Overview
MAZDA not too long ago up to date its devoted BT-50 workhorse with important styling adjustments geared toward bringing the mannequin’s appears consistent with to these of its SUV siblings.
The adjustments noticed a brand new frontal masks, LED headlighting, a ridged tailgate, and bigger Mazda logos adopted alongside minor technical adjustments together with a revised 8.0-inch infotainment array (9.0 inches on XTR grades and better) and up to date 7.0-inch multi-information show touchscreen.
Importantly, the revision additionally launched improved security applied sciences encompassing wide-view stereoscopic cameras to reinforce the BT-50’s lane-assist, adaptive cruise management, and autonomous emergency braking talents, the latter gaining motorbike detection for the primary time.
Mechanically the BT-50 is unchanged, persevering with with its turbocharged 3.0-litre four-cylinder diesel now backed solely with a six-speed automated transmission. Energy and torque outputs stay at 140kW/450Nm whereas mixed cycle gas consumption is listed at an optimistic 8.0 litres per 100km.
In maintaining with the category common, Mazda continues to supply the BT-50 with a braked towing capability of 3500kg and payload of 998kg. GVM tops out at 3100kg and GCM 6000kg, and you should utilize Mazda’s nifty payload calculator to find out how a lot payload you’ll be able to legally carry when travelling with a trailer on the again.
On check is the penultimate BT-50 GT (from $66,170 plus on-road prices).
Provided in dual-cab format solely, and with part-time four-wheel drive, the variant provides niceties like heated wing mirrors, leather-based upholstery, eight-way electrical driver seat adjustment, entrance seat heating, distant engine begin performance, and entrance parking sensors.
The instance on check was additional accessorised with a hoopless metal bullbar, snorkel, driving lights, roof platform, awning, SP accent wheels with A/T tyres, rubber ground mats, UHF radio, black fender flares, sports activities bar, and a lockable handbook curler cowl.
Paint colors throughout the vary embody Concrete Gray Mica, Geode White Pearl, Ice White Stable, Ingot Silver Metallic, Pink Earth Metallic, Crusing Blue Metallic (pictured), and True Black Mica.
Like all BT-50 grades the GT is provided with Lane Hold Help System (LAS), Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM), Rear Cross Site visitors Alert and Braking, Site visitors Signal Recognition, and Trailer Sway Management (TSC). Eight airbags are customary, together with a driver’s knee- and centre airbag between the entrance seat occupants.
It additional gives each ISOFIX and top-tether child-seat anchorages within the normal positions.
Mazda backs the BT-50 with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre guarantee for each personal and industrial consumers which additionally covers any Mazda-fitted equipment. Roadside help is included for 5 years and capped-price servicing for seven years.
Service intervals are set at 12 months or 15,000km (whichever comes first) with scheduled upkeep totalling $2498 over a typical five-year possession interval.
Driving Impressions
When borrowing the BT-50, Mazda Australia explicitly advised us to “give it heaps”, even plastering its new promoting slogan throughout the loaner car’s again window. With encouragement like that, give it heaps we did, setting immediately for a number of the harder trails of the Lerderderg State Forest.
The closely accessorised GT variant proved understandably noisy on the open highway, the all-terrain tyres, roof racks, awning, bullbar, and snorkel additionally doing their utmost so as to add to our gas invoice.
Sadly, Mazda’s (and by extension Isuzu’s) uptight driver help applied sciences additionally made their presence recognized, panicking on the proximity of different autos to the BT-50, and the BT-50 to its place inside the lane. Whereas a few of this may be put all the way down to poorer line markings, it’s nonetheless a disappointment to expertise such nervousness when Mazda claims to have addressed the difficulty.
We ended up switching the offending driver aids off and continued on our means, having fun with the spacious cabin and sorted ergonomics the BT-50 offers in spades.
Visibility from the motive force’s pew is great, the extent of adjustment on supply additional permitting that Goldilocks place to be simply discovered when seated behind the ‘wheel. There may be additionally an honest quantity of storage across the cabin, serving to to tuck digicam tools, drink bottles and the like the place they’re held with some safety. Sadly, nevertheless, there is no such thing as a wi-fi charging pad that means we nonetheless had the requisite cables draped throughout the console for the charging of cell phones, and so forth.
