Mazda’s produced quite a few handsome-looking cars and crossovers with its Kodo design language, and that’s now extended to its BT-50 pickup as well. Mazda Australia revealed the latest version of its global truck Wednesday, and this BT-50 drops all its former ties to the Ford Ranger. Now, the truck is based on the Isuzu D-Max instead.
Despite the fact that Mazda sells this ute in southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, it will not be coming to the U.S., despite the fact that Mazda does sell nearly all its other vehicles here, unlike Isuzu.
Since the 2021 Mazda BT-50 is no longer based on the Ranger, it no longer gets Ford’s Duratorq four and five-cylinder diesel engines, either. Now, the truck gets a 3.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine. The 4JJ3-TCX engine, as it’s known in the D-Max, is a common rail direct injection powerplant that’s both turbocharged and intercooled, making 188 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels or all four by way of six-speed manual or automatic transmission options.
While the 3.0-liter turbodiesel is the only option at launch, the 2021 Mazda BT-50 should get a smaller, less powerful (and less expensive) engine later on.
Inside, the 2021 Mazda BT-50 actually gets the brand’s largest infotainment screen to date. At 9.0 inches, its larger than the 8.8-inch unit we’re seeing on the Mazda3 and the CX-30 crossovers. Again, the BT-50 shares its infotainment screen, climate controls and central switchgear with the Isuzu D-Max, but the overall design aesthetic is Mazda’s own.
The new Mazda BT-50 will be available later this year. It will be built alongside the Isuzu D-Max in the Samut Prakan province in Thailand, and not too far from where the old BT-50 was built at Ford’s Rayong, Thailand assembly plant.
Here is a detailed walk-around of the new Mazda truck from our friends at CarExpert.
