Badge engineering never really dies. It just gets a face lift. Mazda has updated the Scrum Van and the Scrum Wagon. New faces. Current safety tech. Same soulless corporate strategy.
Let’s get one thing straight. These aren’t Mazdas. Not really. The Scrum Van? That’s a Suzuki Every wearing a different badge. The Scrum Wagon? A Nissan Clipper in drag. The donors got updates to meet Japan’s safety laws. Mazda just hitched a ride. And the profits.
A New Look For The Same Old Soul
The changes are cosmetic. Mostly. The Van got a cleaner grille and reworked bumper intakes. The entry-level models look softer. The high-spec Buster trims throw some chrome on there to look fancy.
The Wagon went further. Honeycomb grille. Darker headlights. A sportier bodykit. Steel wheels and hubcaps? Gone. Shiny alloys are here to stay.
Inside is less exciting. Blacked-out cabin. A new digital instrument cluster sits where analog used to be. A three-spoke steering wheel appeared too, optional heating included. What is missing? An infotainment screen.
There is none.
Just a chunk of plastic covers the void where a touchscreen would usually live. It hogs the center console. Functional, maybe. Stylish, certainly not.
A plastic cover sits where the screen would be, hogging most of the console.
At 3,395 millimeters long, these kei cars know their place. Fold the rear bench in the Wagon and you get 1,123 liters of cargo space. Enough for a few groceries. Maybe a small sofa. High-spec models get electric sliding doors and heat-resistant glass. Sunlight stays out. Heat follows suit.
But the real news is safety. The “Dual Sensor Brake Help II” system is now standard. It watches intersections for collisions. Low-speed forward braking is there. Lane departure prevention too. The Wagon even got adaptive cruise control. Small car. Big safety suite.
Under the hood? Suzuki’s old recipes. A naturally aspirated 660cc three-cylinder makes 660 cc and 48 hp. You can get it with a five-speed manual or the new CVT. Want more pep? The turbo makes 63 hp. But it’s CVT only.
Rear-wheel drive remains. Four-wheel drive is available if you pay extra.
The Price Tag
You can order these now in Japan.
The cheapest Scrum Van PA—rear-wheel drive, manual transmission—starts at ¥1,354100. That is about $8500. Just slightly more than the Suzuki it masquerades as.
If you want the flagship Van Buster Turbo with 4WD? ¥1,940400. Around $12200. The turbo-only Wagon runs between ¥2.04 and 2.27 million. Or roughly $12900 to $14300.
Is it worth the extra few hundred dollars for the Mazda badge?
The Scrum Truck already got its update earlier this year. These vans just tag along. Same parts. Different paint. Same logic.
