Mazda BT-50 vs Chevrolet Corvette

What's the difference?

Key to the success of the BT-50 XS will be acceptance by fleet buyers. The vehicle, however, seems to be pretty well considered as far as that goes, although as with any stripped-down model, there are features that will be missed. Things like the manual air-conditioning probably won’t make much difference, but the lack of a tyre pressure monitoring system is a bigger issue for a working vehicle. Performance from the smaller engine is still well within acceptable parameters, but we reckon any buyer considering using much of the 3500kg touring capacity would be better off with the 3.0-litre engine offered in the rest of the BT-50 range.

The Mazda is not the best riding of its ilk, and there are competitors with bigger cabins, although, notably, at this point on the pricing ladder, these are often from China rather than Thailand where the Mazda is built. Ultimately it will come down to whether the smaller engine and reduced performance is an issue and also whether the money saved over the bigger-engined BT-50 is enough to justify that and the loss of some creature comforts. But since fleet managers are notoriously hard-nosed about this stuff, there’s a good chance to BT-50 XS will find a market.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is truly a supercar offering outstanding dynamics for a lot less money being asked by European rivals - just make sure it's not your only car for those times when you're in a hurry.

Targeting tradies and fleet customers has meant Mazda has embraced the concept of factory accessories. Right now, there are options for tougher front bumpers, bull-bars, snorkels, drop-side trays, an awning, wheel-arch flares (for bigger, aftermarket wheel and tyre packages) driving lights, roof racks, canopies, tub-drawer systems and even a dual battery set-up. All these factory options carry the full Mazda warranty.

But Mazda has gone even further with accessory packs aimed directly at different fleet markets. For instance, there’s the Mine-Spec Pack which incorporates a park-brake alarm, high-mounted brake lights, a reversing buzzer, work-lights, LED rear lighting and pre-wired switches for auxiliary and beacon lighting.

Externally, Mazda's design brief for the BT-50 has clearly been to not frighten the horses. But it's better than that, because it has actually emerged as one of the better looking utes out there. In XS trim, even the steel wheels add a no-nonsense flavour to the overall effect. And where some of the competition appear to be trying very hard to ape the full-sized US-made pick-ups, the Mazda is its own thing.

Inside, the smaller info screens and simple layout in basic black tell the budget story. At the same time, there's a lot to like in terms of the clear, simple analogue gauges and the no-fuss controls including the conventional T-bar, park-brake and ignition key. There's a look and feel that also suggests this is a ute that should be able to take a few knocks in the course of earning a living.

We’re talking about the closest thing to a real-life Hot Wheels car here. See, while Ferraris look elegant to me like expensive jewellery, Lambourghinis like cheese graters and McLaren’s look like slippery alien spacecraft, the Corvette Z06 looks exactly like an American supercar should - an unapologetic, ludicrous beast. And I love that. 

Dialing up the wild is that enormous carbon wing and front splitter with dive planes thanks to the Z07 package. Just a word of warning, though, the front splitter and dive planes stick out not just visually, but in the sense that I walked into them often and my ankles still have the scars.

I can’t recall the last time I drove a car with carbon-fibre wheels either - these are the biggest rims fitted to a Corvette and they’re wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R ultra performance tyres (275/30ZR20 front and 345/25ZR21 rear) that they look like oil drums on their sides.

The best angle? The rear - straight on. Those headlights. 

Wait, no, it’s from above - so you can see the V8 through the glass hatch.

Or it could be front-on looking like a giant shovel.. 

OK, there are no bad angles.. 

The Corvette Z06 is long at 4734mm end-to-end, broad at 2024mm wide and its height is a both a sitting-on-the-road-low and numerically pleasing 1234mm.

The plainness of the cabin might be a let down to some people after all the exterior wildness. Ferraris and Lambourghis offer extravagant and exotic interiors, but the Corvette’s innards are almost completely void of flare. 

