The Mazda Bongo is a van made by Mazda Motor Corp. of Japan. Since the 1978, it has been exported as the Mazda E-Series and as the Ford Econovan.

1966

Mazda introduced its small van, the Bongo, in 1966. It featured a 782cc water-cooled 4-stroke engine driving the rear wheels.

The rear engined Bongo was produced in two versions, the F800 and the F1000 between 1968 - 1978.

For more details see http://www.bongovan.com

1978

The next Bongo van appeared in 1978. It was a mid-engine rear wheel drive vehicle. Ford sold this version of the van as the Ford Econovan, while Mazda sold it for export as the E1300, E1400, and E1600, depending on engine size.

Engines:

• 1978 1.3 L TC, 60 hp
• 1978-1982 1.6 L NA, 80 hp
• 1979-1980 1.4 L UC, 70 hp

1983

The Bongo was redesigned for 1983 with new engines. The Bongo Brawny was a larger version.

Engines:

• 1983-1988 2.0 L FE
• 1983-1988 2.0 L RF Diesel
• 1983-1988 2.2 L S2 Diesel

1989

The SS platform Bongo lasted from 1989 until 1998.

1995

The SG platform Bongo Friendee was introduced in 1995. Nissan began selling the Bongo in the Japanese home market as the Nissan Vanette.

Engines:

• 2.0 L RS-V I4
• 2.5 L RF-V V6

1999

An updated Bongo was released in June, 1998 as a 1999 model. At the same time, Mitsubishi Motors began reselling the Bongo.

Engines:

• 1.8 L F8-E SOHC I4
• 2.0 L R2 Diesel I4