New-look 2018 Mazda BT-50 ute teased

The Mazda BT-50 is about to get a special make-over – just for Australia.

It's kind of hard to tell from the angle of the single teaser image revealed by Mazda's Aussie arm this morning, but the company says the second mid-life update for the ageing Mazda BT-50 will deliver a "tougher outlook" for the ute when it arrives in showrooms from May 2018.

Mazda claims the new design ditches its curvy front-end – the so-called 'smiley face' – for a more angular appearance, as previously reported.

The new front-end styling will lower the vehicle's "visual centre of gravity" according to Mazda, due to its squared-off bumper edges. There's also talk of a large trapezoid in the form of the lower air-dam, finished with a new skid plate.

The alloy wheels appear unchanged from the current model.

The 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel engine from the Ford Ranger will carry through until the new-generation Mazda BT-50 – based on the next Isuzu D-MAX ute – arrives in 2021 at the earliest. By then the Mazda ute will have solidered on for more than 10 years, given its 2011 introduction in this country.

In vehicle terms, that's ancient.

Exclusive to Australia, the new-look Mazda BT-50 ute has been "Designed and engineered locally," by Victorian EGR group, which specialises in automotive and commercial design and engineering projects.

Along with "significant front end design changes", the new Mazda BT-50 ute will also benefit from specification and equipment upgrades.

Mazda is keeping its cards close to its chest on the upgrades but they're unlikely to include some of the fancy equipment available on its donor vehicle, the Ford Ranger, such as radar cruise control and lane keep assist.

Mazda Australia's managing director, Vinesh Bhindi, previously stated that the BT-50 will probably miss out on many of the advanced driver assistance features of the Ford Ranger, which is Australia's second best-selling vehicle at present.

However the Mazda Australia chief said the new-look design undertaken by ERG will give the BT-50 "…a stronger and tougher bearing, which we know Australians look for in a ute."

The Mazda BT-50 is an important model for Mazda in Australia but in pure sales numbers it's fallen well behind league leaders like the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger. The Mazda BT-50 (4x4 models) found around 8900 homes in 2017, compared to the 35,000 and 37,000-odd sales of the Toyota and Ford 4x4 utes respectively.

It's not clear how much the updated Mazda BT-50 ute will cost but prices currently range between $25,570 for the two-door cab-chassis and $54,490 for the GT 4x4 dual-cab.

"The utility segment is a huge priority in Australia and for Mazda; we're always looking to improve and enhance our product offering, to remain competitive and appealing to our customers," said Bhindi.

It's not yet clear whether the new-look 2018 Mazda BT-50 ute will be offered with a sporty and/or rugged body kit, like the Holden Colorado Sportscat by HSV.

The ute segment in Australia is currently booming, with sales increasing by almost 14 per cent for the first three months of 2018, after several years of growth.

Motorists are captivated by the idea of a vehicle that has seating for five, can go off-road, has modern safety features and load-lugging capability, whether via the tray or towing.