Bay Harbour: November 08, 2023

20 Bay Harbour News Wednesday November 8 2023
Does Mazda’s 1.9-litre diesel turbo deliver?
MAZDA IS hoping for an uplift
in buyer interest in two of the
most affordable versions of its
BT-50 Ute, as it feels the sales
heat from a host fresh faced rivals
including the latest Ford Ranger.
Their response to this challenge
is a new 1.9 litre turbo-diesel
motor for its price leading 2WD
GSX and GTX double cabs, the
only body style offered here.
Can this motor, with its modest
engine capacity and power
output, add more spring to the
BT50’s sales step, which has been
a bit flat footed of late?
Let’s refresh your memory,
after all the latest BT50 has been
around since early 2021. Apart
from cosmetic differences, it is a
rebadged Isuzu D-Max. The two
companies signed up to a model
sharing arrangement, once
they parted company with their
previous model share partners
Ford and Holden.
Offering a 1.9 litre turbo diesel
gives the BT50 a major point of
difference over its rivals with
its low CO2 output of 205g/km.
Mazda claim it’s the lowest CO2
figure of any diesel double cab
Ute on our market. This means it
attracts a lower government clean
car fee than most of it rivals.
Many of them are feeling the
pain of higher fees that came into
Motoring with Bob Nettleton
force on 1 July, adding in many
instances anywhere between $5-
6k to the price of some models.
That’s a real affordability body
blow for several Utes compared
to the fee they faced pre-1 July.
There was the expected mad
scramble, as people raced to
register their new Ute to head-off
the heftier fees now at play in
our diesel Ute arena. This has
distorted the market to some
degree by dragging forward
by months thousand of new
Ute sales. These will lose some
momentum between now and the
end of the year as our economy
continues to slow.
When it comes to clean car
fees the 1.9 litre motor saves a
fair wad of your hard earned
cash compared to the 3.0 litre
turbo diesel in its AWD sibling.
The smaller 1.9 litre power plant
incurs a $1,868 fee, which is
$3,767 less than what you will be
hit with for the 3.0 litre engine
found in the AWD BT50.
This new smaller motor
capacity is exclusive to the price
leading GSX and mid-spec GTX
2WD. The GSX supplied for this
road test heads the BT50’s value
for money charge at $48,740
plus the clean car fee with the
more generously appointed
GTX retailing for $52,740. A
decent deal sweetener is a 5
year/150,000km new vehicle
warranty and $250 fixed price
servicing for the same period and
distance. A freebie lobbed in for
good measure, is unlimited km
5-year Mazda On-Call Roadside
Assistance.
This frugal four-cylinder
turbo diesel is feisty enough with
110kW of power and 350Nm of
torque. The latter is about 100nm
down on the larger 3.0-litre put
to work in AWD BT50’s. Despite
less power and torque its towing
capabilities are only marginally
down on these models at 3,000kg
braked or 750kg unbraked.
Maximum payload increases to
1150kg for the 2WD GSX and
1,130kg for the GTX.
The Isuzu sourced 1.9-litre
“It’s a tough wee motor, yet unexpectedly
smooth and refined.”
is widely used in BT50 and
D-Max models sold in Southeast
Asian markets, including
Thailand where both models
are produced. It’s a tough wee
motor, yet unexpectedly smooth
and refined. Acceleration from
standing starts and in-gear is
brisk, but you are always aware
that with its modest engine
capacity, it has to work harder
for the same results delivered by
the larger diesels powering in
its competitors. Enabling it to
punch above its weight is a smart
six-speed automatic well versed
in selecting the right gear at the
right time.
A generously proportioned
cabin has plenty of front and
rear legroom, while the seats
are supportive and comfy. The
instruments and controls for key
functions such as lights, wipers
and indicators are easy to operate
and read.
Visibility from the elevated
seating position is hard to fault
and for a long vehicle this one
proved easier to park than I
thought it would be. An excellent
reversing camera and its parking
guides make squeezing in and
out of tight parks a drama free
exercise. For a price-driven
model the GSX lacks for little in
the way of features and driver
creature comforts. A touch
screen infotainment system
supports both Apple CarPlay
and Android Auto, with a multiinformation
display providing
key driving information are
standard.
All BT-50’s have a 5-Star
ANCAP Safety Rating under a
more demanding testing regime
introduced in 2022. This is the
first BT50 fitted with a driver
knee airbag and a driver’s farside
air bag. Anti-whiplash front
seats reduce the severity of neck
injuries in a rear end impact.
There’s greater pedestrian
protection from a more human
friendly bonnet designed to
reduce injury in a crash.
This model adds more pages to
the BT50 safety success story led
by a host of class-leading active
safety technologies to help keep
the driver out of trouble. These
include Autonomous Emergency
Braking with Pedestrian/Cyclist
Detection, Adaptive Cruise
Control, Blind Spot Monitoring,
and Lane Departure Warning.
The delicate balance between
ride comfort and road holding is
right on the mark and as good as
you will find among the current
crop of Utes. This has been
achieved without compromising
the vehicles durability and
strength, with the GSX offering
plenty of both. With the BT-50
you get as standard class leading
suspension refinement, although
the firmer rear spring settings
make its low-speed ride over
uneven surfaces fidgety.
The test Ute cornered
confidently, with the experience
made more enjoyable by well
weighted and communicative
steering.
Rating out of 10: Performance 6; Handling 7;
Build Quality 7; Comfort 7; Space 7; Styling 6; Test
consumption 7.8L/100km; Value for money 6; Safety –
5-star ANCAP crash rating.
Overall points out of 10: 6.5
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