Mazda B4000 truck muscles up to make best-in-class strength
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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CARNATION, Wash. -- Bumping off lumps of a two-rut trace that tracks through a fir forest, the top compact truck from Mazda carries serious weapons to combat the wilderness far away from pavement.
Our B4000 -- configured in four-door CabPlus4 style and equipped with rugged four-wheel-drive and a pulse vacuum hub-lock device for push-button shifting into four-wheeling mode -- also has a husky six-pack engine stuffed beneath the freshly minted hood.
It ripples from the output of 207 horsepower and torque skewed to 238 lb-ft.
No other compact truck comes close to matching that muscle, save for Ford's Ranger that uses the same plant.
This optional engine, a single-cam V6 displacing 4.0 liters and built by Ford in Germany, caps Mazda's B-Series truck line for 2001 editions and bumps up its trailer-towing ability considerably -- to 5900 pounds.
It also puts overwhelming strength in a driver's hands for powering over obstacles on an off-road route.
Consider, for instance, a wall confronting us on that trail in the Washington Cascades. Twin tracks etched in sandy soil shoot straight up a daunting slope too steep to walk, and a fallen tree, its trunk as thick as an athlete's thigh, drapes across the base of the slope, thus precluding a running start.
That's no sweat for the Mazda, though.
A high stance with ten-inch clearance and the generous vertical articulation for front wheels enable to B4000 to crawl slowly over the fir trunk, then nubby crinkles on big all-terrain tires bite dirt when big torque engages to move 3571 pounds of truck up the hill. Tires slip initially as traction breaks in loose dirt with the slow start, but the raw force of so much muscle quickly overwhelms the slippery traction and up we go, bumping and grinding with all four wheels spinning to propel us over the lip.
For off-road scrambles such as this hill climb, as well as tough truck chores like hauling loads or pulling a heavy trailer, the big V6 makes hard work seem downright easy.
Powertrain improvements extend across the B-Series truck line for 2001 issues, with all reflecting new exterior styling and revamped interior appointments, plus new designations for trim.
Mazda's pickups traditionally use alpha-numeric names with numbers derived from the size of three engine choices, as expressed in liters.
The base model B2300 stocks the first new engine with a 2.3-liter four-in-line that has 13 percent more horsepower than last year's B2500 predecessor. It tops out at 140 hp, with torque juiced to 155 lb-ft at 4050 rpm.
Another version with the 3.0-liter V6 carried over from 2000 goes by the name of B3000, but this engine also shows improvements. Output increases by seven points to 150 hp and the torque climbs five points to 185 lb-ft at 3750 rpm.
Yet the new 4.0-liter V6 for B4000 shows the most dramatic gain -- rising from 160 to 207 hp and expanding the torque from 220 to 238 lb-ft at 3000 rpm.
All of the B-Series engines link to either a manual five-speed shifter or an automatic.
For the B4000, transmissions match the beefy nature of the engine, with either a heavy-duty five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic that employs adaptive shift logic through sophisticated electronic controls.
The five-speed automatic in essence adds another notch between first and second gears of a four-speed automatic. This creates more precise gear ratios and quicker response for accelerating, towing a trailer or, with four-wheel-drive traction, running away from pavement.
Additional hardware for the powerful B4000 includes a limited-slip differential and Class III trailer hitch.
New styling points mark all 2001 Mazda trucks.
Check the front end, where strong new lines on the bulging hood curve down to a horizontal face that's unified with corner multi-lens headlamp clusters flanking the Mazda signature pentagonal grille, coated in bright chrome or body-colored paint. A thick bumper underscores the face using a combination of black molding with either chrome or the monotone paint.
Body-color paint for trim elements like the bumper, front grille and bulging side wheel blisters dress a new B-Series trim, Dual Sport. The name comes off a motorcycle suited for pavement or dirt, and Mazda's Dual Sport carries the raised suspension of a four-wheel-drive truck but retains rear-wheel orientation for the powertrain.
Dual Sport effects the look and stance of a rugged four-wheeler but spares the bottom line by avoiding the four-wheel-drive mechanism.
Besides choices of three engines and two traction modes, B-Series trucks appear in three cab configurations. The two-door Regular Cab fits all B2300 and several B3000 issues, and a two-door CabPlus design for B3000 extends the cabin wall rearward to carve out a storage bay, but the CabPlus4 for some B3000 and all B4000 trucks adds two rear-hinged back doors for easy access to the rear of the cab.
For CabPlus and CabPlus4 versions, a side-facing jump seat may be mounted behind the driver's seat. When not needed, the seat folds out of the way to keep the bay clear for cargo.
Additional cargo fits in the truck bed, of course, which measures six feet long in a space that goes further than most trucks for utility purposes by providing cargo hooks mounted on the floor and a back gate that detaches quickly without requiring special tools.
Mazda's trucks offer a broad stance, with the front wheel track stretching almost five feet wide. This creates stability for the truck when set in motion, but also carves out more shoulder and elbow space inside for passengers.
A strong ladder-type chassis forms a rigid platform, with full box bracing applied at the forward section to further stiffen it.
The independent front suspension, with double-wishbone arrangement, mounts to the stiff chassis. Cushy coil springs come on 4x2 models, with torsion bars added in 4x4 versions to permit more vertical wheel travel. In back, a semi-floating live axle functions with two-stage leaf springs to deliver a smoother ride quality on 4x2 editions, but for the 4x4 heavy-duty shocks and stabilizer bar tune the action.
Power rack and pinion steering, rarely used on a truck, also increases agility for the B-Series.
The standard interior layout sets a bench seat with 60/40 split in both SX and SE trims, but one CabPlus SE option includes twin buckets and a floor-mounted console.
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| 2001 MAZDA B-SERIESTRUCKS VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Compact pickup truck
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| Model Options: |
Compact pickup truck
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| Wheelbase: |
Reg. Cab 4x2: 111.6 inches
Reg. Cab 4x4: 111.6 inches
CabPlus 4x2: 125.7 inches
CabPlus4 4x4: 125.9 inches
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| Overall Length: |
Reg. Cab 4x2: 187.5 inches
Reg. Cab 4x4: 187.7 inches
CabPlus 4x2: 202.9 inches
CabPlus4 4x4: 202.7 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 2.3-L I4
OHV 3.0-L V6
SOHC 4.0-L V6
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| Transmission: |
2.3-L: Manual/5, Auto/4
3.0-L: Manual/5, Auto/4
4.0-L: Manual/5, Auto/5
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| Drive: |
2WD rear, 4WD
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| Braking: |
Power disc/drum/ABS
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| Airbags: |
2 (front)
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| Gas Mileage: |
4.0-L M/5 4x2: 18/22 mpg
4.0-L A/4 4x2: 16/22 mpg
4.0-L M/5 4x4: 16/20 mpg
4.0-L A/5 4x4: 16/20 mpg
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| MSRP Price: |
$ 12,225 to $ 24,000 |
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