The long awaited reveal and pricing of the all-new Mazda BT-50 this past Wednesday brought an end to an extensive waiting period for Hiroshima’s now very much left-field bakkie offering. But is its chances in a market dominated by the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger?
Relegated to a small time player along with the Mitsubishi Triton with monthly sales often struggling to exceed 50 units, the first Mazda bakkie not to spawn a Ford derivative since the original B-Series bowed in 1961 debuts as a double cab model only. Its underpinnings are the same as that of the Isuzu D-Max South Africa will be getting next year.
ALSO READ: Finally here: Long awaited, all-new Mazda BT-50 priced
Unlike the D-Max though, which will be built locally at Isuzu’s Port Elizabeth Plant, the Mazda BT-50 will remain a captive import sourced from Thailand with the line-up comprising four models powered by a choice of two Isuzu-made turbodiesel engines.
With pricing from R611 900, here is how the Mazda BT-50 stacks up against its similarly priced rival from Toyota, Ford, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mitsubishi and GWM.
As mentioned, the Mazda BT-50 swaps its predecessor’s 2.2 and 3.2-litre Ford Puma engines for Isuzu’s 1.9-litre RZ4-TE that produces 110kW/350Nm and the 3.0-litre 4JJ3-TCX rated at 140kW/450Nm.
Two transmissions are offered; a six-speed manual only on the 1.9 and a six-speed automatic that serves as option but which is standard fare on the 3.0-litre.
Rivals to the Mazda BT-50 include:
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission |
| 2.4 GD-6 | 110 kW | 400 Nm | six-speed manual six-speed automatic |
| 2.8 GD-6 | 150 kW | 500 Nm | six-speed automatic |
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission |
| 2.2 TDCi | 118 kW | 385 Nm | six-speed manual six-speed automatic |
| 3.2 TDCi | 147 kW | 470 Nm | six-speed automatic |
| 2.0 SiT | 132 kW | 420 Nm | ten-speed automatic |
| 2.0 BiT | 157 kW | 500 Nm | ten-speed automatic |
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission |
| 2.0 | 120 kW | 400 Nm | six-speed manual eight-speed automatic |
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission |
| 2.5 D-TEQ | 100 kW | 320 Nm | five-speed manual five-speed automatic |
| 3.0 D-TEQ | 130 kW | 380 Nm | six-speed manual six-speed automatic |
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission |
| 2.4 DI-D | 133 kW | 430 Nm | six-speed manual six-speed automatic |
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission |
| 2.5 dCi | 120 kW 140 kW | 403 Nm 450 Nm | six-speed manual seven-speed automatic |
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission |
| 2.0 BiTDI | 132 kW | 420 Nm | eight-speed Tiptronic |
| 3.0 TDI | 190 kW | 580 Nm | eight-speed Tiptronic |
Aimed at the upper-end of the market, the Mazda BT-50 line-up kicks-off at R611 900 as mentioned for the entry-level 1.9 Active and ends at R794 400 for the range-topping 3.0 Individual 4×4 AT.
Excluding the workhorse-spec XL and the off-road focused Raptor, the Ford Ranger range starts at R531 700 for the 2.2 XLS and tops-out at R797 500 for the 2.0 BiT Wildtrak 4×4, while comparative Toyota Hilux pricing kicks-off at R520 500 for the 2.4 GD-6 Raider and ends at R861 600 for the 2.8 GD-6 Legend RS 4×4 AT.
Third in-line, the aging D-Max retails from R511 600 for the 250 LE AT to R728 200 for the 300 LX 4×4 AT with the P-Series starting from a bargain R397 900 for the 2.0 DLX and ending at a steal of R554 900 for the 2.0 LT 4×4 AT.
Now locally built, the Navara ranges from R474 000 for the 120 kW SE to R740 000 for the 140 kW Pro-4X AT with the Triton starting at R574 995 and ending at R654 995 for the 4×4 automatic.
Lastly, the Amarok top the list of the country’s most expensive bakkie with the 2.0 BiTDI Highline Tiptronic retailing from R719 600 and the top-spec 3.0 TDI Extreme 4Motion Tiptronic from R996 000.
For more information on the new Mazda BT-50, click here.
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