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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 7, 2009 - 19 Mazda Goes Back to Basics with B4000 By Rob Beintema Metroland Media Group www.yourautos.ca Sometimes you gotta dance with the fat girl. You know how it goes. You're at some wedding or extended family event and your mother and the aunts start pushing and prodding you in her general direction to a cajoling chorus of whispered pleas and threats. Some people suspect that car testing is like that. That we are occasionally forced into econoboxes and also-rans between Bentleys, Porsches and a steady diet of other exotica. Nah. It's the variety of vehicles that keeps it interesting for me. Give me different sizes, shapes and specs every week. Whether they're big SUVs, small sedans, tall wagons, maybe a convertible in the middle of winter or, hmmm, how about something in the way of a small pickup truck, like the Mazda B-Series. Probably not a first choice for most. Trucks have become wallflowers at the dance lately. The big ones have lost their `Miss Popularity' crowns for their boorishly thirsty behaviour. And as for small trucks? Well, they are mainly just ignored, wallflowers sitting on the sidelines. Manufacturers have tended to concentrate on the bigger, higher profit, new models over the past few years while small pickups have plugged along relatively unchanged and unnoticed. But I've had it in mind to give small pickups a little attention ever since noticing that they were being ignored. They aren't even on the display floor at some of the flashier auto shows. And because there's been no newsworthy changes to the models in over a decade, Mazda and Ford (the Mazda B and Ford Ranger are siblings) usually don't even keep a small pickup in the press fleet. It took a determined Kathleen at Mazda Canada to scrounge up a brand new 2009 model from somewhere. And I mean brand new, less than 50 klicks on the clock, dipped in understated grey, no fizzle, no flash. Just what I had hoped for. The kind of simple and affordable vehicle truck buyers at this entry level might actually buy ­ no tilt steering, no cruise control, a column shifter and crank handle windows. You AT A GLANCE BODY STYLE: Compact pickup truck DRIVE METHOD: frontengine, 4X2 or 4X4. ENGINE: 2.3-litre, inline fourcylinder (143 hp, 154 lb/ft); 4.0-litre V6 (207 hp, 238 lb/ft). FUEL ECONOMY: 2.3-litre (4X2 manual), 9.9/7.5L/100km (city hwy); 4.0-lite V6 (4X4 auto), 15.2/11.3L/100km (city/hwy) PRICE: B2300 Regular Cab SX 4X2 - $15,250; B4000 Cab Plus SE 4X4 - $22,795 WEBSITE: mazda.ca so goes the Mazda B-Series, so the models have managed to hold on over the years. But its future is uncertain with rumours swirling. Will the lineup be terminated or will there be a unibody replacement? Present financial problems have made model futures and changes even more uncertain. But I enjoyed driving the B4000. Much as I would prefer four-cylinder fuel economy mated to 4X4 allweather security, the B4000 offered plain, simple and honest performance and capability in a no-nonsense package. That combination of throw-it-inthe-back utility and an economy car-style starting price has kept the Mazda B-Series in the marketplace as an alternative for Mazda customers, and an appealing entry level model fulfilling many commercial or personal trucking needs. The 2009 Mazda B4000, small truck versatility harnessing V6 payload and towing capabilities. want to adjust the mirrors? Roll down the windows and reach, buddy. You want to lock the doors? Try pushing down that little knob. I was surprised at how many times I had to walk back to the truck to do that, so spoiled I've become by remote key fobs. The Mazda B-Series comes in a three model selection that blends two cab choices, two powertrains and two drive modes. All models build on the traditional load-bearing foundation of ladder-frame construction with fully boxed frame rails, mounting a recently-revised independent, double-wishbone front suspension with a stabilizer bar and a solidaxle rear suspension with leaf springs. Front disc/rear drum braking comes standard with ABS and electronic brake force distribution. The lineup starts with the Mazda B2300, the model name based on its 2.3-litre, 143 hp, fourcylinder engine. It's available in two-wheel drive, regular cab configuration in SX trim grade. This vehicle recently earned an EnerGuide award from the Canadian government as the most fuel-efficient compact pickup truck in its class. I would have liked to have tested the fourbanger but it only comes in 4X2 and testing pickup trucks is already enough of a challenge in a Canadian winter. A rear-wheeldrive pickup may be fun for the follies of juvenile parking lot donuts and acceleration burnouts but after any snowfall, it's a little too much like playing hockey in high heels. Next up the lineup ladder is the V6 version, the B4000. Mazda trimmed their lineup for 2009, dropping an intermediate B3000 model. The B4000 is only available in Cab Plus (extended cab) configuration and comes in two-wheeldrive Dual Sport or four-wheeldrive SE versions (as tested). It harnesses a 4.0-litre, SOHC V6 engine, slightly dated with a cast iron block and two valves per cylinder, but it produces an honest 207 hp and 238 lb-ft of torque, offering a Gross Combined Weight Rating of 9500 lbs (4309 kg), the greatest towing capacity in Mazda's lineup. There is a pump penalty for that power, with my tester being the least fuel-efficient at this top end of the lineup in 4X4 rig, rated at 15.2/11.3L/100km (city/hwy), numbers in keeping with my personal average of 15.7L/100km. Inside, there's room for two, possibly three on the front bench. "Looks just like my Dad's old Ranger," one friend told me and, indeed, there's been little in the way of styling change inside or out to this fourth-generation version, although a few modern touches have been added like a carbon-fibre style centre stack treatment, standard tire pressure monitoring system and an iPod/MP3 player input jack. Behind the front seat, the extended cab area offers extra storage room and two jump seats that flop down sideways with lap belts and without headrests. Those seats might come in handy in a pinch (and I do mean PINCH) but the area would be better suited for grocery bags, toolbox storage or maybe even as a spot for the family dog. In back, the standard six-foot box offers four tie-down hooks and a gross payload rating of 572 kg (1260 lbs). Ford Ranger sales have picked up in the last few years with increasing fuel costs, despite the "bigger is better" domestic malaise that has suborned the original fuelefficiency intent of vehicles like this. And as goes the Ford Ranger, www.volvoofoakville.com SERVICE DEPARTMENT OPEN SATURDAYS Phone: (905) 825-8088