SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


Doing it right: 2017 Mazda BT-50, 3.2DE SLE, 4x4 dual cab 

Serious products

Posted: 11 September 2017

The numbers
Price: R555 700
Engine: 3198 cc, DOHC 20-valve, inline five cylinder, intercooled turbodiesel
Power: 147 kW at 3000 rpm
Torque: 470 Nm between 1750 and 2500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12.2 seconds
Maximum speed: Limited to 175 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 10.5 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Tare: 1963 kg
GVM: 3200 kg
GCM: 5950 kg
Maximum towing mass within GCM: 3500 kg
Ground clearance: 237 mm
Wading depth: 800 mm
Approach / departure / breakover angles: 27.6 / 27.1 / 24.4 degrees
Warranty and service: 3 years / unlimited km with roadside assistance.
Services at 15 000 km intervals


The PR manager for another motor company once said that, although some journalists do extra homework and express different views, we generally write what the companies want us to. Part of that is because there’s not enough time to go in-depth as publishers scramble to be first - online or with paper thundering through presses - before readers wake up to a new day. But part of it is laziness.

Whatever the case, unless the motor company concerned says something really silly, writers will continue repeating official taglines as long as they sound okay. But, unfortunately, that’s how we collectively enabled Mazda to shoot itself in both feet.

Left foot: “Zoom-zoom.” Really? It sounds unprofessional and almost juvenile. Buyers with serious money to spend expect the products they buy to take themselves seriously.
Right foot: Mazda facelifted its BT-50s in 2012 and re-aligned them as “Active Lifestyle Vehicles.” Buyers of pickups want toughness and dependability first and foremost. Frivolous lifestyle activities come later. See the point about serious money seeking out serious products.

It’s there in the NAAMSA numbers: Sales of Mazda BT-50 averaged 40 units per month over the past year (September 2016 to August 2017). Local (non-export) sales of Ford Ranger averaged 2802 units. That’s 70 times the volume. The fact that Ford currently fields 40 variants against Mazda’s five has something to do with it, but not much.
 
One might argue that BT-50 is “just another Ford” because it shares significant mechanical components, but parts sharing and badge engineering has been going on for the past century. People still buy the alternative products because, like BT-50, their manufacturers put their own styling, designs and features into the end products. This will continue when Mazda’s recently announced joint venture, or co-development programme, with Isuzu is solidified.

Back to today: Mazda’s five models are spread over two engines, two trim levels, two transmissions, one body style (dual cab) and your choice of 4x2 or 4x4. It underlines the company’s determination to get back to basics, to supplying what buyers want and to tone down on a lifestyle image that isn’t working.

Even our test unit, the top-dog 3.2-litre SLE 4x4 automatic, is purely about business. It’s not only priced competitively against Ford’s nearest equivalent but it skips over any overtly teenage-oriented gadgets in order to provide what people actually want.  All models have alloy wheels, locking rear differential, tow hitch, practical side steps, lockable bin, hidden under-seat storage, plain halogen headlights and front fog lamps.

There are no touch screens – only 4” dot-matrix displays - but you still get Bluetooth with voice control; USB, auxiliary and iPod sockets and an old-fashioned CD player with a box to keep discs in. Having a dot matrix screen also means retaining an early, multi-button control panel for the sound system. Two deeply cowled pods house speedometer and rev counter, with general information and minor instruments in between. The wheel adjusts for elevation only.

Four-by-four models do it right with a rotary controller that selects 2high, 4high and 4low – no girly terrain response gadgetry – just farm-style working kit. Maximum ride height on all models is 237 mm with wading depth up to 800 mm.  That’s about as good as most pickups get.

Safety is obviously important: Six airbags, ABS brakes with EBD and EBA, ESP, brake override that cuts the throttle as you lift off, child proof locks, ISOFix mounting points and central locking and unlocking, with drive-away, are all standard. Higher models provide rear view cameras while 4x4s add leather seats with electrical adjusters and manual lumbar control for the driver, load adaptive control, trailer sway- and rollover mitigation, hill launch and downhill crawl.

BT-50 is marginally bigger than Ranger (plus about 10 mm in all three dimensions) so fully-grown occupants, in all seats, are well catered for. We criticised earlier BTs for ride harshness over indifferent roads but this latest iteration seems to have inherited modern Ranger’s comfy, magic carpet ride.

So: If you can get all you need for a bit less money, and be comfortable too, why buy Brand F?

Test unit from Mazda SA press fleet

Save

Save

Save

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.

Save