2025 Mazda BT-50 evaluation | CarExpert

The Mazda BT-50 continues to fly underneath the radar of most ute consumers in Australia, as evidenced by its place beneath the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max, and Mitsubishi Triton within the gross sales race.

That’s a disgrace, as a result of the BT-50 makes a robust case for itself. In my humble opinion, few dual-cab 4×4 ute rivals come near matching the BT-50 so far as appearances go, with its SUV-like design and premium cabin presentation.

The Mazda badge holds loads of credibility, and the BT-50 is properly outfitted throughout the vary, too.

That leads me to consider that this good-looking ute deserves higher, however I’m unsure if now could be the very best time to purchase one. A facelifted mannequin has been revealed, round 12 months after the up to date model of its Isuzu D-Max twin, and it’s slated to reach Down Below within the first quarter of 2025.

WATCH: Paul’s video evaluation of the 2023 Mazda BT-50 LE

The refresh will convey a rounded set of upgrades, from exterior tweaks, infotainment enhancements, in addition to new security equipment. With that in thoughts, the argument to hurry out and spec up a present mannequin appears weak.

However maybe per week behind the wheel of a loaded SP Professional will change my thoughts…

How does the Mazda BT-50 evaluate?

View an in depth breakdown of the Mazda BT-50 towards equally sized automobiles.

Mazda

BT-50

How a lot does the Mazda BT-50 value?

The SP sits on the pointy finish of the BT-50 vary, beneath solely the rough-and-ready SP Thunder off-road flagship.

That doesn’t inform the complete story although, as our tester is supplied with each the Professional Enhancement Pack ($7668) and the Premium Infotainment Improve ($4948).

These additions, plus optionally available premium paint ($695), convey the full worth of this instance to $79,975 drive-away in Victoria. And $80k is lots of dosh for a mid-size ute.

4×2

4×4

To see how the Mazda BT-50 stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability software.

What’s the Mazda BT-50 like on the within?

The BT-50 is a product of Mazda’s current premium push, particularly in SP trim.

Most utes are workmanlike inside, with cabins comprised of hard-wearing supplies that supply little in the way in which of luxurious. Not this one.

The inside of the BT-50 SP Professional is genuinely nice. It’s trimmed in a mixture of black and light-weight brown leather-based, and customary contact factors together with the seats, door playing cards, steering wheel and centre console are premium in each feel and look.

Even areas uncovered to comparatively little visitors current properly. For instance, the sprint high is completed in gentle leather-based with distinction stitching.

So far as first impressions go, this ute nails it, notably from the attitude of households and way of life consumers. Tradies would possibly need supplies which can be just a little extra resilient to each day put on and tear, however Mazda already affords loads of worksite-friendly variants additional down the BT-50 vary.

And the BT-50 SP backs up preliminary visible wow issue with real substance within the type of supremely snug entrance seats.

Trimmed in twin leather-based hues like the remainder of the inside, the leather-based pews really feel like your favorite armchair, with seemingly countless base cushioning.

The chairs may do with just a little extra facet bolstering to carry you in place, particularly when the tarmac runs out, however I can’t complain comfort-wise. Each entrance seats are heated for these chilly winter mornings.

It’s simple to seek out the proper driving place, as the driving force’s seat affords electrical adjustment and the steering wheel each tilts and telescopes.

One other promoting level of our SP Professional take a look at automotive is the optionally available ‘Premium Infotainment Improve’. The $5000 tools pack consists of an 11-inch Alpine touchscreen infotainment system, wi-fi smartphone mirroring, and an upgraded sound system with inbuilt amplifier.

I’ll reduce to the chase although: the enhancements don’t justify the extra value.

Don’t get me incorrect, the upsized infotainment display is spectacular to take a look at – the system is seamlessly built-in into the sprint, and boasts crisp graphics.

Nonetheless, the unit itself is comparatively fundamental, so don’t count on a swathe of options or customisation choices. The software program was laggy in our press automobile too, leading to delayed responses to the touch inputs.

Wi-fi smartphone mirroring is a worthwhile addition, and Apple CarPlay labored flawlessly all through my time with the BT-50. With that in thoughts, it’s greatest to keep away from the native capabilities the place attainable and persist with mirroring.

I used to be additionally left just a little underwhelmed by the Alpine sound system, which will get a B grading on the BT-50 faculty report.

All issues thought of, $4948 is quite a bit to pay for the infotainment improve and the bottom system is completely serviceable.

The bundle doesn’t tackle the instrument association within the BT-50, both. As an alternative of a contemporary digital instrument cluster, you’re greeted by a pair of old-school gauges and a puny centre display.

It’s not like Mazda can’t produce some first rate tech, both. Take the dual-zone local weather controls, which mix bodily toggles with digital readouts. The setup is good on the attention and straightforward to make use of… A+ on this entrance. Charging of cell units is taken care of by two USB-C retailers and a 12V socket, all located beneath the local weather controls.