The media screen is small (8.0 inches), switches and controls for windows and air vents are basic, and the huge dividing ‘wall’ between the pilot and passenger might be a bit much for some.

That ‘wall’ is dotted with buttons and while it may look very 'fighter jet cockpit', they’re just climate control switches. Sitting in the passenger seat is a lonely place with no screen visibility nor easy access to controls - I'd actually call this out as a bit of a fail compared to the interiors from Porsche, Audi and Lamborghini with their screen-filled cabins offering co-pilots something to do.

Yes, it feels a bit premium with the Nappa leather and the sports seats, but it could feel more special.

All of this plainness, however, is saved from boredom by the glass window behind the seats allowing you to peer into the engine bay at the V8 like at a reptile enclosure at the zoo.

With a choice of cab-chassis of pick-up tub, not to mention the option of a single or dual-cab body in cab-chassis form, the XS allows for a fair bit of creativity in how it’s configured. The cab-chassis, for instance, will accept a conventional drop-side alloy tray or any number of service body configurations right up to camper bodies.

The stock tub on the pick-up version gets a drop-in liner but there’s no power outlet or light that some of the competition offer. The tie-down points are also a bit disappointing with two lower points in the rear of the tub and a pair of higher points in the front. Experience tells us that high-mounted tie-down points are vastly less practical than anchor points mounted close to the cargo floor.

The move to the larger engine has, however, increased the Mazda’s towing ability. From the previous version’s 3000kg towing limit, the new 2.2 can now legally tow 3500kg (with a braked trailer and approved tow-hitch). Payloads vary according to specification, but range from about 1000kg right up to 1379kg for the XS singe-cab-chassis.

The factory-option drop-side tray carries it’s load up high, but offers a flat floor with no wheel-arch intrusions. The standard tub is not as large in any direction, but does have a damped tailgate for safety (you can’t drop it) and convenience (the gas struts help raise it).

In the cabin, you get USB charging ports (two in the front, one in the rear seat) and there are central air-vents for the rear seat of dual-cab models. The dual-cab also has an under-seat storage area, two gloveboxes and a 60/40 split fold rear bench. The doors feature bottle holders and there’s a flip-down glasses compartment in the roof lining.

While the front seats are comfy enough for bigger drivers, the rear seat also goes against dual-cab tradition a little by having plenty of room in every direction, as well as a rational seat-back angle.

Supercars don’t tend to be built with practicality as a priority but this two-door, two-seat beastie is spacious enough even for me at 185cm tall with plenty of room in the footwell and loads of elbow-, knee-, and headroom. 

Cabin storage is limited to a glove box, door pockets, two cupholders, and a wireless phone charger on the bulkhead behind the seats.

As you can see from the images there’s a boot at the rear which will fit smaller bags and a small boot in the front.

I did the school run in the Corvette a few times (I know, lucky kid) and I can tell you a bass guitar in its case and a school bag, plus my own large handbag make for a cramped cabin. A Kia Carnival the Corvette ain’t, but it’s not trying to be one and compared to its rivals it does well for practicality.

Almost never does a car with a list price of almost $400K get full marks, but here we are and I’ll tell you why. The Corvette Z06 in its standard form lists for $336,000 and this is outstanding value compared to its supercar rivals such as the Ferrari F8 Tributo for $484,888, or a McLaren 750S for $585,800 or even an entry-grade Lamborghini Huracan, the EVO, for $383,187. 

Australia gets the top 3LZ trim, with the local standard features list for the Corvette Z06 including Nappa leather upholstery, GT2 bucket seats, a 12-inch digital instrument display, a 14-speaker Bose sound system, red seat belts, wireless phone charging, carbon-fibre and suede microfibre trimmed steering wheel, a media system with sat-nav plus wireless Apple CarsPlay and Android Auto, power seats, heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control,  heated and ventilated seats and a head-up display.

