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Mazda pick-up just the job for the small business....

22nd July 1977, Page 40
22nd July 1977
Page 40
Page 41
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Page 40, 22nd July 1977 — Mazda pick-up just the job for the small business....
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ONE-TON payload capacity pick-ups are sadly neglected by British commercial vehicle manufacturers. But the Japanese are only too ready to fill this gap in the market, and Toyo Kogo Ltd of Hiroshima, has updated its own Mazda model first introduced to the UK in June 1973.

This model enjoys great success in the developing countries where it -is put to many uses as a basic transport vehicle. And in America, this type of vehicle has grown in popularity with the expansion of the leisure market: • they are used as back-up vehicles in a wide variety of pastimes from surfing to camping.

Within the UK, however, the demand is much less an( comes mainly from the smalle business which may also IN able to take advantage o several special body options.

The new model consists basically, of a body restyle on t long wheel-based chassis. A the front end, a bonneted cab separately mounted on tht chassis, has all the sophistica tion of a saloon car with twit headlamps, door-mounted mir rors, wind-up side windows quarter lights, Japanese lamin ated windscreen, two speet wipers, flush fitting door han dies.

Load area, complete with ; bulkhead cage extending to till full height of the cab, is simile in size to the previous mode and accepted a ton of builder'. plaster in bags. Now, it has t tailgate fitted with a centrally mounted single flush fittim handle which operates till tailgate catch and replaces thi overcentre catches positionet each side. The rear light cluste has also been revamped am now blends well into the nev body style.

But boltheads that face int( the load area could be a sourci of damage to some cargoes.

The inside of the cab i supplied with a comfortabh bench seat wide enough to holt 'three adults. Because the gear change is mounted on till steering column and thi umbrella-type handbrake under the dashboard, the foo area is left clear with thi exception of the transmissior tunnel.

Instrumentation is simplt but sufficient to relate the basi, information of engine tempera ture and fuel level with warninj lamps for ignition, oil pressure, handbrake operation and the now-standard hazard warning lights.

Too small

On the passenger side, 'a shallow glove box is provided. And a square-shaped parcel shelf, too small to be of much use, below the facia, is covered in a non-reflective black plastic material. A thick rubber mat covers the floor pan to the door sills at almost the same height, making it easier to keep the floor clean.

Good rear vision is provided by a large interior mirror reflecting through the cab rear window and the easy-to-adjust door mirrors.

The ignition switch is mounted on the dash face, but no steering lock is included. Just below the dashboard, on the driver's side, a bonnet pull is fitted to provide access to the engine compartment.

A four-cylinder 1586cc (96.7 Cu in) engine features a crossflow head and a twin exhaust manifold placed across the front of the engine compartment. Starting from the near side, the windscreen washer bottle, radiator and

Dattery are all easily accessible Or topping up.

The oil dipstick, on the other -band, is not difficult to remove Dut requires that the distributor eads be pushed to one side 'irst.

A single brake reservoir,directly above the twin master :ylinders, feeds both halves of .he split front-to-rear brake >ystem.

Around our west Londonmsed van circuit, laden and

half-laden, little effort was needed to keep up with the rest of the traffic. Acceleration, although reduced in the laden state, was greater than could reasonably be used on the road and is, possibly, reflected in the quick journey times. These were 55 minutes for the laden vehicle, averaging 41km / h (25.5 mph) and 50 minutes half-laden, an average 45km /h (28 mph), with fuel consumption averaging 11.9 lit/100km (23.7 mpg) and 10.5 lit/100 km (26.9 mpg) respectively. But traffic was light on both journeys.

Extra caution had to be exercised on the two partiallyblind T-junctions because of the long bonnet Going up M1 to the proving ground at MIRA, straight line stability at speed was affected by the slight rutting in the centre lane. But this did not deter me from travelling just below the 70 mph limit.

Braking at the end of the motorway section and on a downward stretch of the A5 provoked a judder that was repeatable under similar conditions on the return trip. Braking efficiency seemed to be unaffected, but the vibration throughout the vehicle was unpleasant.

Full brake application on the track, however, brought no such response while the vehicle behaved in an exemplary manner pulling up in a straight line accompanied by good retardation results.

Speeds achieved in lower gears indicated that some difficulties might be experienced on the hill restart test. So, it was no surprise that the best that could be achieved was on a 1-in-5 gradient; but the handbrake, although pulled well out, held the pick-up stationary on a 1-in-3 hill.

On the ride and handling circuit with its transverse-ribbed and adverse-cambered bends, the tendency to oversteer quickly showed up.

The vehicle had a lively performance even with full load allowing good journey times, with acceptable fuel consumption. Braking was a little supect under heavy application from the higher speed but returned good results from the track test.

The cab is comfortable and the vehicle is easy to drive even with a column gear lever, although there is a tendency towards oversteer when driven hard into bends.

• Bill Brock

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People: Bill Brock
Locations: Hiroshima

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