SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


Your intrepid explorer travelled to the outer reaches of Zululand to bring you the announcement of Mazda’s 2012 BT-50 pickups.

This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.

Pics supplied

 Power, comfort and go-anywhere-ability

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday August 15, 2012

Back when dinosaurs ruled, Henry Ford offered just one product. It was his iconic Model “T” car and it came in one colour, a deep and intense shade of Natural Carbon. After a while, somebody went to College and studied Marketing l – revolutionary stuff about giving the customer whatever he or she wanted. The world hasn’t been the same since.

Moving forward quickly to 2012, Ford offers 23 one-ton pickups. Sister company Mazda offers just 17 but much to Henry’s amazement, they come in nine colours. Sorry about that. So many choices could be confusing. While Ford’s Rangers are marketed as working vehicles, the mechanically identical Mazdas have been positioned as lifestylers.

Briefly, you get three body styles, three engines with one available in two versions, three trim levels and three transmissions.

Six single-cab models include 2.5-litre petrol-engined 4x2 and 4x4 versions with a five-speed manual gearbox, 2.2-litre diesels in two states of tune, both 4x2, come in five or six-speed manual respectively and 3.2-litre diesel versions are offered with a choice of two- or four-wheel drive and six-speed manual shift. Prices range from R190 330 to R354 200.

Four 4x2 Freestyle cab models are powered by standard and high-powered versions of the 2.2-litre diesel fitted with five and six-ratio manual boxes respectively, while 3.2-litre five-cylinder diesels power a pair with six-cog manual or automatic transmissions. A lone 4x4 comes in six-speed manual. Prices run from R231 950 to R398 070.

Half a dozen double-cab models range from 2.2-litre High-Powers in two trim levels, both 4x2 and both manual, to a pair of 4x2s in SLE trim and a choice of manual or automatic and finally a couple of 4x4 SLEs with similar choices of gearbox. These go from R340 480 to R462 210. All 4WD models feature a shift-on-the-fly, pushbutton transfer case.

“The all-new Mazda BT-50 is designed to appeal to customers who have an active and demanding lifestyle whether at work or at play,” says Doreen Mashinini, Mazda Marketing Manager. “The revolutionary new design combined with increased interior space, longer wheelbase and greater power ensures all the comfort of a passenger car, with the versatility of a pick-up truck.”

All body types are longer, wider and taller than current BT-50s, providing both roomier cabins and larger load bins. Front seat head- and shoulder room is greater while those at the back enjoy more space for heads and knees. Seats were redesigned for fatigue-free driving and comfort, with the front ones offering more adjustability. Front suspension consists of a double-wishbone layout with coils and at the rear is a rigid axle with leaf springs, giving excellent ride comfort regardless of load and road conditions.

For entertainment, all Freestyle Cabs (apart from the 2.2-litre  SLX 4x2 five-speed manual) and Double Cab derivatives have a radio, MP3-compatible CD player and an auxiliary socket as standard. High-performance, 6-inch door-mounted speakers are tuned for accurate sound staging. Cool air on double cab models comes courtesy of a dual-zone automatic air conditioning system.

Apart from measures specific to pick-ups, the new BT-50 is fitted with car-like safety features. The major systems are ABS, traction control, dynamic skid control, EBA, a brake override system (BOS) that automatically overrides the accelerator if brake and accelerator pedals are pressed simultaneously, load adaptive control, trailer sway assist, roll stability control and hill launch assistance. AWD models offer hill descent control as well. Some models feature rear parking assistance while passive safety inside the cabin includes front, side and curtain airbags.

Double wall construction gives the cargo box added durability, while grooves and channels in the side walls allow easy installation of dividers or division into upper and lower cargo areas. Impressive towing capability makes short work of trailering a boat or other leisure equipment. Cabin access has been improved with larger and wider door openings. In particular, the Freestyle Cab allows easy access for stowing of luggage behind the front seats. Double Cabs and certain Freestyle Cab Hi-Riders also have deep side steps to facilitate entry and exit.

There was only sufficient time to drive manual and automatic diesel double-cabs during the launch programme, but the overall impression was of plenty of power, even in 2.2 form, impressive comfort over a range of surfaces and excellent go-anywhere-ability. We can’t wait for the test units.

The numbers
Pricing: See text
Engines:
2.5-litre petrol: 2488cc, DOHC, four-cylinder
Power/Torque: 125 kW at 5500 rpm/225 Nm at 4500 rpm
2.2-litre low power diesel: 2198cc, four-cylinder CRD with fixed geometry turbocharger
Power/Torque: 88 kW at 3700 rpm/285 Nm between 1400 and 2900 rpm
2.2-litre high power diesel: 2198cc four-cylinder CRD with variable nozzle turbocharger
Power/Torque: 110 kW at 3700 rpm/375 Nm between 1500 and 2500 rpm
3.2-litre diesel: 3198cc, five-cylinder CRD with variable nozzle turbocharger
Power/Torque: 147 kW at 3000 rpm/470 Nm between 1750 and 2500 rpm
Minimum ground clearance (unladen): 232 to 237 mm
Wading depth: 600mm or 800mm, depending on model
Towing capacity (braked): 1100 – 3350 kg, depending on model
Warranty: 4 years/120 000 km with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km at 15000 km intervals

NOTE: Fuel figures were not given at time of launch

Our review of the 2015 BT-50 High Rider 4x2 manual is here

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.