Our test car was fitted with plenty of options including the Z07 Performance Package that brings carbon-fibre everything. We’re talking the enormous carbon-fibre rear wing and aero kit with side skirts and a front splitter with dive planes –and there are the carbon-fibre wheels (20-inch at the front and 21-inch at the rear). 

The Z07 package also brings a more hardcore suspension tune and carbon ceramic brakes for ridiculously good stopping power.

The Z06 has the most powerful V8 engine in the Corvette range, too, and we'll get to that soon.

The new engine capacity of 2.2 litres is up from the 1.9 of the previous XS version but still well short of the 3.0 litres of the more expensive BT-50 versions. And the specifications are pretty much exactly what you’d expect with the new 2.2 just about splitting the difference between the old 1.9 and the 3.0.

In this case, that equates to 120kW of power and 400Nm of torque, while the 1.9 was good for 110kW and 350Nm, and the 3.0 sports 140kW and 450Nm. So, yep, somewhere right about the middle. And that makes sense given the new 2.2 uses the basic mechanical architecture of the 1.9.

But the switch up to the new engine brings one very important change and that’s the adoption of an eight-speed automatic to replace the six-speed unit fitted to the previous XS and the other BT-50s. That has an obvious potential benefit for drivability, but also for fuel economy.

Mazda has also added stop-start tech to the XS in the name of efficiency. But, as we’ve found many times before, the fuel economy benefits seem restricted to the official test results rather than the real world where this technology serves to annoy many drivers more than anything else.

If you opt or the four-wheel-drive variants, you’ll get a rear diff lock but you miss out on an on-road 4x4 setting. Considering the 2.2-litre’s newfound towing capacity (the full 3500kg of the competition), that lack of a 4x4 Auto setting is a shame, but not an unexpected one at this price-point.

The 5.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 in the Z06 makes 475kW and 595Nm. That’s a lot more power than the Corvette Stingray’s V8, which produces 369kW. The GT3 racecar version of the Z06 uses a derived version of the 5.5-litre V8, and actually it shares 70 per cent of the engineering components. 

Revving to a high 8600rpm the Z06’s V8 lets out a high-pitched scream when pushed hard, much like a Ferrari because like many Ferraris the Z06 has a flatplane crank V8 - actually it’s one of the largest flatplane V8s to go into a production car.  

Corvettes are now mid-engined cars and the Z06 has an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission that changes gears quicker than I can blink, sending all that mumbo straight to the rear wheels.

Acceleration comes hard, fast and loud with the Z06 able to boot itself from 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds. That beautifully linear acceleration with no turbos will pull you all the way towards its top speed of 313km/h.

While one of the expected benefits of the 2.2-litre engine compared with the three-litre unit is a reduction in fuel consumption, the new 2.2 engine goes one big step further by actually being more frugal than the 1.9-litre engine it replaces. Well, in terms of the official government test, anyway.

The single cab-chassis model in new 2.2-litre, two-wheel-drive form posted a combined (urban-highway) fuel number of a creditable 6.9 litres per 100km. Compared with the mechanically similar 1.9 single cab-chassis, that’s a saving of 0.1 litres per kilometre, and a corresponding drop in tailpipe carbon emissions of 1 gram per kilometre.

To be honest, this small improvement is probably largely due to the stop-start system now fitted, which many drivers will turn off at the first opportunity. Even so, the new eight-speed transmission must also be playing a part, so let’s call the old and new engines line-ball in the real world.

The rest of the XS line-up scored official figures of 6.3 litres per 100km for the double-cab pick-up 4x2, 7.1 litres for the double cab-chassis 4x4 and 6.6 litres per 100km for the dual-cab pick-up 4x4.

With the BT-50’s standard 76-litre fuel tank, the theoretical range is more than 1000km. In reality, that’s going to be closer to 800km.

The BT-50 engines do not require AdBlue additive to reduce exhaust emissions.

