1994 Mazda B4000 4x4 LE Cab Plus By Professional Test Driver, New Car Test Drive .com

In the world of pickups and sport utility vehicles, most of the import manufacturers' efforts typically have fallen a notch or two short in important categories. We're talking American-stylee attributes such as power, payload capacity and overall roominess and comfort.

That's not the case with the 1994 Mazda B4000 4x4 LE Cab Plus. We think we've uncovered the reason: Mazda's long-standing partnership with Ford and the by-no-means coincidental similarities between a good deal of this new Mazda's sheet metal, dimensions and underpinnings and those of the Ford Ranger. It's not necessarily a bad combination, because its size, roominess and responsiveness put it squarely in the mid-size pickup category along with Dodge's Dakota, Chevy's new S-Series and Ford's Ranger. With a base MSRP of $19,500 and a top MSRP of $22,500 for our relatively loaded test vehicle, this new Mazda B4000 Cab Plus compares very well with the competition and promises effective relief from sticker shock.