Mazda confirms BT-50 powertrains

Light commercial vehicle buyers and ute aficionados will be spoiled for choice later in the year as the all-new Mazda BT-50 and Ford Ranger arrive in showrooms. And let's not forget the Volkswagen Amarok that is vying for the attentions of ute buyers.

Of the three fresh-faced 2011 model year utes coming to market, two will be identical in many ways except for aesthetics, as the Mazda BT-50 and Ford Ranger are built on the same T6 platform.

And we can now confirm they will be both be powered by identical engines; so fundamentally, buyers will choosing between a visual rather than a mechanical package. The new Mazda BT-50 will be arriving in Australia later this year.

Mazda Australia's national marketing manager, Alastair Doak, said that the new 3.2-litre and 2.5-litre turbodiesel engines that will reside under the bonnets of the BT-50 will offer improvements in refinement and performance: "Not only will these engines make for a more refined and responsive driving experience but customers will really notice the benefit during common scenarios such as towing or driving with heavy loads."

The most potent Mazda BT-50 ute will be powered by a 3.2-litre turbodiesel engine outputting 147kW/470Nm. The inline five-cylinder engine is substantially more powerful than the 3.0-litre engine it will replace, with improvements in power and torque of 28 and 24 per cent respectively.

Mazda reckons the new 3.2-litre oiler "has the grunt to handle even the toughest tasks" yet will be more efficient than its predecessor. Hooked up to new six-speed transmissions, offered in both manual and automatic, Mazda is yet to release official fuel economy figures.

The second engine that will be available with the new BT-50 is a 2.2-litre turbodiesel mill, which "has been designed to further improve efficiency" claims Mazda, but again no economy figures have been revealed by the Japanese marque.

Outputting 110kW/375Nm, the 2.2-litre turbodiesel replaces the current BT-50 ute's 2.5-litre powerplant, and hikes power by five per cent and torque by 14 per cent.

"Both new powertrains have been developed to ensure the all-new BT-50 delivers towing capacities never before seen on this type of vehicle," boasts Mazda in a press statement, failing to mention that the Ford Ranger will tow exactly the same amounts when it arrives in the market.

For the record, the Mazda BT-50 equipped with the 3.2-litre turbodiesel engine can tow up to 3350kg, with either automatic or manual transmissions. This represents a 350kg increase over the current BT-50.

Mazda BT-50s equipped with the 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine can tow up to 2500kg, some 250kg more than the current 2.5-litre BT-50 ute.

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