Series was tested by Cornmerciat Motor in 1985. Three years
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on we tried one of the now distinctive looking designs with the protruding crash protection. At the time we thought it looked like
something out of a Dan Dare comic and wondered if it was really a suitable safety solution for forward control. Other manufacturers, we noted sagely, were putting drivers behind the front wheels.
Twelve years on, most vans have followed this design path, but Mazda clearly thinks its approach has some more miles in it. Taking the Heath Robinson tack and bolting on the crash protection zone means Mazda can get maximum return from its investment in the original E-Series design.
Whether the nose gives as much protection as a more integrated design is not for us to say: while we did a little impact testing on the back of the van, we felt that full bore head-on tests are best left to crash-test dummies.
PRODUCT PROFILE
There aren't many models to choose from in the E-Series range; just two in fact. Buyers can plump for an injected 2.0-litre petrol model or the 2.2-litre indirectly injected, normally aspirated diesel tested here. This engine develops 7ohp (52kW) at 4,100rpm and 184Nm (i361bft) at 2,000rpm—for the record, the petrol-powered unit puts out 94hp (7okW) at 4,800rpm and 2o6Nm (i56lbft) at 2,5oorpm.
Changes for this new model, other than the new nose, include a high-level brake light at the rear and lower cutaway windows in the cab doors. The options list is a little confusing. Mazda tells us that metallic paint (boo in the current price-list) is not available, but other options not mentioned can be specified. These include split folding front passenger seats for £212.77 and a full-height mesh bulkhead for £170.17.
Prices are Lir,495 for the diesel and £10,795 for the petrol with three years/Go,000 miles warranty, six years' antiperforation warranty and Mazda's UK Assistance for three years. Servicing intervals are 6,000 miles for the diesel and 9,000 miles for the petrol.
PRODUCTIVITY
One thing you can't take away from the Mazda is its productivity. For a start the fuel consumption is pretty darn good at 29.8mpg, second only to the 32mpg posted by the VW Transporter in January last year. Unladen results were marred by bad weather and traffic but at 33.9mpg it's still runner-up in our comparison group. Then there's the payload which, thanks to a slightly odd GVW of 2,910kg, is a very usable 1,3711g—beating the 2.8-tonne opposition.
The loadspace is 3m long, and can be extended by a metre using the folding front seats. With a maximum load width of 1.5m, the E-Series ends up with a load volume of 5.7m3.
Two sliding side doors and central locking come as stan dard, which is to be welcomed. The remote function wasn't working, but not having to check all the doors whenever the van is left is a great time saver. An immobiliser is also on the standard spec list, which is an excellent security feature but took up all the time we saved by not having to check the doors were locked.
Twin rear doors are not available, even as an option, but the tailgate might offer some shelter from the rain. A fork-lift would have a difficult time trying to get a Euro-pallet past this, but would happily get one through the side doors.
Access to the engine is a little more time consuming and awkward than traditional designs as it is secreted underneath the passenger seats.
All in all, however, the E-Series can carry its fair share and does its best to make life easy for its operator. What more could you want...?
ON THE ROAD ...well, more power for one thing. The ESeries gets from A to B, but with a full load does so with a long stopover in ZZZZZZ.
Progress up the speedometer is slow, the Mazda returns some of the worst acceleration results we have ever recorded in this class. The journey from 0-80lcm/h took a startling 25.6sec while the gulf between 48-8okrn/h was spanned in "just" 23.58ec. A quick look through the rogues' gallery shows that in recent years only an LDV Pilot Pickup was slower.
Having said that, it is possible to cruise along the motorway at the speed limit with some in reserve; just don't expect to feel the reserves as soon as you put your foot to the floor. Anyway, not everybody wants a rocket van.
Progress down the speedometer is another matter entirely. When we tried the VW Transporter's brakes last year with ABS and traction control, we said they were "simply superb". Even better were the Hyundai distances which we described as "amazingly short" at 5.3m from 2 omph, 12.4m from 30mph and 2IM from 40mph.
Now compare that with the non-ABS/traction control performance of the E-Series anchors, which brought us to a halt in supersticky, non-slip distances of 5.2m, ii.3m and 20.2M. It's fair to say that the brakes are good. While we didn't take the opportunity of crash testing the front end of the Mazda, we did manage to reverse it into an obstacle during the photographic session for our recent sleeper cab group test—a car belonging to a man from MAN. The wheelarch of his Passat was nicely crumpled while the E-Series suffered only the smallest of dings to the rear bumper (sorry, Les).
Crosswinds on the M4o showed the ESeries to be a little more lively than other traffic but we never lost our nerve and ploughed on at the legal limit. At slower speeds it comes across as well behaved and predictable if a little slow when fully loaded.
The suspension on the Mazda literally groaned under the weight of our ballast as we loaded up, and a glance at the wheels nudging into the arches would have had you thinking it was well overloaded. It wasn't though, and never grounded despite looking as if the struts only had a nanometre of travel left in them.
CAB COMFORT
While the E-Series is not as cramped as some other forward-control models from Asia (take a bow the Hyundai Hro o), it certainly ain't roomy.
The seat-belt buckle digs into the driver's left leg, while anyone of normal height will find themselves bending down to see underneath the top of the windscreen. Doors also feel a little close for comfort and God help anyone elected to occupy the middle seat. Not only will they have to contend with a lap belt, they will also have to put up with the driver clouting them on the knee whenever a change into second is required.
Unsurprisingly, the E-Series does offer a lot of leg room but left this driver feeling vulnerable, despite the crash-protection features. This is a purely subjective comment and does not necessarily reflect the survivability of the E-Series in a collision.
The cab's a pretty raucous place at lower speeds, with noise coming from the engine under the seats, from the transmission and the tyres. At 70mph the racket was in danger of breaking through the 8o-decibel barrier, which is not a good sign, but compared with readings from other tests the overall results are fairly normal. IT JUST FEELS VERY LOUD.
No passengers were taken in the van for any length of time, so we can't tell you how hot or otherwise the seats may get, hiding the engine as they do. Storage isn't great, with wafer thin pockets in each of the doors and small glove compartments. The radio-cassette's a Sony and was loud enough to cope with engine, wind, rain and road noise. It featured the useful RDS system but, as is often the case, the buttons are too small.
SUMMARY
Despite being a strange looking fish the E. Series holds its own against some of the bigger players in the pond.
It might be nice if it evolved a little but buyers should be attracted by its capacity and price, particularly with some of the goodies on offer as standard.
• by Peter Lawton