Мазда Бонго: История и Модификации Коммерческого Транспорта

Light commercial vehicle manufactured by Mazda

The Mazda Bongo (マツダ・ボンゴ), also known as Mazda E Series and the Ford Econovan, is a cabover van and pickup truck manufactured by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda since 1966. The Bongo name was also used for the Bongo Friendee, which is not a cabover design. It has been built with rear , middle , as well as front mounted engines. It also formed the basis for the long running Kia Bongo range. It is named for the African Bongo, a type of antelope. TOC

Mazda first introduced its small van, the Bongo, in May 1966. It featured a rear mounted 782 cc water cooled OHV SA 4 stroke engine driving the rear wheels. The rear engined Bongo was produced in two versions from 1968, as the F800 was joined by the bigger engined F1000. This has a 987 cc PB overhead valve inline four engine with at 5500 rpm. The chassis code for the 1 litre model is FPA. Its dimensions were long, wide, height, with a wheelbase of and Vehicle weight of (commercial delivery van) (passenger coach) and (cab over truck). Mazda also showed an electrically powered version of the van, which could reach and with a range. The Bongo Multi Wagon had originally been sold with a 1.8 liter petrol engine only. As the E1600, this model went on sale in Great Britain in 1982, only a year before being replaced. The British market only received the long wheelbase 1 tonne panel van version with small, twinned rear wheels. The UK model has a five speed manual gearbox with a column mounted shifter. This generation was also manufactured by Kia in South Korea, as the Kia Bongo and Ceres. The Bongo/Ceres underwent a number of facelifts and was still available as late as 1999. The original version has round headlights and no grille; after a January 1981 facelift the second generation Bongo/E series had rectangular headlights and a more traditional grille. Luxury oriented passenger models were sold under the Ford Spectron name as high roof eight seaters.

The Bongo was redesigned in 1983 with new engines. It was also sold by Ford in Asia as the "Spectron" (passenger version) or as the "J80" (cargo model). In Australia, the Bongo was sold by Mazda as the E series, with Ford also retailing the commercial version as the "Ford Econovan" and the passenger version as the "Ford Spectron" (1983–1990). From 1994 onwards, the Bongo was also sold by Nissan as the Vanette. In South Korea this was built as the Kia Wide Bongo. In South Africa, it was sold as the Ford Spectron. During the 1980s, Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi all sold versions of their utility vans in the United States, however none achieved any real market success and so Mazda decided not to bring the Bongo to the US. Instead, they created the more passenger car like MPV for the American market.

In Australia, it was sold as the Mazda E series and the Mazda Traveller and also as the Ford Econovan and Ford Spectron. The entry level Econovan offered a length, 1.8 litre petrol engine, five speed manual of four speed automatic, single rear wheels, in three seater steel sided or six seater XL window sided forms. Prior to 1986, there was also a 1.4 litre engine and five speed manual option available as a steel sided van with single or dual rear wheels, and as a passenger carrying XL van with single rear wheels. The long Econovan Maxi offered a high roof, 2.0 litre petrol engine with five speed manual or four speed automatic, single rear wheels, and three seater steel sided or six seater XL window sided forms. A cab chassis version was offered on the 4.7 metre chassis, with 2.0 litre petrol engine with five speed manual. The petrol engine fitted to 4.0 metre Econovan increased in displacement from 1.4 to 1.8 litres, and the 4.4 metre Maxi had its petrol engine increased from 1.8 to 2.0 litres. On August 20, 2010, an upgraded Bongo truck/van were officially released in Japan. Mazda's difficult business environment at the time meant they could not afford to build a full brand new platform. A petrol 1.8 litre EGI F8 E with and a diesel 2.2 litre R2 with were available. Mazda announced that this is the last generation of in house designed Bongo vans and trucks in March 2012. Mazda discontinued the Bongo in 2020 and it will focus on fuel efficient passenger cars. November 1999: the Mitsubishi Delica Cargo was Rebadged and released in Japan only. December 2003: A new common rail direct fuel injection diesel model was introduced. November 2005: Minor updates on exterior lighting. 2006: the Australian market E1800 (SKW0) is discontinued. August 2007: DPF introduced for diesel engine models. Power windows and central locking were also introduced for all truck models. May 2009: due to Nissan's in house NV200 Vanette, sales of the 2WD petrol models were stopped. August 2010: Minor updates for the entire range include the introduction of a new 1.8 litre L8 petrol engine. This required a larger center console box which reduced seating capacity. New model codes (SKP2T/SKP2L) were applied. 2011: The New Zealand market E1800 (SKW0) was discontinued. October 2011: The rebadged Mitsubishi Delica model was discontinued. and shifted to the Nissan NV200 Vanette model. March 2012: Mazda announced that this would be the last generation of in house designed Bongo vans and trucks. They withdrew from commercial vehicle production to focus on fuel efficient passenger cars. June 2012: Minor safety updated. Rear decal renewed. MAZDA decal deleted (van only). February 2016: Minor updated. New engine tune up and increase fuel economy, Auto now became five speed, dual rear wheels model discontinued, 4W ABS and Keyless entry for all models, new model codes SLP2V/SLP2M applied.

The longer version of the Bongo, the Bongo Brawny was released in June 1999. This model also adopted the SK platform which is based on previous generation SS/SE model. Like the previous generation, the Bongo Brawny was larger in all key dimensions. It was available in both regular 2400 mm and long 2600 mm wheelbases. The Brawny retained many of the parts of the previous generation, such as the sliding side doors, and looks rather similar to the previous generation model. The E series label continued to be used in export markets, although they were now fewer than before. The Bongo Brawny was discontinued in August 2010. November 1999: the Mitsubishi Delica Cargo was Rebadged and released in Japan only. October 2000: The truck model was discontinued due to the introduction of the Mazda Titan Dash 1 ton. December 2004: Minor changes include the introduction of a new Common rail direct injection diesel 2.0 RF CDT engine and new model codes SKF6 applied for diesel models. November 2005: Minor updates include the addition of exterior lighting. 2006: The E2000 MWB(SKX0) and E2000 LWB(SKY0) is discontinued in Australia. August 2007: 4WD and GL Super trim levels are discontinued. August 2010: The New Zealand market Bongo Brawny, E2000 (LWB), a rebadged Mitsubishi Delica Cargo, was discontinued.

The Bongo Friendee was introduced in June 1995, based on the SG platform. It was an eight seater minivan and was also sold on the Japanese home market as the Ford Freda. It was usually, but not exclusively, available with an automatic transmission, and came in 2WD (SGL3) and 4WD (SGL5) versions. The 2.5 litre turbo diesel was common in Japan, although there a 2.5 litre V6 petrol version was available. The Mazda Bongo Friendee was an eight seater minivan. Some had Mazda factory fitted kitchens. Many were imported to the UK and converted to camper vans. All of them had fold down seats downstairs to make a double bed, and on many models there was an "Auto Free Top" elevating roof which could sleep two more people. Flat top versions were also available in Hong Kong and sold by official dealer. In September 2001, a facelifted version appeared, with a revised body style and different engines, although the 2.5 turbo diesel continued unchanged. Air conditioning and climate control was fitted as standard, and electronic blinds and electric side door were commonly fitted options.

The Bongo was reintroduced in July 2020 in Japan and based on the Daihatsu Gran Max. It is available in van and truck model.

The Bongo Brawny was reintroduced in April 2019 in Japan as a badge engineered fifth generation Toyota HiAce. Unlike the previous model, it is intended to be a larger commercial van as opposed to a passenger van.