2021 Mazda BT-50 Reviews

Are you planning on buying a ute for your family? Maybe you’ve got double use for it, like you need it for work to transport things around and you’re wondering how good of a family car it can make. We’ve got two utes here, the Mazda BT-50 and the Isuzu D-Max, and I’m going to talk you through which is the best buy for a family.I've already tested both of these utes separately, and we’ve put them together here to give you a really good idea of how they compare, and what they're like to live with.The Mazda is the middle of the range BT-50 XTR which costs around 57 grand, before on-road costs. This Isuzu is the top of the range X-Terrain and costs just under $60 grand drive-away. So, similar pricing, but what do you get for your moolah? Let’s get into it. 

The BT-50 has attracted its fair share of fans over the years, and now Mazda is aiming to build on that popularity with its new accessories-loaded range-topper, the Thunder. This 4WD dual-cab ute, available in manual or auto, is positioned to tackle the lucrative slice of the market that is devoted to people who like their off-road tourers to emerge from the showroom ready for action.

Mazda's release of its all-new BT-50 dual cab ute in September 2020 was followed in November by single cab and extended cab (aka Freestyle Cab) variants. Like their dual cab siblings, these work-focused commercials share mechanical underpinnings with the latest Isuzu D-Max range from which the BT-50 is largely derived.

Work utes like the Mazda BT-50 Single Cab Chassis used to be pretty affordable, because they represented basic options designed for one thing only - loaded up driving. Now, however, safety equipment, new technology and comfort are all considerations, so the new-generation Mazda BT-50 single cab work ute is a lot more expensive and content rich than before. Is it any good at hard work, though?

The new Mazda BT50 looks less like a truck, more like a car, but still functions like a ute with all the practicality of one.

The Mazda BT-50 2021 range only arrived in dual cab guise, with the other models - single cab and extra cab - to follow. But that didn't stop us doing a tradie test with our recent BT-50 XT manual dual cab pick-up.

Mazda's BT-50, once based on the Ford Ranger platform, is now essentially an all-new Isuzu D-Max with Mazda styling. As well, the new ute has a new look, a new engine (producing less power and torque than in the previous-generation BT-50), and it has a market-leading level of safety tech.The new D-Max has impressed us, but how will the BT-50, effectively the Isuzu's twin, perform on- and off-road?

The ute scene has seen some action in 2020, with the launch of an all-new Isuzu D-Max which is now paired to a brand-new Mazda BT-50. Those two fresh young things are up against the stalwart king of the dual cab utes - the Ford Ranger - in this comparison test. It's a very tight contest.

The Mazda BT-50 XT trim line is the broadest offering in the new ute’s model range, and it will get even broader once the single- and extra-cab models arrive. Here we’re only covering off the dual cab versions, as that’s what’s launching first.

Second model up the 2021 Mazda BT-50 range is the XTR. It forms the middle rung of the ladder for the now-based-on-the-Isuzu-D-Max ute.