Mazda BT-50 Boss review

In the pecking order of Mazda’s BT-50 ute, the Boss is getting towards the top.

It’s a new model grade introduced this year, taking the total number of variants to 20 — with a choice of two diesel engines and two drivetrains, all with six-speed auto transmission.

The range starts with the 2.2-litre diesel 4x2 single chassis XS, which is $38,400 RRP (the dual cab 4x4 XS is $56,692).

Top dog is the 3.0-litre 4x4 dual cab pick-up Thunder, priced at $79,490 RRP.

The 3.0-litre 4x4 Boss, which I have here, is $60,220 RRP, excluding on-road costs.

In the scheme of things, Australia’s top-selling 4x4 utes this year are the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger (which had 13,907 recalls last month), followed by the Isuzu D-Max, BYD Shark 6 and Mitsubishi Triton — in that order.

What’s it like?

The current, third-generation, BT-50 launched in 2020 and shares a platform — and engine — with the Isuzu D-Max, which means, from a technical point of view, it doesn’t use Mazda’s in-house SkyActiv systems.

First thing I notice in the Boss is that there’s no vanity mirror on the driver’s sun visor; only the passenger side gets one.

But the cabin is spacious with lots of shoulder room and the finish, practical, with cloth seats that could, however, do with a bit more padding.

You get key start, a traditional handbrake and an eight-inch infotainment screen with Bluetooth connectivity, so I have Apple CarPlay up. It drops out intermittently, but reconnects itself, and the generic six-speaker audio is pretty good.

The Boss features the standard equipment of XT grades, plus gloss black door and tailgate handles, gloss black exterior mirrors and a black steel sports bar.

In addition to the styling enhancements, it also gets standard fitment of a tub liner, and side steps — which, at 159.5cm, I need, otherwise I’d have to clamber in.

There’s no wireless charging in this grade and only a reversing camera with rear parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert.

The first time I go to reverse park it, it slams on the brakes. Hard. Fair enough, this happens in just about any car with reverse auto braking.

I get out to check.

There’s nothing behind me, only the shadow of a man, staring, hands on hips, voiced raised, telling me I don’t know what I’m doing . . .

Of course, I don’t. I’m a woman driving a ute.

XTR, GT and SP pick-up variants get a 360-degree camera.

Visibility is otherwise good because you’re sitting up high.

The lowdown

+ Engine: 3.0 litre four-cylinder diesel

+ Outputs: 140kW of power and 450Nm of torque

+ Transmission: 6-speed automatic

+ Fuel tank capacity: 76 litres

+ Fuel consumption: 7.1 litres/100km

+ Kerb weight: 2015kg

+ Maximum payload: 1034kg

+ Braked towing capacity: 3500kg

The drive

It’s got a selectable transfer case with 4-high and 4-low for off-roading, but otherwise drive is sent to the rear wheels in 2-high for everyday commutes.

Sure, it gets you from A to B and steering is easy enough, but it’s not a road-trip ute.

Workhorse? Definitely.

Doing 450km return to Dryandra Woodland in search of numbats — WA’s official animal emblem, which we find, including one with an unusual, curled, “cinnamon-scroll” tail — is tiring.

I stay in 2-high, but wind noise over side mirrors at 110km/h is unrelenting, suspension is harsh and the auto stop-start, brutal — so I turn it off. But you have to do this every time you restart the car.

I use 4-high on loose gravel tracks (because I can); otherwise there’s no need for 4-low.

Really, you could do this trip in your Camry.

Yeah, I should have loaded up the back with camping gear, tools, a few bales of hay, sandbags, anything . . . to settle it.

We’re looking at a 2015kg ute with 3500-tonne braked towing capacity riding on 255/65 R17s with a recommended 33psi unladen and 43psi loaded up.

Driving in the rain on pitch-black roads, the auto high beam doesn’t always dip for an oncoming vehicle. It works fine if the car is immediately visible in the distance, not if it’s coming up the crest of a hill — even though I see it — because the windshield camera doesn’t detect the light source as well as my eyes.

It also drops to low beam when it catches a bright reflection off a road sign — though, to be fair, this is not unusual with auto high beam.

On paper, there’s enough performance here: 140kW of power and 450Nm of torque. It’s certainly enough pulling power by anyone’s calculations, but the engine is notably loud when overtaking; at speed, it’s fine.

Lane warnings can be startling at times, with sudden beeps for no apparent reason; other times, I deliberately go over the white line to check, and there’s no alert.

Claimed combined fuel consumption is 7.1 litres/100km. I average 8.9L/100km — most of that on regional roads.

Is it safe?

All BT-50 models built from July 2022, excluding the Thunder and XTR LE variants, have a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing of the Isuzu D-Max, scoring 86 per cent for adult-occupant protection, 89 per cent for child-occupant protection, 67 per cent for vulnerable road-user protection and 84 per cent for safety assist.

ANCAP notes vehicles are equipped with a revised driver knee airbag and instrument panel, providing “improved safety performance”, in addition to dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtains) airbags. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard on all variants.

Warranty and servicing

The BT-50 comes with a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty and five years of roadside assistance.

It all started in 1931

Mazda has been doing pick-ups since 1931, its first three-wheelers evolving into the T600, which was also its first vehicle in Australia, offered in 1960 with a 577cc air-cooled V2 engine — which would have needed every one of its 15kW/37Nm to deal with the 500kg maximum payload.

The B1500 compact ute — the first iteration of the B-series — was introduced in 1961, and the BT-50, in 2006, at the Bangkok International Motor Show, continuing Mazda’s truck heritage, with the name bringing it into line with the automaker’s global alphanumeric nomenclature strategy.

Malcolm Gough, executive officer and general manager of Mazda’s overseas sales division (and previously managing director of Mazda Australia), describes the BT-50 as recognising the new range’s B-series truck heritage (BT) and the number 50 reflecting that this one-tonne vehicle is positioned between smaller payload trucks (eg half-tonne) and much larger trucks.