2009 Mazda B4000: An Exercise in Simplicity

Ford’s new F-150 promises a new level of convenience with a tailgate mounted step. The 2009 Dodge Ram has storage boxes in the bedrails. The Chevy Silverado comes with an optional DVD player. The Toyota Tundra’s tailgate drops with a delicate hiss; damped by a pair of gas struts.

Mazda’s B4000 comes with folding rear seats.

• Also: Mazda Canada Celebrates its 50th Anniversary

But, in this modern age of doodads and gizmos, there’s no truck out there that keeps the rest honest like the B4000. Based upon the Ford Ranger, the underpinnings of the B4000 are over a decade old in places, but as the saying goes; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So they haven’t. With a beefy fully boxed frame running from stem to stern and a double wishbone independent front suspension, it carries forward a tried and true chassis. And while Mazda offers the B4000 up as “the functionality of a truck enhanced with the soul of a sports car,” don’t be mistaken: the B4000 is as sporty as a product from International Harvester. The familiar 4.0L V6 is a lazy lump of a motor, and with leaf springs supporting the rear axle, lively handling is not where the B4000 shines.

Instead, it was while traversing the snow covered backroads of the British Columbia wilderness that the B4000 showed its true strength. Equipped with the topmost 4.0L SE model with four wheel drive, the tester’s features list was short, and included such items as power windows, power locks, and a tilting steering wheel; all cutting edge stuff in 1990. However, while plowing through snow drifts that concealed everything from mud to rocks to tree roots, none of those optional extras even mattered. Instead, it was that big, lazy V6’s low-revving torque and the nearly bulletproof drivetrain that made all the difference. Equipped with a stout 8.8” rear axle and a limited slip differential, the rear axle is nigh indestructible, regardless of the punishment meted out by the 4.0L powerplant. On the trail, however, traction was optimized through the use of the 4x4 SE model’s shift-on-the-fly transfer case, which can alternate between 2WD, 4WD, and 4WD Low without stopping. Opting for the 4WD model also nets wider, more aggressive tires at all four corners that, while providing a decent level of grip in most situations, should be the first things replaced by anyone looking to do any amount of decent off roading. One can’t blame Mazda for equipping the truck with good, quiet, pavement oriented tires, but taken off road the closely spaced lugs clog up quickly. But, thankfully the rest of the truck comes well prepared for any excursions, with a decent amount of suspension travel and more importantly, some pretty beefy skidplates protecting the fuel tank and transfer case. Likewise, while stepping into the truck’s relatively high floorpan isn’t as easy as clambering about some other trucks, it does provide a decent standover height, which contributes to the truck’s relatively good breakover angle. Furthermore, high and tight steel bumpers at both ends keep respectable approach and departure angles while simultaneously fending off anything that is beyond those all-important angles.

And it’s all this steel that is representative of the B4000’s strength. While the interior is certainly not the most luxurious, and the underpinnings are anything but cutting-edge, the Mazda is nothing if not robust. Thick sheetmetal, a high floorpan, indestructible axles, and solid steel bumpers put many of the other smaller trucks to shame when it comes to longevity, and the number of older Rangers and B4000s on the road today can attest to that. The bed is a decent size, and will swallow most loads; although longer objects like motorcycles will require the installation of a bed extender. All this adds up to a truck that is nine tenths as practical as many of the full-size trucks on the market, minus the abhorrent fuel mileage of those V8 powered monsters. That said, you obviously give up some towing capacity with the smaller Mazda, however, given how often one sees an F-150 or 1500 series truck towing anything of consequence, it isn’t a priority for many drivers out there.

Which calls into question why the B4000 isn’t Mazda’s most popular model. Although a solid seller month after month, the diminutive truck is the unfortunate victim of the current truck-borne image so many buyers seek. Sliding through traffic with ease and moving about almost unnoticed, the B4000 doesn’t carry the on-road presence of a lifted Ram or blinged-out F-150. But it does carry just about anything you could throw in the back, and it will carry that load just about anywhere. It’s as honest a vehicle as any on the road today, and with an MSRP that brings it in more in line with an economy hatchback than a truck, you get a massive amount of vehicle for a ridiculously low price.