Melbourne, Australia - Mazda’s new-generation BT-50 has been revealed, featuring its new Isuzu D-Max underpinnings, but thankfully this bakkie partnership is not a classic case of badge engineering.
Look close enough and you are going to see similarities - the basic body shape is shared, which makes sense because making those kinds of changes would have been extremely costly, but the 2020 Mazda BT-50 does get a completely unique front end, and it looks exactly like you’d expect a modern Mazda bakkie to look, with a 'Kodo style' design clearly influenced by the CX-5 SUV.
The changes are less radical round back, but the Mazda BT-50 still gets a unique taillight design and the creases on the tailgate differ too.
Inside the Mazda has a unique upper dashboard design and steering wheel, while the lower dash and most other bits and pieces are shared with the Isuzu, including the new 23cm touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which debuted in the D-Max.
As expected, the powerplant is straight out of the Isuzu D-Max, this being the new 3-litre turbodiesel unit that pushes out 140kW and 450Nm, which is slightly down on the previous BT-50’s Ford-sourced 3.2-litre unit. Mazda is, however, promising a “significant improvement” in fuel economy.
Mazda also lists a payload of over one tonne and a braked towing capacity of 3500kg.
The Australian-spec BT-50 that was revealed on Wednesday comes with a wide array of advanced safety features as standard, including Adaptive Cruise Control, Auto Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
The South African spec sheet will be revealed closer to launch, Mazda SA says.
Below is a walk-around video, courtesy of
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“Developed in partnership with Isuzu Motor Limited, Brand-New Mazda BT-50 boasts the renowned capability and reliability the Isuzu brand enjoys in the light commercial segment, with the striking design and leading safety credentials available on the rest of the Mazda range,” Mazda said at the reveal.
But will this be a match made in heaven for Mazda customers? Only time will tell.
