New Mazda BT-50 ute on sale October

Mazda ute confirmed the new-generation Mazda BT-50 ute will roll into showrooms from October, equipped with the sort of safety equipment that used to be exclusive to luxury cars.

For the first time on the Mazda BT-50 ute, the entire range will be fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and rear cross-traffic alert as standard equipment.

While the October on-sale date will see the Mazda BT-50 ute arrive in Australia sooner than previously indicated -- but not as early as September, as our sources suggested -- the big news is the adoption of safety equipment that will increase the ute’s appeal to a broader buyer demographic.

The 2021 Mazda BT-50 is essentially a re-skinned Isuzu D-MAX ute (previously it was a re-skinned Ford Ranger) with a redesigned body and interior, which means it’s almost certain to adopt eight airbags including the D-MAX's first-in-class front-centre airbag designed to stop occupants' heads clashing in the event of side impact collision.

A more powerful new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine (140kW/450Nm) offered with six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions will propel the new Mazda pick-up truck. Despite having less power than the outgoing model, Mazda claims the new BT-50 ute is faster than the model it replaces.

It will also maintain its 3500kg maximum towing capacity and one-tonne-plus tray payload.

Other safety upgrades that have not been confirmed by Mazda but are expected to make the migration from D-MAX to BT-50 include a fatigue alert system to warn drivers when they might get drowsy, post-collision braking and traffic sign recognition. The latter works in conjunction with an intelligent speed-limiter ensure the cruise control system adheres to the legal speed limit.

Along with a fancy new 9.0-inch touch-screen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the new Mazda BT-50 is shaping up to be one of the most advanced utes on the market alongside the D-MAX.

Utes now account for around a fifth of all new vehicles sales in Australia and their popularity is only set to increase as a flurry of new models attract more buyers by increasing technology and refinement levels and reducing fuel consumption.

The top-selling Toyota HiLux gets a major facelift late this month, the all-new Isuzu D-MAX arrives in early September and a revamped Nissan Navara is coming in November, before the new Great Wall dual-cab ute arrives from China in early 2021.

New-generation Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok models, which will share their new Australian-developed ladder frame, will follow from 2022.

As with all new Mazda vehicles, the 2021 Mazda BT-50 gets a five-year, unlimited kilometre factory warranty as well as ‘transparent’ service pricing (but not  capped-price servicing per se).

It’s understood that pricing, specifications and available body styles will be announced in September, a week or two before the new Mazda BT-50 rolls into dealerships nationwide.

However, the most popular dual-cab versions will be offered first, with single-cab and Freestyle extra-cab BT-50 utes to follow next year.

Expect prices to increases to accompany the uptick in standard equipment levels. Currently, the outgoing Mazda BT-50 is priced between $40,000 for the entry-level BT-50 XT 4x2 manual cab-chassis and $63,250 for the flagship Boss 4x4 auto.