiest of situations. This engine is present in the Barracuda and all the other 4x4 B-Series models, with the only the 4x2 single-cab getting an 84PS non-turbo version of the same unit. Refinement doesnt feature particularly high amongst this powerplants strongpoints but if you want to glide along serenely listening to the sound of pins dropping on the stereo, a pick-up is not the vehicle for you. The engine pulls purposefully off the line and can cruise without drama at motorway speeds but as with most diesels, acceleration is hard to come by at higher revs so youll need to regularly make the gearsticks acquaintance if you want to press on.
If youve driven any pick-up truck before, you wont be expecting too much by way of driver involvement from the Mazda B-Series and you wont get it. A few years back, the model came in for substantial revisions in the road-holding, handling and braking departments but it still shares the bouncy ride and slightly vague steering of its contemporaries. On the flat its comfortable but things get a little choppy on bumpier B-roads and theres pronounced body-roll in tighter corners. With a weighty load on the back, things improve markedly, however, and off-road the B-Series really comes into its own with that same suspension set-up providing oodles of surefooted grip.
Overall, the Barracuda driving experience is a little shy of that provided by the Mitsubishis L200 or Nissans Pick-Up but only a little and its on a par with the other mainstream pick-up contenders. ABS brakes are not standard even on this high-spec model and they will be an option that many buyers will want to take up. Being designed as a commercial vehicle, the B-Series has a tough no-nonsense interior that will stay the course even in the face of some harsh treatment. The Barracuda does raise the tone above that of standard B-Series models but things will still seem a bit basic next to todays large family 4x4s.
Having said that, the build quality in the B-Series is amongst the best in the pick-up sector and the cab is well laid out. The only real bugbear is the umbrella style hand brake, which isnt the easiest to use. This pick-up deserves greater prominence in the UK. After all, it looks good, conveys a young, active image and is versatile enough for use in work or leisure time.
No pick-up can deliver saloon car handling and the B-Series doesnt break with this trend but that hasnt stunted the sales figures up to now and theres no real reason why it should. With over 90,000 pick-ups sold to date in Europe, Mazda think they should be stronger in this sector of the British market. Theyre right.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
VAN: Mazda B-Series Pick-Up range
PRICES: (Basic) £10,240-£16,991 ENGINES: 84PS 2.5-litre diesel / 109PS 2.5-litre Turbo Diesel BODYSTYLES: Single-Cab and Double-Cab.
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