2016 Mazda Mazda5 Reviews

A fresh round of real world tests from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) has detected several cars that use a lot more fuel than claimed.

The Mazda BT-50 is the under-rated star of the Japanese brand's line-up. Often overshadowed by its SUV siblings, the 'black sheep' of the Mazda family is actually one of its best-sellers.It has been updated for 2025, with a fresh look to try and attract more ute buyers who prefer a tough-looking truck. We put it through its paces on- and off-road to see how this new model stacks up.

We do more kilometres in January than any other month. That's because like every other Aussie family over Christmas and the school holidays we pile into the car and hit the road.

Mazda's best shot at taking down the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is shaping up, with recent spy pictures inspiring new Mazda CX-5 Hybrid renders that have the next-gen SUV looking sleek and sexy.

Mazda could have an electric SUV to rival the Tesla Model Y on the horizon, and it might be headed here sooner than we think.

Inflation is the economic effect of prices increasing over time, this impacts every item across society. But as I’m a motoring journalist and don’t have a PhD in economics (like my father did), so I’m going to stick to cars.

Mazda has given its BT-50 workhorse a major upgrade.The BT-50 is a twin under the skin with the Isuzu D-Max but has Mazda’s very distinctive design language applied.New styling toughens up the BT-50’s appeal. It has a new bumper, grille, larger Mazda badge and new-look LED lights.These changes are joined by fresh looking wheels, side body cladding and a re-worked rear end.The base XS grade arrives priced from $36,400 (before on-road costs), which is about $1000 more than the outgoing version.It is only available in a single cab chassis layout and is the only model in the line-up powered by a 1.9-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine that makes 110kW and 350Nm. This is paired with a six-speed automatic and two-wheel drive.Mazda has deleted manual transmissions from the BT-50 line-up.The XS comes with 17-inch steel wheels, cloth seats, an eight-inch multimedia touchscreen and safety tech such as auto emergency braking, rear cross traffic alert and a reversing camera.Next up is the XT grade, which is available in single cab, freestyle cab and dual-cab body styles.All XT variants are powered by the same 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine as before, which makes 140kW and 450Nm. This is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and buyers can choose between two- or four-wheel drive.The XT grade swaps out the steelies from the XS for alloy wheels of the same size. Four-wheel drive variants have a locking rear differential and rough terrain mode. Dual cab versions have rear aircon vents and pick-up shaped variants have tailgate assist and rear parking sensors.For a full list of prices for the XT, refer to the table below.Next up is the XTR grade that is only available in a dual-cab body with the choice of a cab chassis or pick-up rear. It uses the same 3.0-litre motor and is available with two- or four-wheel drive.It steps up its game with 18-inch alloy wheels, front LED fog lights, side steps, folding side mirrors, daytime running lights.Inside buyers can expect a nine-inch multimedia touchscreen, dual zone air conditioning, satnav, tyre pressure monitoring.Pick-up shaped XTRs have a tow bar and a tub liner.For a full list of XTR prices, see the table below.The GT grade is only available in four-wheel drive, and is available ith either a cab chassis or pick-up back end.It has heated exterior mirrors, leather wrapped seats that are power adjustable for the driver, both front seats have a heating function and there are front parking sensors and a remote engine starting function.The top-spec SP is only available as a pick-up shape with four-wheel drive.It has a range of exterior styling tweaks compared to the GT. These include 18-inch gloss black alloy wheels and gloss black highlights all over, a roller tonneau cover and synthetic leather and suede wrapped seats.Prices listed are before on-road costs

Kia set a sales record in Australia last year and the company’s boss has plans to smash that record again in 2025.

We now have a better idea than ever what the new Mazda CX-5’s hybrid engine will look like thanks to new patent filings.  Japanese publication BestCar unearthed patents from Mazda in December last year and has broken them down, giving us an idea of what to expect ahead of the new CX-5 replacement’s debut, which is expected for the third quarter of 2025. 

Another blow dished out for the family sedan and wagon, Mazda has officially retired the iconic 6 after 22 years in market.