As with practicality, fuel efficiency isn’t the Corvette’s priority and after driving it daily for a week in the suburbs, city and a few dashes out to more open country roads the Z06 was using an average of 23.8L/100km, according to the trip computer.

Luckily the fuel tank is pretty big at 70 litres and with an official combined fuel consumption of just under 16L/100km you have a range of 438km… in theory.

Striking the right balance between ride comfort and load-lugging capacity has always been the big trick with utes in general. The fact is, there’s probably no ideal setting, especially considering the range of payloads a ute can be expected to carry on any particular day. In the BT-50’s case, Mazda has opted to go for a stiffer suspension tune. That means it can technically tow and haul with the best of them, but it also dictates that ride quality is far from what you’d call plush, even in this market segment.

The ute handles bumps best when the undulations don’t come too hot and fast. But strike a patch of high-frequency lumps and bumps and the suspension, particularly at the rear, starts to pogo about with a corresponding decline in ride control. The steering, too, seems to lack a little feel and is relatively slow-geared (although that has its benefits off-road).

The engine certainly does the job in isolation, but it’s likely to struggle a little with the full three-and-a-half tonnes on the hitch. It’s pretty noisy, too, and definitely sounds like a diesel, unlike some modern diesel designs that are more refined. There’s also a sense that Mazda has ditched some of the sound deadening of other BT-50 models, as the engine is certainly heard and felt. The optional snorkel moves the induction noise right into the driver’s window when it’s open, too.

But the new eight-speed automatic transmission is a beauty. Upshifts are crisp and smooth and even the downshifts as you approach a full stop are measured and calibrated to never intrude. And it’s nice to see a conventional T-bar shifter with no separate park button or non-intuitive movements required.

We didn’t get a chance to try the BT-50’s off-road chops, but past experience tells us that the Mazda will be pretty good. As with many four-wheel-drive utes, the limiting factor will be the standard tyres fitted at the factory.

What the Corvette Z06 is like to drive really depends where you drive it. Our suburb has a ridiculous number of speed humps, which are like the Corvette Z06’s Kryptonite thanks to its very limited ground clearance and a carbon front splitter that almost skims the road at the best of times.

This made the Z06 one of the slowest fast cars I’ve ever piloted. My son would beg me to drive him to school in it, but the journey would take twice as long as we slowly eased over each hump while holding our breath. A lift system does raise the front of the vehicle but even then, don't breathe out.

The width and poor visibility made inching down narrow streets of parked cars a stressful exercise, too.

The Corvette Z06 is almost too much of a racecar to live with and then you let it free on an open country road and its purpose is clear - it runs like you wouldn’t believe and screams in delight all the way, while clamping itself to the road with sticky tyres, perfectly set up suspension and proper downforce.

Steering feels mainlined though to your nervous system, the pedals under your feel like your actual feet, and it all feels like a dream until you wake up again when you reach the city limits and round abouts, and traffic and yes, speed humps.

The Corvette Z06 clearly is a car that needs to be joined by other cars in your driveway, ones that don’t even notice speed humps.

Along with four airbags, the Corvette Z06 has AEB, forward collision alert, lane-keeping assistance, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, auto high beam headlights and adaptive cruise control.

An ANCAP safety rating doesn't exist for any member of the Corvette and will likely never due to low volume.

Mazda’s standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty applies to the BT-50 range, and includes the first five years of roadside assistance, too.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Capped-price servicing is available with the first five years of servicing costing $2188 on 4x2 versions and $2302 for 4x4 variants.

It’s worth mentioning that the BT-50’s new engine is Euro 5 compliant but doesn’t require AdBlue, reducing running costs.

GMSV covers the Corvette with a three-year/100,000km warranty which is short by current standards where carmakers typically offer a duration of five years/unlimited kilometres.

One of the appealing sides to the Corvette is that it’s made by a down-to-Earth American car company and a longer warranty offering peace of mind would seem more appropriate.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 12,000km, with capped-price servicing sadly unavailable.