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By
ALISTAIR KENNEDY
24 October 2011
Almost
exactly a year after it made its world debut at the 2010
Australian International Motor Show in Sydney the all-new Mazda
BT-50 utility is about to go on sale here.
The 2011 BT-50 marks a significant change in direction for Mazda.
Until now their utilities have been designed as functional and
practical vehicles. Now, in an attempt to chip away at Toyota and
Nissan’s dominance of the ute market, Mazda has sexed-up the
BT-50 with a radical new styling that is sure to attract
attention.
More importantly, Mazda is hoping that the new style and increased
size of the BT-50, especially in the rear seat area of the dual
cab model, will attract the attention of SUV and family car buyers
looking for a dual-purpose vehicle, a market segment that is
growing steadily.
The
styling of the new BT-50 is quite distinctive, highlighted by its
flowing profile with a contoured feature line that sweeps from the
headlamps over the front bumper along the doors and over the rear
bumper. There’s also a large, bulbous front end featuring
Mazda’s family five-point grille flanked by long, flowing
headlamps.
It’s this latter feature that’s likely to divide opinions –
a frontal styling that works well in the small passenger cars that
are Mazda’s bread and butter models doesn’t necessarily work
in a big ute. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder and
the dual-purpose work/family buyer that the company is targeting
could very well be attracted by this softer look. Only time will
tell.
The rear of the new BT-50 also carries a point of distinction in
that the taillights are horizontal rather than vertical as has
been standard in utes until now. The lights extend onto the
tailgate.
The
interior of the new Mazda utility has a real passenger car/SUV
appearance – a long way from the Spartan interiors of the
typical old-style ute. The seats are wrapped around in cockpit
style and the instrument panel flows through to a raised centre
console.
As with the outgoing BT-50 the new model comes with the choice of
two turbo-diesel engines, although both are upgrades, with the
previous 3.0-litre four-cylinder unit being replaced by a
3.2-litre five-cylinder, and the 2.5-litre four dropping in
capacity to 2.2 litres. The larger engine has significantly more
power and torque than before, up from 115 kW to 147 kW and from
380 Nm to 470 Nm (at 1750-2500 rpm).
Despite the 300 cc drop in capacity, the new 2.2-litre engine also
increases in both power and torque, from 105 kW to 110 kW and from
330 Nm to 375 Nm.
Fuel
consumption is measured at 8.4 litres per 100 kilometres with the
4x2 Utility and 8.9 L/100 km with the 4x4 with the manual gearbox
and 8.9 L/100 km and 9.2 L/100 km with the automatic.
Body styles, as before, are Single Cab, Freestyle Cab and Dual
Cab. Freestyle
is an extended cab mainly aimed at providing secure, undercover
stowage space with the added convenience of fold-down occasional
seats so it can act as a four-seater when required.
Our initial test of the BT-50 was restricted to the 3.2-litre, 4x4
Dual Cab variants with the six-speed manual and six-speed
automatic transmissions. Much of the 200 km route, in the ACT and
southern NSW, was over a mixture of bitumen and well-maintained
gravel roads where Mazda’s improvements in noise, vibration and
harshness (NVH) levels almost gave it the feel and comfort of a
large passenger car when cruising.
The highlight of the drive program, and the real test, was a
return to the 4WD driver training centre near Braidwood where we
tested the original BT-50 back in 2006, this time around the
toughest of the various available circuits. The extra torque
helped the BT-50 clamber up some steep gradients and water
crossings with relative ease while the body felt strong and rigid
over badly corrugated, rock-strewn surfaces. One of a number of
new features, Hill Descent Control (HDC), removed any sense of
trepidation over a number of steep descents.
There’s a significant increase in towing capacity from 2500 kg
in the superseded 3.0-litre model to 3350 kg in the new
five-cylinder and from 2250 kg to 2500 kg with the smaller engine.
The 2011 BT-50 comes in three equipment grades: XT, XTR and GT.
All three are offered with the 4x4 Utility; the XTR with both 4x2
and 4x4 Ute; while the XT also is available as a cab chassis.
Standard safety features in both the Freestyle and Dual Cab
include front, side and curtain airbags, pedestrian protection,
crushable brake pedal, ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce
distribution and emergency brake assist, traction control, dynamic
stability control, roll stability control. The hill descent
function is only available in the 4x4 models.
Also standard in all models are cruise control, Bluetooth, USB
input, MP3 compatible CD player, steering wheel mounted audio
controls and trip computer. Options include satellite navigation,
leather seats, and hill launch assist.
There are also two new accessory kits called Boss Sports and Boss
Adventure available with either the XTR or GT Dual Cab 4x4 models.
These that add airbag-compatible bullbars (alloy or steel),
Lightforce Genesis driving lights, 17-inch alloy wheels, sports
bar, tubular sidesteps and either a hard or soft tonneau cover.
All of of these accessories are available individually.
Mazda and Ford have a long history of model sharing and the new
BT-50, although having different body panels, is otherwise all but
identical to the new Ford Ranger that we reviewed recently.
The 2011 Mazda BT-50 is a real break from tradition both in terms
of styling and marketing direction and it will be interesting to
see what impact that has on Australian buyers.
The complete Mazda BT-50 Freestyle and Dual Cab range, with prices
(excluding dealer and government charges) is:
XT 4x2 Freestyle Cab Chassis 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $32,590
(manual)
XT 4x2 Dual Cab Utility 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $36,090 (manual),
$38,090 (automatic)
XTR 4x2 Dual Cab Utility 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $40,740 (manual),
$42,740 (automatic)
XT 4x4 Freestyle Cab Chassis 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $40,660
(manual)
XTR 4x4 Freestyle Cab Utility 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $46,810
(manual)
XT 4x4 Dual Cab Chassis 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $42,660 (manual)
XT 4x4 Dual Cab Utility 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $44,160 (manual),
$46,160 (automatic)
XTR 4x4 Dual Cab Utility 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $48,810 (manual),
$50,810 (automatic)
GT 4x4 Dual Cab Utility 3.2-litre turbo-diesel: $50,710 (manual),
$52,710 (automatic)
Prices for Single Cab models will be released around the time of
their arrival here in early 2012.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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