Mazda BT-50 2016 Review

Mazda BT-50 XTR
Road Test

If you're after something hard-core from a bloke who specialises in off-roading and tow tests, read Chris Fincham's review of the same vehicle in crew-cab style.

But if you've read this far, perhaps you're curious to know how the BT-50 fared as a family-hack surrogate in smoothly-paved suburbia. In which case, read on...

This particular BT-50 came to us kitted out in the XTR level of trim and with nearly $6000 of extras, taking the as-tested price well above $50,000. Some of those options – bull bar and driving lights – had been removed before the car arrived, however, due to damage incurred in someone else's 'care'.

It has been a long time since I've been up close and personal with a one-tonne extended-cab pick-up fitted with jump seats. As I recall, that was a Mazda too, in the days when it went by the name 'Bravo' and featured a vestigial suicide door for rear-seat access. Even now, climbing into the back of the BT-50 is not especially simple.

In fact the writer's teenage kids found the whole jump-seat experience not at all to their liking on the brief trip to school. Apart from the lack of knee room and the difficulty clambering in, the seats themselves were flat and unsupportive.

There was no seat base return memory for reaching the jump seats, each of which have top-tether anchorage points for a child safety seat. But while there's adult-appropriate headroom back there, there's no way you would subject a typical tradie – or even the apprentice – to riding around in the back for more than 10 minutes at a pinch.

Things were a little more accommodating up front, with two handy sized cupholders in the centre console and a deepish receptacle under the folding centre armrest. The seats were well shaped by the standards of a light commercial vehicle, and were trimmed in a durable fabric comparable with the sort of upholstery expected from a passenger car – albeit one priced about $20,000 less.

My first moment of concern behind the wheel came with the realisation that there was no reach adjustment in the steering column. The driving position was slightly compromised as a result, placing the driver too close to the pedals for comfort – or at arm's length from the wheel.

Nor did I like the reversing camera display in the rear-view mirror. Apart from the fact it's not in the line of sight during a sweeping scan of the external mirrors, it's tiny and easily rendered useless by sun glare.

But offsetting that were useful features in the BT-50, including rain-sensing wipers and auto headlights.

Pairing a smartphone using Bluetooth was made harder by the limitations of the interface – through the infotainment touch screen only – and graphic icons that aren't industry standard. To get there required reading the manual (!) and a spell of meditation by the driver before it all came together. The system won't automatically default to music streaming from the phone, on restarting.

Purchasing a new bike presented an opportunity to 'test' the tray of the BT-50, which was lined with a durable, but soft material. But the tailgate was fairly heavy.

Out on the road, the BT-50 was surprisingly quiet. There was a chafing squeak frequently evident – likely where the body met the chassis – over even small bumps and sometimes even long undulations on freeways. Otherwise though, road noise was remarkably well suppressed for a vehicle like this.

Some wind noise and driveline NVH presented in chorus, while cruising at 100km/h. But at lower speeds and on coarse-chip bitumen the BT-50 rode very quietly – even by passenger car and SUV standards. There are some prestige European brands that could learn from the way the BT-50's cabin is insulated from tyre noise.

While the BT-50's ride was firm, it was not as harsh as a new HiLux recently driven. And that slightly less forgiving ride in the Mazda translated to impressive cornering, which was complemented by meaty steering feel. From personal experience the BT-50 is on a completely different plane for dynamic safety and driveability than one or two rivals driven in the past.

When I think of a car that delivers a good ride and handling compromise, it's usually in the context of something like a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. But the BT-50 will inevitably force first-time drivers to reassess their definitions. It's a capable car on the road that never feels particularly agricultural even in the midst of suburbia, but its competent cornering doesn't compromise its rough-road ride and off-road ability.

The engine was clearly a diesel, with a relatively subdued throb under load and at idle; plus a bit of warbling five-cylinder beat discernible on the overrun.

It's a powerful engine with the sort of torque to keep plugging away uphill on a gravel track even when the whole car is tail-out and sliding backwards. Eventually, the traction control, the lockable rear diff and the sheer, inexhaustible grunt will overcome the forces of gravity and the lack of friction to propel the BT-50 to the top of some fairly challenging grades.

In traffic the engine was prone to a little turbo lag when the lights turned green. Then, with zero weight in the back, the Mazda would easily break traction. On smooth but wet bitumen – and without the diff locked – the BT-50 would scrabble for grip as one of the rear wheels spun uselessly... and embarrassingly, the middle-aged mum in the front-wheel drive hatch in the adjacent lane steadily put distance between herself and the hapless Mazda driver.

That, in fact, is the one element of the Mazda that would be its Achilles heel – the leaf-sprung live axle and the lack of weight in the back when unladen. It's also why the Mazda will swing around at the rear when waging its way up those gravelly off-road grades, with the wheels at the rear getting into the looser loam and exacerbating the lack of traction. It's a common complaint with the Mazda's rivals also, and there's little doubt that locking the diff would achieve profoundly better results with a payload in the back.

Fuel consumption for the week was 10.5L/100km, based on about 50km of freeway travel and 2km of wheelspin.

The engine drives through a six-speed automatic that was occasionally prone to thumping during changes, and in four-wheel drive low it was very unpleasant, but with so much torque multiplied to that extent it was not altogether surprising. This level of engine output, combined with dual-range transfer – by turning a knob – and a decent degree of traction with the differential locked, ensured the BT-50 was a capable machine off the road.

The Mazda tackled and successfully climbed one grade that was heavily rutted and would have brought to a standstill any SUV this side of a Pajero or Prado. Ground clearance was impressive, as was the Mazda's wheel articulation and approach angle. With a respectable ride height and that ability to swing the rear axle through some serious travel in a vertical plane, the Mazda's ramp-over angle wasn't a problem and the only time the departure angle made its presence felt was when the long tow bar touched down at one point.

On the subject of wheel articulation, with the right rear tyre almost off the ground at one point, climbing into the cabin was a matter of raising the left leg as high as possible to place the foot on the side step and then reaching up to the B pillar and armrest on the driver's door to haul oneself in. It would have been a good metre off the ground at that point – yet all four wheels remained (barely) in touch with terra firma.

The Hill Descent Control system in the BT-50 is not in the same league as some systems in more sophisticated SUVs. Its speed downhill was too high for my liking. There's something of a knack to rolling off the brakes for the HDC to take over too. The Mazda was tested without a payload on board, which brings one to the point of questioning how the HDC would fare with a decent weight in the rear.

But overall the BT-50 proved its worth as an all-round capable machine over the course of the week – and could be called on to double as the family wagon in an emergency – provided the little tykes are actually little.

2016 Mazda BT-50 XTR pricing and specifications:
Price:  $49,675 (as tested, excluding $5877 of options and on-road costs)
Engine: 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 147kW/470Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 256g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP

Also consider:
>> Ford Ranger (from $27,390 to $60,090 plus ORCs)
>> Nissan Navara (from $26,490 to $54,490 plus ORCs)
>> Mitsubishi Triton (from $21,990 to $47,890 plus ORCs)