PICKUPS AND OFF-ROADERS TESTERS' CHOICE CORD RANGER 1.51M T he pickup
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market was rather static until a couple of years ago, when we saw some evolutionary changes from the Japanese manufacturers which exemplify the breed: the Nissan, Mitsubishi and Toyota pickups are now all pretty good. and difficult to separate.
But the market was given a shot in the arm by the introduction of Ford's Ranger, along with the near-identical Mazda B-series, and perhaps Ford will even have enough clout to finally kickstart the nascent "recreational" pickup market, which has been heralded for years.
Art equal impetus has come from changes in the VAT regulations: it's now possible to reclaim the VAT an a doublecab pickup, as long as its payload is over a tonne.
The first 4x4 to come our way for testing last year was not a pickup but the commercial version of Nissan's Terraria II; one of the few contenders in the off-road van market. Its 2.7-litre turbo-diesel engine has gained a charge-cooler and a 25% increase in power, but relatively high gearing hampered the Nissan's performance on steep slopes.
The Terrano Ills much more roadorientated than competitors such as the perennially popular Daihatsu Fieldman, with good ride quality (despite its short wheelbase) and excellent handling. But before taking it off-road we'd fit some more aggressive tyres. Build quality is good and the interior is comfortable, but the Terrano II is up against increasingly capable competition from Isuzu and Land Rover.
We've had mixed experience with Tatas, and the Loadbeta TDi 4 x11 Pickup we tested in December 1998 was a poor example of the breed: with a leaking turbocharger installation it could hardly pull the skin off a low-fat gooseberry fool. But last April we got our hands on a chassis-cab version complete with a factory-fitted tipper body, and this example was much more convincing.
With a 2.0-litre engine it was never going to match the performance of the beefier Japanese models, but its average speed and fuel economy were acceptable. The interior design and finish were not up to the mark, reminding us of cars from 30 years ago, but at just under £12,000 for a fully equipped tipper with a threeyear/60.000-mile warranty, who can complain? Our original conclusion to the test says it all: "If you need a rugged load carrier, and are not too bothered by cutting-edge design or outright performance, the Tata Loadbeta offers a realistic budgetpriced alternative to the oriental route."
At the other end of the price spectrum (more than £20.000 exVAT) the Land Rover Defender TD5 Hardtop represents an expensive alternative to the Nissan Terrano II. But the basic design, now more than 50 years old, still has a good deal to offer, particularly with its new five-cylinder directinjection engine.
The high-pressure, unit-injected diesel delivers a whopping 300trm of torque from just 2.5 litres, but we found that a rather peaky delivery, combined with a hesitant throttle and the short wheelbase, made it something of a handful in traffic. The ergonomics are also an acquired taste. Nevertheless, the Land Rover remains a magnificent performer off-road and handles pretty well on the road.
Ford hasn't had a contender in the pickup market since the late P100, and that was never available as a 4x4. The market hasn't been the same since, so we awaited the arrival of the Ranger with some excitement. It's built in the same Thai factory as the latest Mazda B-Series and uses the same fundamental design. But Ford has taken the opportunity to offer a good range of variants: naturally aspirated and turbocharged diesels with two and fourwheel drive; and standard, extended and double cabs.
The 4x4 TD double-cab we tested was a pretty convincing performer, and while it didn't represent a giant leap from the current standards of Oriental pickups, it seemed to do everything well. The engine is the most powerful in its class, equipment levels are high and behaviour is exemplary both on and off-road, apart from rather limited ground clearance. But we're still not keen on those umbrella handbrakes...
The Mazda 82500 may be a nearclone of the Ford Ranger, but the variant we tested could hardly have been more different. It was a two-wheeldrive, naturally aspirated single-cab pickup, with few of the extras of the top-of-the-Ranger.
But the Mazda still displayed most of the same virtues, at a more than reasonable price—only the Tata makes it look expensive. Better still, it offers a three-year warranty while the Ford can only muster a single year. We summed up the Mazda as "an extremely good workhorse which, when all's said and done, is exactly what your average operator needs".
Still, we were swayed by the extra abilities of the higher-spec Ranger: it is a deserving Testers' Choice in this class.
by Toby Clark"!