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PEAS IN A POD
Page 64
Page 65
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The Mazda B2200 and the Bedford Brava pickups are CM's latest long-term test vehicles. This is the first update on their performance to date ., .
• Two pickups, both red, both diesels, both received in January, and both built in Japan. One has over 16,090km (10,000 miles) on the clock, the other has a mere 5,660km (3,540 miles). Why?
The short answer is that the more travelled pickup has the better radio. It has nothing to do with the economy, comfort, performance, or ease of driving; in fact, both vehicles are remarkably similar in all these respects.
It is a measure of the similarity of the two vehicles that, faced with the choice of the two, the final decision is based on the performance of the sound system. To be fair, however, the Mazda B2200 has also had the greatest use because it happens to be the one assigned to the hardtravelling technical department. The Bedford Brava has had an easier life with the rest of the staff.
In the handling department, the two vehicles are roughly the same. If anything, the Bedford is a little softer, but both pickups pitch along the road, bouncing on their hard rear springs, and oversteering at The Bedford's, load bed has become scratched because of loads every opportunity. Mazda's has remained unscathed.
Despite initial worries about this trait, it has not caused any damage or accidents, so our drivers are obviously taking it very easy in the wet, and around sharp corners.
The addition of a load mitigates against the tail-happy habit, and the pickups have been kept busy during our tenure. The load bed of the Bedford has become quite scratched and dented, as loads have slipped around; the Mazda's load-linerprotected bed has remained unscathed.
Regular users of pickups tell us that load-liners can become damaged when heavy loads are carried, especially in cold weather when the thick plastic becomes brittle and cracks. Most of the users also questioned the omission of a glassreinforced plastic load cover for both vehicles, which offers security and weather protection, but takes away some of the convenience of the open load bed on the test vehicles.
The whole point of a pickup is that a box of tools, or hale of hay, can simply be swung into the rear load bed. When the load bed is covered with a lockable cover, there are keys to contend with, doors to swing open, and the carefree nature of the vehicle becomes compromised.Besides which, if one wanted a pickup with a hard top, then a van would be a more valid solution.
The engines on both vehicles are now run in, as the top speeds are now higher, and acceleration is freer. Unladen performance is just adequate to keep ahead of the cut and thrust of city traffic, although the very low gearing means that one rows harder than an Oxford Blue to reach 80krn/h (50mph). The same gearing also means that motorway jour neys are noisy, with the engine revving at peak rpm. Bumpy too, especially around the poor concrete on the south-west sections of the M25, where the hard leaf springs at the rear of the vehicles get out of phase with the softer torsion bars at the front. The result is a pitching movement, which is tiring, and backaching.
There is not much to choose between the two vehicles in fuel economy
either. The Mazda's Both pickups tend to pitch on bumpy road surfaces, 7.89 litres/100km a 200kg ride-damping load.
(35.78mpg) is slightly better than the Bedford's 8.23 litres/1001(m (34.34mpg), largely because the Mazda has undertaken more longer distance work.
Both vehicles have been looked after well by their respective dealers. In the Bedford's case, the only fault to have persisted is an extremely loud tickover on starting. An initial fault with excessive black smoke from the exhaust pipe has now been cured.
The Mazda has had no engine faults to speak of, but it was sent back to the Mazda press garage when a car stopped sharply in front of it, and it didn't. The result was a bent bumper and dented valance. The end of the bumper also fell off after being subjected to the rough roads of Cornwall, which spun into the wheel nave plate, flew up and dented the wing of the long-suffering Mazda. Repairs were effected by T H White of Milford, Surrey, in record time, and our thanks go out to them for coming to the rescue so quickly.
The interior of both vehicles is best described as basic. The traditional pursuit of amour on the plastic pickup bench seats should be avoided by couples dressed in man-made fibres, unless massive shocks of static electricity have been prescribed.
We have found that the floor coverings and the door facings are easy to clean, but a bit antiseptic in use. It is also surprisingly easy to lose small items under the bench seats.
SMALLER DRIVERS
The design of the bench seats has drawn criticism from some of the drivers, because the whole seat has to be moved forward for smaller drivers, leaving little footspace for tall passengers. The rest of the interior does the job, but in a most unappetising manner. The instruments are uninspired, and the lack of a delay on both vehicles' windscreen wipers is unforgivable in the UK.
The heaters on both pickups work well, and the windscreen is soon clear of ice in the winter months. Unfortunately, the ventilation systems are not as good, and as we move into the warmer months, we are finding that keeping cool is becoming a problem. This is in spite of the recirculating/ fresh air facility that both vehicles are equipped with, which prevents the egress of exhaust fumes when sitting in traffic jams on the M25, a regular and depressing feature of our pickups' working day.
Our reservations about the vehicles' longevity, and corrosion resistance have remained largely unfounded, although the scratches on the Bedford's load bed will rust eventually. The Mazda's load bed sides have chipped paint where ropes and bungeys have been used, although these will not affect the life of the vehicle for a few years yet.
The main finding of the longterm test is that these are not car-derived-pickups a la Ford P100. The vehicles are unlike cars from the cab to the rear of the load bed. This is perhaps most noticeable in the ride quality of the two.
Where the Ford P100 provides a good compromise between load carrying and driver comfort by virtue of a welldesigned suspension system, the two Japanese offerings are somewhat old fashioned and uncomfortable.
The Bedford will get the benefit of a 200kg ride-damping load soon, which should calm down the shocks of the road bumps a bit. The Mazda will get the uncharted benefit of "Carbonilo" fuel economy tablets in the next few weeks, so we will see if they have any effect by our next report.
by Andrew English