Mazda's B-Series is nothing more than a spiffy Ford Ranger. Did you know that? They're the same truck underneath the bodywork, and built at the same Edison, N.J., assembly plant, with slightly different styling to differentiate the two. The Ranger is the best-selling compact truck in the United States, with 328,136 of these sprightly Fords finding their way home from the dealership in 1998. Mazda rolled just 41,620 B-Series trucks out the door during the same time period, despite a superior warranty and less complicated list of models and options.
To help resolve this apparent identity crisis, Mazda gave some versions of the B-Series truck a name for 1999. Meet the Troy Lee edition, which adds black paint, two-tone leather bucket seats, fake carbon-fiber interior trim, glow-in-the-dark decals all around and trick six-spoke alloy wheels to a B2500 2WD regular cab, B3000 2WD extended-cab four-door (Cab Plus 4 in Mazda parlance), or a B4000 4WD Cab Plus 4. The tally for the Troy Lee treatment is $1,050.
Our test truck was the top-dog B4000 model, equipped with all the goodies from the convenience package (tilt, cruise, mats, slider window and bedliner) and the power package (power windows, locks, mirrors and remote keyless entry). Missing was the traction package (ABS and a limited-slip differential), which we discovered while barreling down a dirt road toward a curve. What's this? A $25,725 compact truck without ABS? C'mon.
"Garish" describes the Troy Lee edition best, and we doubt that's the identity Mazda seeks with this cosmetic upgrade. The best part of the deal is the cool-looking set of unique alloy wheels. The worst parts are the white "Troy Lee Designs" decals on the sides and the "4x4 Dual Sport" (what does this mean, anyway?) sticker on the tailgate. We can take or leave the flame strips, the carbon-fiber interior trim, and the two-tone leather seats.
Speaking of which, the seats feel more firmly stuffed than standard fare, making comfort easy to achieve in the Troy Lee. But we'd still like to have a seat height adjuster. Another gripe centered on the shallow floor-mounted cupholders that allowed top-heavy drinks to topple backwards when accelerating quickly. If you've got bucket seats, why not go whole-hog and install a full center console with functional cupholders within an arm's reach? Some cheap-feeling switchgear irritated us, as well as wipers that are located on the same stalk as the turn signals and could be activated inadvertently on a regular basis. Finally, the "overdrive/off" indicator light on the end of the transmission shift stalk is so dim that on sunny days it is impossible to tell if you're using fifth gear or not.
The five-speed automatic transmission is mated to a 4.0-liter V6 engine good for 160 horsepower. It does a good job of keeping the engine spooled up, and the Mazda launches well thanks to 225 ft-lbs. of torque. But as we trekked above of 9,000 feet in altitude, the Mazda was winded by the thin atmosphere, requiring a heavy throttle to power over obstacles during off-road testing.
Excelling in the nasty stuff, the Troy Lee took lots of abuse in stride and easily tackled rugged terrain at speed without bottoming out or brushing its underside against the rocks. Its shift-on-the-fly four-wheel-drive system, which incorporates pulse vacuum hub-lock technology for improved fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs, can be engaged or disengaged at speeds up to 70 mph. We tried it at a crawl while turning onto the more difficult portion of our regular test trail, but the result was a faint metallic grinding from beneath the truck. By switching it off and then engaging it once more when the truck was pointed on the straight and narrow, we were able to find success.
Driving the washboard dirt roads of the Rocky Mountain foothills brought out a cacophony of rattles and squeaks in our test truck, which had just 13,000 miles on the clock. We also discovered that the reverse lights didn't work, so perhaps the shaky structure and cranky four-wheel-drive system were symptomatic of a previous hit to the rear.
Otherwise, the Troy Lee worked as advertised. The Cab Plus 4 arrangement, which includes access doors to the back of the extended cab from both sides of the truck, should be considered a must-have item on any pickup. We can't imagine life with a truck not so equipped. We also appreciated the bedliner that came with our truck, and the handy slider window for ventilation on sunny but crisp fall days. And youngsters could ride shotgun thanks to the thoughtful passenger-airbag deactivation switch. The standard CD and cassette combination stereo produced excellent sound, though we're betting many younger Troy Lee buyers will install Rockford Fosgate components immediately upon delivery in order to deafen themselves prematurely.
Styling is a subjective matter, but we generally like the look of the B-Series, with its chrome accents and pseudo-flared bed design. It's got character. But from the driver's seat, this truck looks, sounds and drives exactly like a Ford Ranger, and inside is where most people spend most of their time. Furthermore, Mazda limits powertrain, bodystyle and option configurations to keep things simple. Based on sales of the Ranger, compact-truck buyers evidently prefer the ability to tailor a truck to their specific wants and needs. It's going to take more than glow-in-the-dark flames and trick wheels to draw those buyers to the B-Series.
