Ford and toyota won't do a deal at all,
This doesn't surprise me. The wife's uncle just bought a D40 Navara. He really, REALLY wanted a Ranger, but the local dealership wouldn't even let him take their demo for a drive. He could sit in it and play with the stereo, but they weren't doing any test drives - if you wanted to drive one, then you ordered one and drove it when it arrived. Hence, Nissan.
The BT50's get a good rap, and friends of ours have had the older models for a while now and love them. However, you buy it once but service it every few months. If the Mazda servicing is going to be a pain EVERY TIME, then I'd suggest something that'll be easier on you long-term. That said, warranty coverage shouldn't be affected if you get it serviced elsewhere. "*shouldn't*".
The council here has Navaras, Hiluxes and Tritons. The Tritons have very low kms - no one likes them. Apparently the turning circle is the worst of all 3. NB - I've never driven them, this is just from talking to some of the guys in CNS Water. The Navaras get the biggest props for usability and cabin space. Personally, I like the Tritons, and would try to find an earlier model with the smaller tub.
Marschy - I didn't think Ford was selling the new Ranger into the US, for fear of cannibalising F150 sales? I know there was a lot of fuss on places like ExPo when it was released, because those guys were clambering for a smaller bodied turbo-diesel ute. Interesting if they've changed their stance here, and what impact it will have on the similarly-sized F-truck sales.
Depending on price, I'd look at the VW. From there, I'd probably go the BT50 (only if I didn't need to look at it), then the Colorado (on the basis that it's slightly less ugly than the new DMax). As for the new 70-series DC, I'd chop a 100-series before I even considered one of them.
Good luck, both with the new car and the new business!
Cheers!
Matto
