An all-new version of Mazda’s workhorse, the BT-50 utility, landed in Australia in November 2011 to do battle in one of the most competitive segments on the market.<br /><br />The completely re-skinned BT-50 was a joint development between Mazda and Ford Australia as a part of their Ranger project, however Mazda had significant input, from developing the rolling chassis of the vehicle, to placing more than 50 engineers at Ford’s Campbellfield headquarters.<br /><br />Mazda designed the exterior of the BT-50 in Japan to differentiate it from the Ranger.<br /><br />A number of variants were available in the BT-50 range across three body styles – single cab, Freestyle Cab (Crew Cab) and Dual Cab. Buyers had the choice of 4x2 or 4x4 with each of the body styles.<br /><br />The BT-50 was a diesel-only proposition when it launched with the single cab variant available with a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine capable of 110kW of power. The four-cylinder BT-50 came with a six-speed manual transmission only and had claimed fuel consumption figures of 7.6L/100km.<br /><br />Freestyle Cab and Dual Cab variants were available with a 3.2-litre inline five-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with an output of 147kW of power and a choice of either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.<br /><br />Fuel consumption for the five-cylinder is 8.4L/100km fir the manual and 9.2L/100km for the auto.<br /><br />The BT-50 came with a towing capacity of 3350kg and payload of up to 1271kg.<br /><br />The Japanese car-maker made safety a major selling point by fitting the BT-50 with standard driver and passenger front and curtain airbags to all models and seat-mounted side airbags standard on all models except the Single Cab.<br /><br />The BT-50 also came standard with electronic stability control (ESC), traction control, trailer sway control and ABS brakes with electronic brake-force distribution.<br /><br />Three trim levels were available for the BT-50, including the XT, XTR and range-topping GT.<br /><br />All models came with Bluetooth phone connectivity with voice control, iPod-connectivity and a 3.5-inch monochrome centre screen for the entry-level model, while other BT-50s gain an LCD display with satellite-navigation.<br /><br />Cruise control, air-conditioning and electric windows were also standard across all models.