Bumpy ride holds back new Mazda BT-50 in bakkie war

It just wouldn’t be right to start a driving impression on the new Mazda BT-50 without tackling the elephant in the room first. The suspension.

Unlike a 2 000-word press release from Mazda Southern Africa introducing the latest reincarnation of its double cab that even mentions “balanced dome tweeters” and not the suspension, we simply can’t stay mum on this weighty issue. 

A mover and a shaker

To put it mildly, the suspension of the 1.9TD Active manual we had on test did not live up to our expectations of a vehicle that was recently designed from the ground up.

The rattles and shakes inside the cabin remind of an agricultural offering from a bygone era, and that is on decent tarred roads! It is so bad that two kilometers into their first trip in the BT-50 two primary school children on the rear seat were enquiring about the unusual bumpy ride.

What makes it hard to comprehend is that the new BT-50 is built by Isuzu, which is a breakaway from Mazda’s previous partnership with Ford.

Surely Isuzu, South Africa’s third best-selling bakkie brand, can’t introduce its all-new D-Max next year with a suspension made up of Macpherson struts in the front and leaf spring axles in the rear this questionable? But only time will provide the answer to that question. For now, all we can do is report on the BT-50.

A lot of bakkie

In stark contrast to the suspension, the rest of the bakkie offers a compelling package. Its exterior is eye-catching with the distinctive grille reminiscent of the brand’s SUV offerings, the interior is quite refined for something that can carry cattle on the back and the 1.9-litre mill surprisingly sprightly.

The four-cylinder 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine, also made by Isuzu, produces 110 kW and power and 350 Nm of torque. This is sent to the rear wheels via six-speed manual gearbox.

The gear ratios are old-school bakkie short and requires a few shifts to get going. After that you reap the rewards from the pleasant pulling power and wide rpm range in third and fourth gear.

ALSO READ: How new Mazda BT-50 stacks up against Ranger, Hilux and others

While downshifting is required to keep it on the boil going up hills and during overtakes, the ambitious oil burner easily deals with increased demands.

We also thought the fuel consumption of 9.0 L/100 km achieved over 235 km was excellent for a 1.8-ton machine since we made no attempt to drive it economically.

Plush cabin

Inside the cabin, Mazda followed the philosophy of trying to make the BT-50 as comfortable and plush as one of their renowned SUV offerings. While the base model only offers fabric seats, the dash, instrument cluster hood and “kneepads” around the centre console benefits from quality soft touch padding together with fine stitching.

In Active guise, standard features include a seven-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay (wireless), Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity, a 4.2-inch informational display, six-speaker sound system, six-way driver’s seat adjustment, two USB ports, multi-function steering wheel and reverse camera.

Passengers in the rear have the benefit of their own air ducts and a USB charging port.

Safety first

The new Mazda BT-50 includes as standard specifications across the range an impressive list of safety equipment which auto door lock, a reverse camera, keyless entry and seven airbags.

It also comes with ABS and EBD plus Dynamic Stability Control, which includes Traction Control System, Hill Launch Assist, Hill Descent Control, Roll Over Mitigation and Trailer Sway Mitigation. In rear-wheel guise it also features a locking rear differential.

Standard exterior specification includes 17-inch allow wheels, daytime running lamps, LED headlights and LED fog lamps.

Conclusion

While the BT-50’s decent set of standard specifications makes it a bakkie that can be utilise for both work and leisure, this does compensate for its major flaw. The questionable suspension is a crack too big for any amount of specification level to paper over.

At a price of R611 900, the Mazda BT-50 1.9 TD Active should have made a stronger case in luring customers away from the usual suspects like Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger on the bakkie landscape. But in reality, even with a better suspension, it would in likelihood have struggled to become a proper left-field choice at best.

More than half a million rand can make serious inroads and buy automatic transmission and four-wheel-drive systems in the major players’ stables. Not even to mention comprehensive Chinese and Indian offerings which comes in much more affordable.

For more information on the Mazda BT-50, click here.