Contemplating the dimensions of the BT-50, I’d love just a little extra inside storage. Up entrance you get a shallow centre console, small glovebox and thin door bins, in addition to an additional cubby above the glovebox.

Central cupholders additionally function, however any critical ute wants tradie-style drink holders within the sprint, proper?

Additional proof that the BT-50 SP is focused at adventurous households moderately than work crews might be discovered within the second row.

For starters, I discovered my knees pressed towards the seat backing when seated behind my customary driving place, and any passenger topping 6’3″ will battle for headroom. That guidelines out cramming in a trio of well-built labourers, then.

However Mum and Dad shouldn’t fear, as a result of youngsters will match with out difficulty. And no matter your body, ingress and egress is made simple by chunky facet steps and ergonomic seize handles.

The seats themselves have the identical plush really feel as these within the entrance row, though the rear seating place is just a little too upright to be snug for multiple or two hours.

Second row facilities embody map pockets, adjustable air vents, bottle holders within the doorways, and an armrest with built-in cupholders. Passengers are compelled to battle over a single USB-A outlet, which is able to undoubtedly be the supply of many charger arguments.

There’ll be no combating over cargo house although, because the BT-50 has a spacious tub that can swallow loads of stuff.

The bathtub comes with a spray-in plastic liner, and is supplied with a handbook tonneau cowl. It’s not probably the most safe ute, because the tailgate lock is operated unbiased of central locking. All it takes is so that you can neglect this quirk as soon as and any valuables saved within the tray may fairly simply be stolen.

What’s underneath the bonnet?

This Mazda BT-50 is fitted with the extra highly effective 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. Some variants are provided with the smaller and extra environment friendly 1.9-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine.

To see how the Mazda BT-50 stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability software.

How does the Mazda BT-50 drive?

This ain’t no rickety horse and cart with an engine up entrance. Somewhat, the BT-50 SP Professional is a refined way of life ute designed with consolation entrance of thoughts.

From the entrance, it appears to be like like an SUV and it rides quite a bit like one too, absorbing bumps round city with ease. The SP Professional comes customary with upgraded Nitrocharger suspension, which incorporates springs and dampers that may be configured to your wants by the supplier pre-delivery.

By default, the Nitrocharger suspension equipment brings a 40mm suspension elevate, in addition to a 12mm monitor improve.

My expertise with the uprated suspension setup was a optimistic one, because the BT-50 SP was gentle and supple with out ever feeling floaty.

Round city it’s a simple beast to drive, with loads of lowdown torque to get you rolling from a standstill. That’s supported by the specs – the BT-50 produces 450Nm from 1600rpm.

It’s not fairly the 600Nm you get from a V6 Ford Ranger or Volkswagen Amarok, nor even the 500Nm provided by equal four-cylinder turbo-diesel variations of Australia’s two hottest utes, however I discovered the BT-50 to have greater than sufficient shove at city speeds.

Along with a tractable engine, the BT-50 has mild and direct steering that makes it simple to select gaps in visitors and navigate tight suburban streets and carpark. Regardless of its substantial dimensions, this Mazda is snug sharing the highway with a lot smaller automobiles and also you by no means really feel such as you’re driving a bus.

I discovered parking simpler than anticipated, too. All variants include a reversing digital camera (albeit one which’s a bit grainy in decision) as customary, and the SP provides entrance parking sensors.

Each are helpful units, however Mazda is shaded by Ford on this regard because the equally priced Ranger Wildtrak is supplied with a surround-view digital camera that provides loads of worth for automobiles of this size.

When you get out onto the freeway, the BT-50 SP transforms into a cushty cruiser with all of the instruments wanted for prolonged stints at excessive speeds.

Even within the absence of a loaded tray it takes some time to stand up to hurry, however when you again off the throttle and let momentum and that beneficiant low-end torque do the work, the diesel racket settles down.

Computerized variants together with our tester supply adaptive cruise management, which is intuitive and reactive to modifications in visitors circumstances.

As with different Mazdas I’ve skilled, it’s secure to set and neglect adaptive cruise within the BT-50 – you’ll very not often encroach previous secure braking distances, and modifications in velocity are silky easy.

The ADAS suite additionally features a lane-centring function that does its greatest work on clearly marked motorways, because the system can lose its bearings. The wonderful thing about the system within the BT-50 is that it may be turned off with the press of a button conveniently positioned on the steering wheel.

A driver monitoring system can be included as customary and the very best signal that it really works correctly is that I by no means observed it. Take notes, Mitsubishi Triton.

I’ve combined emotions concerning the ahead collision warning system. On one hand, the warnings are unnecessarily widespread.

On the opposite, they arrive within the type of an efficient flashing mild on the windscreen, as a substitute of a disconcerting shuddering by means of the automotive which is harmful in itself.

Lastly, as we’ve famous in earlier opinions of this mannequin, the BT-50 has glorious LED headlights which can be assisted by a Lightforce LED mild bar positioned behind the grille on the SP.

What do you get?

