The things you find when you go and browse offerings in other markets can be fascinating. We were over at the Mazda website in Japan, and we came across a few very familiar-looking vehicles in its lineup: the Hiace and the Lite Ace.
They weren’t called that, of course. Over in its home market, Mazda actually sells these two vans as the Bongo and the Bongo Brawny. Pretty cool, huh?
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The Bongo Brawny—as the name suggests—is the bigger of the two. This isn’t the current-gen Hiace, though, but the old one with the shorter nose. In that market, it gets either a 2.0-liter gasoline engine or a 2.8-liter turbodiesel. Interestingly, it can only be had with a six-speed automatic transmission but with either a two-wheel-drive or a four-wheel-drive layout.
As for the smaller Bongo, this can only be spec’d with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine but can be had with a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Surprisingly, this also gets both 2WD and 4WD options, and both gearboxes are available with either configuration.
Did any of you know of this? Have you found other interesting rebadged models in other markets? Share them in the comments.
