Category: Pick-ups 
Price Range: No data available
Quality interior, refined and punchy common-rail diesel, decent value, square-jawed looks.
Rocky ride from unsophisticated suspension, not enough innovation, no high-spec halo model.
A million miles from its no-mark predecessor, but not enough glitz or intelligence to tap into the pick-up boom.
No-one's going to be crash-testing the Mazda any time soon, but there's no reason to think it'll crumple. Those two dirty great steel girders underneath have a comforting presence. This time there's four airbags instead of just two - the front seats now incorporating a side airbag each.
You have to fit ABS these days, but there's nothing like traction control as the Mitsubishi L200 offers. The Mazda will drive on tarmac with all four wheels engaged, but sharp turns are like driving through putty.
Mostly you'll be in rear-wheel-drive mode and the back end can get skittish with minimal weight over the rear axle. Dyed-in-the-wool pick-up owners know how to cope, but teenage sons might not.
Cabin security is improved by a standard Thatcham Category 1 alarm, but the rear bed is always a risk. Even hardtops aren't completely thief-proof, because the Mazda's tailgate can't lock and so can be yanked down. An aftermarket flush-fit aluminium roll-top cover with security straps gives the best protection, if not the quickest entry.