Mazda BT-50 XS and XT highlights:

• 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
  • Wired Android Auto
  • Wi-fi Apple CarPlay
  • DAB+ digital radio
• 4.2-inch instrument cluster display
• Fabric upholstery
• Carpeted flooring
• Air-conditioning
• Energy home windows
• Cruise management (Handbook)
• Adaptive cruise management with Cease & Go (Auto)
• Reversing digital camera
• LED headlights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Computerized headlights
• Computerized high-beam
• 17-inch wheels (alloy on XT)

XTR provides:

• 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Satellite tv for pc navigation
• Twin-zone local weather management
• Rear air vents
• Leather-based-wrapped steering wheel and shifter
• Auto-dimming inside mirror
• Rear seat centre armrest
• Energy-folding exterior mirrors
• Keyless entry and begin
• Tyre stress monitoring
• LED headlights with auto levelling
• LED entrance fog lights and daytime working lights
• Aspect steps
• 18-inch alloy wheels

GT provides:

• Brown leather-based upholstery
• Eight-way energy driver’s seat
• Heated entrance seats
• Distant engine begin (computerized solely)
• Entrance parking sensors
• Heated chrome exterior mirrors

SP provides:

• Darkish gray roof rails
• Black grille
• Shiny black exterior mirrors
• Gloss black door handles
• Black 18-inch alloy wheels
• Darkish gray facet steps
• ‘Driftwood’ leather-based and black artificial suede trim
• Manually-operated black curler tonneau cowl
• Tub liner
• Gloss black sail-plane sport bar
• Entrance bumper decrease ornament trim
• Gloss black wheel flares

Choices

Our SP tester is fitted with two possibility packages.

SP Professional enhancement pack ($7668) provides:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Nitrocharger suspension improve equipment (40mm elevate)
• Lightforce LED mild bar
• SP Professional decals

Premium Infotainment Improve ($4948) provides:

• 11.0-inch Alpine touchscreen infotainment system
• Wi-fi Android Auto
• Tidal music streaming
• 2x USB-C ports
• HDMI enter
• Auxiliary enter
• 300W 6×9-inch Alpine front-door audio system
• 2x Alpine entrance tweeters

Is the Mazda BT-50 secure?

The Mazda BT-50 has a five-star ANCAP security ranking with a 2022 date stamp, based mostly on checks performed on the associated Isuzu D-Max. This ranking applies to all variants bar the BT-50 Thunder.

The utes had been reassessed regardless of having already obtained five-star rankings in 2020, because the D-Max and BT-50 obtained a design change to the driving force’s knee airbag and instrument panel.

All Mazda BT-50 fashions come customary with the next security options:

• Autonomous emergency braking
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Lane-departure warning
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Flip help
• Driver consideration monitoring
• Entrance, front-side and curtain airbags
• Driver’s knee airbag
• Entrance-centre airbag
• Visitors signal recognition

Computerized fashions acquire lane-keep help and adaptive cruise management.

How a lot does the Mazda BT-50 value to run?

The Mazda BT-50 is roofed by the Japanese model’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee with roadside help for a similar interval.

Servicing is required each 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Service costs differ relying on the mannequin. 

To see how the Mazda BT-50 stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability software.

CarExpert’s Tackle the Mazda BT-50

The Mazda BT-50 SP Professional is a cultured ute that you simply’ll by no means dread driving, but it surely’s a tough promote for $80,000 as examined.

Sure, it’s pretty to take a look at, each inside and outside, due to a good-looking front-end design that’s in step with Mazda’s big SUV vary, and cabin supplies that put Ford and Toyota to disgrace.

The BT-50 SP additionally does its greatest to maintain up with the pack as a driving machine – we now have no complaints concerning the upgraded Nitrocharger suspension, and Mazda’s array of driver assists are all refreshingly user-friendly.

Nonetheless, at $80k, the SP Professional (with premium infotainment) is enjoying with the massive boys. You may take your choose of the HiLux vary for that cash, or pivot to a Ranger Wildtrak. If consolation and refinement high your listing of priorities, the Volkswagen Amarok Type meets the temporary with the additional benefit of a beefier turbo-diesel V6.

Talking of engines, all of the aforementioned automobiles supply extra grunt than the BT-50, which may really feel laboured when overtaking on the freeway.

What’s extra, up to date variations of the BT-50 will land in Australia early subsequent yr.

That settles it then. We are able to put a line by means of this good-looking ute and transfer on… proper? Not fairly.

Now in runout, the BT-50 SP is a much more tantalising proposition in the event you resist temptation and depart possibility containers unticked. With out the Professional and Premium Infotainment packages the BT-50 SP is available in at a much more aggressive $65,990 drive-away, pricing it in step with the Ranger XLT and HiLux SR5.

Now we’re speaking. In spite of everything, neither possibility pack provides must-have tools, and also you’ll get higher worth out of some alternative aftermarket upgrades.

As a way of life ute, a bare-bones SP is the higher worth play, though I’d nonetheless lean in the direction of a Ranger for journeys to and from the worksite.

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