Up again, the seats are as comfy as it is best to anticipate from a dual-cab ute, the semi-stadium-style association permitting view out, however maybe at the price of a bit of headroom. Pleasantly, there are air vents and USB-C charging ports on the rear of the centre console, together with door bin and armrest storage for drinks and smaller gadgets.
Additional again nonetheless, the BT-50 gives a carpeted tub with a lockable curler cowl, and a handful of tie-down factors. Nonetheless, there are not any lights again right here for after-hours work, no energy retailers, and no mud sealing… have a look at the pictures connected to see simply how a lot mud crammed the tray mattress after simply an hour or two off highway.
However it’s right here, off highway, that the BT-50 feels completely in its ingredient. Clearance is probably the one letdown in what’s a succesful and no-nonsense off-road chassis bundle that’s properly tuned to sort out the worst our check loop might throw at it.
The BT-50, like myriad different dual-cab utes, runs a coil sprung impartial entrance and leaf-sprung reside axle rear association we really feel gives respectable compliance, even with a really mild load on board. Add a few hundred kegs of firewood and fenceposts and there’s no purpose it shouldn’t settle into an much more comfy journey.
Grabbing low vary – and with occasional help from the rear differential lock and/or Tough Terrain mode – we discovered progress over the gnarly stuff clean and regular, the traction management stepping in good and early to make sure minimal traction loss, which is especially helpful when crawling over rock or climbing shaly surfaces.
Isuzu’s 4J-series engine gives ample torque from simply above idle, permitting the driveline and traction programs to get the job executed with little or no fuss. It’s attention-grabbing that the throttle lag skilled on-road may be very onerous to detect in slower going, the engine little doubt assisted by the extra torque on supply in transferring into low vary.
On paper, the BT-50 might sound behind its peppier rivals, however we reckon there’s loads of grunt for work within the tough stuff, even when it comes with a little bit of rattle and clamour when requested to interrupt a sweat.
The Aisin-sourced six-speed automated (additionally discovered within the Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Triton, and Toyota HiLux) is calibrated fairly properly, and requires little in the way in which of handbook intervention. At increased speeds, nevertheless, it may be a bit of busy, unnecessarily deciding on decrease ratios when ascending or descending grades.
It’s a difficulty that appears to be one thing of a trait of the AWR6-series transmission and is extra pronounced in some makes and fashions than it’s in others. Being an proprietor of this transmission myself, I can say that it will get higher because it ‘learns’ and adapts to the way in which you drive, one thing the BT-50 loaner has unlikely had the prospect to attain.
Elsewhere, we be aware a steering rack that borders on the weightier finish of the dimensions, and that’s additionally fairly sluggish in reacting to the motive force’s enter. We discovered wheel work a bit of busier than in different rivals, evaluating the BT-50 extra carefully with the Mitsubishi Triton than the Toyota HiLux on this respect.
The BT-50 gives a turning circle of 12.5m, which runs towards the bigger finish of its competitor set, however continues to be manoeuvrable sufficient within the tighter tracks we encountered – and when parking on the grocery store in a while.
Maybe disappointingly, the BT-50’s brake pedal stroke leaves loads to be desired. There’s a number of pedal journey earlier than any braking motion happens, taking a lot of the development favoured in off-road driving out of the motive force’s arms (properly, ft… you already know what I imply). The four-wheel discs are in any other case adequate for the duty at hand, even when the park brake adjustment of our check automotive was properly and really out of limits.
On the drive again to city we have been happy to search out the BT-50 no worse for put on than once we began. Apart from being a bit of dirtier than earlier than, there have been no rattles or squeaks to report, the driveline too settling again into a gentle rhythm for the freeway stretch again dwelling.
A flick by the half-analogue/half-digital instrumentation panel noticed a ten.5-litre consequence on the gas display screen, that means the BT-50 must be able to returning a theoretical driving vary of 720km from a single fill. It’s not the worst we’ve seen from a dual-cab ute, however removed from the most effective both – which sums up the place of the Mazda providing properly, actually.
This can be a middle-of-the-road ute that feels as sincere as they day is lengthy, and whereas it actually doesn’t have the polish and pizzaz discovered within the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok twins – or the additional grunt on faucet within the Toyota HiLux – it’s a very succesful and handsome workhorse that gives most of what dual-cab consumers anticipate, and with the guarantee and aftersales help Australian consumers demand.
