Which Badge-Engineered Pickup Can’t Be Beat? 1994 Mazda B4000 vs 2000 Isuzu Hombre

In the 1970s, American automakers sold small trucks built in Japan. Twenty years later, the tables turned, and the Japanese nameplates were relying on their American partners for their small trucks. Today, we’re going to look at two examples of these reverse-captive-imports: a Mazda that’s really a Ford, and an Isuzu that’s actually a Chevy.

The theme yesterday was green paint and a tan interior, and we looked at a couple of rare cars with that color combination. And color me unsurprised that, all these years later, still not very many people want a Daewoo. The super-clean Nubira wagon fell mightily to its competitor, a Mitsubishi Galant sedan.

I don’t think I agree. Since neither one would be a daily driver for me, I think I’d have more fun with the Daewoo, just for the novelty factor of it. It would be amusing to take it to Cars & Coffee-type events and watch people’s reactions. Yes, it’s really a Daewoo Nubira wagon. Yes, I know the badge looks like underwear. Yes, it made it here under its own power.

Now then: What say we look at some beat-up little pickup trucks? It’s basically a Ford versus Chevy matchup, with slightly different styling. But it’s also 4WD versus 2WD, six-cylinder versus four-cylinder, and topper versus headache rack. I guess it’s all about what you need from a truck. Let’s check them out, and you can decide.

1994 Mazda B4000 – $2,900

Engine/drivetrain: 4.0-liter OHV V6, five-speed manual, 4WD

Location: Santa Rosa, CA

Odometer reading: 198,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well, I think

Ford and Mazda traded truck designs back and forth for years. In the ’70s, Ford sold a version of the Mazda B-series truck with its own engine called the Courier. In 1983, when Ford brought out its own Ranger compact pickup, the two lines went their separate ways for ten years. But starting with the 1994 model year, Mazda’s B-series became a badge-engineered Ranger – which is not a bad thing. The Ranger is a hell of a truck.

The number after the B on the fender denotes which engine is under the hood, at least usually. This is a B4000, with a 4.0-liter Cologne V6, though if you look closely, the left fender badge says B2300. Of course, the left door doesn’t match at all, so obviously there has been some junkyard diving going on here. The seller doesn’t say how well it runs or give any indication of maintenance history, though they do say it passed a smog test.

In typical work truck fashion, the driver’s seat is badly worn, but the passenger’s seat looks fine. The seller says it has air conditioning, but they don’t say whether or not it works. It does, however, have manual crank windows, which every pickup truck should have. Disagree if you want, but know that you’re wrong.

Outside, apart from the aforementioned mismatched door and replacement fender, it doesn’t look too bad. It’s just beat up enough to be a good honest truck. The ladder rack gives it some work-truck cred, but if you don’t need it, you could probably sell it.

2000 Isuzu Hombre XS – $2,650

Engine/drivetrain: 2.2-liter OHV inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Earlysville, VA

Odometer reading: 236,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Isuzu and Chevrolet’s small truck relationship mirrors Ford and Mazda’s pretty closely, actually. The Chevy LUV was made by Isuzu, and stuck around until the S-10 came out. Isuzu then sold its own truck until 1996, when it was replaced by this truck, the Hombre, which is just an S-10 with a different front clip.

If you’re familiar with the second-generation S-10, you can tell at a glance that this is the same truck. Under the hood is the same 2.2-liter pushrod four-cylinder found in a Chevy Cavalier, just turned the other way and driving the rear wheels. The seller lists a whole bunch of new parts and recent service, and they say it runs and drives great, except for an occasional hard-starting issue when warm. It could be vapor lock – yes, it can happen to fuel-injected cars too – or more likely an ignition coil that gets weak when it gets hot.

It’s in really good condition inside, especially for the mileage. Standard-issue GM gray interiors may be drab and flimsy-feeling, but they do seem oddly durable. This truck has air conditioning as well, and it got a new condenser a while back and works fine. The seller does say the fuel gauge doesn’t work, so don’t forget to reset the trip odometer at every fill-up.

It does have some rust, most notably on the rear wheel arches, and the seller says the door hinges droop a little, despite having new hinge pins. It’s a common GM truck problem, and usually it just means you have to give the doors a little more “oomph” when you open or close them. It has a nice matching topper with roof racks on it, which you may or may not like, but again, if you don’t want it, someone else probably will.

As I stated at the beginning, a lot of this choice rests on what you need out of a truck. If four-wheel drive is a necessity and you don’t mind the gas mileage hit of the big engine, then the Mazda is a better choice. If you prefer something simpler and more efficient, with lots of maintenance history behind it, then it has to be the Isuzu. So what say you, Autopians?