Mazda’s BT-50 Limited conundrum
First there was a Limited model. Then there wasn’t. Now it’s back in the revised BT-50 range, writes David Linklater.
After rationalising the price and specification of its BT-50 pickup truck in 2016, Mazda New Zealand has given its light-commercial a mild makeover and (re)expanded the range.
Is this the restyled-in-Australia BT-50 we’ve been hearing about?
It is not. You might have heard that Mazda Australia has cooked up its own version of the BT-50, with a locally styled and produced grille-and-bumper combo that’s quite similar to that on the CX-9 SUV.
That doesn’t extend to New Zealand’s updated BT-50 range. Instead, the Kiwi lineup sticks with the same frontal styling but now includes a special-edition model based on the GSX, some interior enhancements across the range and the return of the bells-and-whistles Limited model – as tested here.
Not exactly a radical update then, is it?
Fair comment. Putting the stickers-and-stuff special edition (otherwise known as the BT-50 Special Edition) aside, which has been launched completely coincidentally at the same time as National Fieldays even though Mazda NZ is not attending, the most interesting aspect of the latest BT-50 range is the reappearance of the top-specification Limited model.
Refresher: back in 2016 Mazda NZ got a bit huffy with all the highend pickup trucks being launched. It decided to move away from the price war (it was and is a weird war, where the highest sticker wins) and stick with low-to-mid level models, dropping its most luxurious BT-50 Limited model.
It’s now done an about-face and reintroduced the Limited, although it’s still nothing like as ornate as a Ford Ranger Wildtrak or Holden Colorado Z71. Nothing like as expensive either: the BT-50 Limited is $10k cheaper than the Wildtrak and $5k less than the Z71.
Compared with the $55,795 BT-50 GSX, the Limited adds leather upholstery, eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, side mirrors with integrated indicators plus heating/folding functionality, and privacy glass.
Is it still basically a Ford Ranger underneath?
This generation of BT-50 did start life as a twin under the skin to the Ranger (Ford was the lead partner in the project). But following a major mechanical update to Ranger in 2016 that didn’t flow through to the BT-50, it was clear that Ford was going its own way for the future. And of course we now know that the next BT-50 will be a joint development with Isuzu.
So yes, the BT-50 is still a Ranger underneath, but it has much more in common with the pre-2016 Ranger than the latest version.
For all that, I reckon the Mazda has always been a bit better onroad than its Ford cousin. That’s possibly down to the Blue Oval wanting to make its vehicle look and feel more truck-like, while the Japanese brand has always had this thing about giving the BT-50 a more car-like character. The Mazda’s grunty five-pot engine still has lots of gruff character, and it steers and handles with confidence – relative to its truck-status of course. The Mazda doesn’t offer the Ford’s rather impressive suite of driver-assistance systems – but then you have to go all the way up to Wildtrak to get all of that kit anyway.
The Limited only comes in 4WD form – which might seem odd given that it’s the most likely BT-50 variant to be on urban duty. The GSX is available in either 2WD or 4WD, the former at a very tempting $45,795.
The BT-50 interior is very car-like in terms of styling (although the materials used are still very much in the ‘‘durable’’ category). The big change here is the addition of an Alpine head unit with a 7.8-inch touch-screen that offers phone-projection technology. The unit is actually fitted here in New Zealand, but Mazda says it’s still officially ‘‘original equipment’’ because it’s fully integrated.
And so it is. Adjust the climate control, for example, and the appropriate menu pops up on the screen. It’s a really nice unit that will be used right across the revised BT-50 range – not just in this topline Limited version.
Am I going to feel like the odd one out driving a BT-50?
Well, yes. This generation of BT-50 was designed to be just that – a pickup truck that attempted to incorporate car-like styling cues into the set-square shapes dictated by the double-cab ute genre. It didn’t result in stellar sales for the Japanese brand, despite the burgeoning nature of the onetonne truck segment in New Zealand. Currently the BT-50 is No 8 in the light-commercial sales charts, behind every other mainstream pickup-truck and selling at a rate roughly one-fifth that of the Ford Ranger or Toyota Hilux. While utes are top-sellers for many mainstream brands, Mazda still sells twice as many CX-5s as it does BT-50s.
Any other cars I should consider?
As with the 2016 BT-50 update, Mazda NZ has maintained value for money as a key selling point for the BT-50 Limited.
So which double-cab, 4WD automatic one-tonners can you buy for the same $60k?
It only gets you a low-specification Ranger XL ($58k), but $57k will get you into a dressed-up Hilux SR5 Cruiser thanks to Toyota’s new no-haggle pricing. Sneak over the $60k barrier (only by $990 though) and you could also buy a Holden Colorado LTZ.