To help resolve this apparent identity crisis, Mazda gave some versions of the B-Series truck a name for 1999. Meet the Troy Lee edition, which adds black paint, two-tone leather bucket seats, fake carbon-fiber interior trim, glow-in-the-dark decals all around and trick six-spoke alloy wheels to a B2500 2WD regular cab, B3000 2WD extended-cab four-door (Cab Plus 4 in Mazda parlance), or a B4000 4WD Cab Plus 4. The tally for the Troy Lee treatment is $1,050.
Our test truck was the top-dog B4000 model, equipped with all the goodies from the convenience package (tilt, cruise, mats, slider window and bedliner) and the power package (power windows, locks, mirrors and remote keyless entry). Missing was the traction package (ABS and a limited-slip differential), which we discovered while barreling down a dirt road toward a curve. What's this? A $25,725 compact truck without ABS? C'mon.
"Garish" describes the Troy Lee edition best, and we doubt that's the identity Mazda seeks with this cosmetic upgrade. The best part of the deal is the cool-looking set of unique alloy wheels. The worst parts are the white "Troy Lee Designs" decals on the sides and the "4x4 Dual Sport" (what does this mean, anyway?) sticker on the tailgate. We can take or leave the flame strips, the carbon-fiber interior trim, and the two-tone leather seats.
Speaking of which, the seats feel more firmly stuffed than standard fare, making comfort easy to achieve in the Troy Lee. But we'd still like to have a seat height adjuster. Another gripe centered on the shallow floor-mounted cupholders that allowed top-heavy drinks to topple backwards when accelerating quickly. If you've got bucket seats, why not go whole-hog and install a full center console with functional cupholders within an arm's reach? Some cheap-feeling switchgear irritated us, as well as wipers that are located on the same stalk as the turn signals and could be activated inadvertently on a regular basis. Finally, the "overdrive/off" indicator light on the end of the transmission shift stalk is so dim that on sunny days it is impossible to tell if you're using fifth gear or not.
The five-speed automatic transmission is mated to a 4.0-liter V6 engine good for 160 horsepower. It does a good job of keeping the engine spooled up, and the Mazda launches well thanks to 225 ft-lbs. of torque. But as we trekked above of 9,000 feet in altitude, the Mazda was winded by the thin atmosphere, requiring a heavy throttle to power over obstacles during off-road testing.
Excelling in the nasty stuff, the Troy Lee took lots of abuse in stride and easily tackled rugged terrain at speed without bottoming out or brushing its underside against the rocks. Its shift-on-the-fly four-wheel-drive system, which incorporates pulse vacuum hub-lock technology for improved fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs, can be engaged or disengaged at speeds up to 70 mph. We tried it at a crawl while turning onto the more difficult portion of our regular test trail, but the result was a faint metallic grinding from beneath the truck. By switching it off and then engaging it once more when the truck was pointed on the straight and narrow, we were able to find success.
Driving the washboard dirt roads of the Rocky Mountain foothills brought out a cacophony of rattles and squeaks in our test truck, which had just 13,000 miles on the clock. We also discovered that the reverse lights didn't work, so perhaps the shaky structure and cranky four-wheel-drive system were symptomatic of a previous hit to the rear.
Otherwise, the Troy Lee worked as advertised. The Cab Plus 4 arrangement, which includes access doors to the back of the extended cab from both sides of the truck, should be considered a must-have item on any pickup. We can't imagine life with a truck not so equipped. We also appreciated the bedliner that came with our truck, and the handy slider window for ventilation on sunny but crisp fall days. And youngsters could ride shotgun thanks to the thoughtful passenger-airbag deactivation switch. The standard CD and cassette combination stereo produced excellent sound, though we're betting many younger Troy Lee buyers will install Rockford Fosgate components immediately upon delivery in order to deafen themselves prematurely.
Styling is a subjective matter, but we generally like the look of the B-Series, with its chrome accents and pseudo-flared bed design. It's got character. But from the driver's seat, this truck looks, sounds and drives exactly like a Ford Ranger, and inside is where most people spend most of their time. Furthermore, Mazda limits powertrain, bodystyle and option configurations to keep things simple. Based on sales of the Ranger, compact-truck buyers evidently prefer the ability to tailor a truck to their specific wants and needs. It's going to take more than glow-in-the-dark flames and trick wheels to draw those buyers to the B-Series.
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