At Mazda, however, they assure that they didn't fuss over the name for long. They just liked the number 50 — it's nice and that's it. Well, in principle, for a pickup truck, you can't really nitpick. It's not some kind of sports car.
Two-tone body paint — for an extra charge. Side steps and chrome details — also extra. So the working class can safely save on them.
Mazda BT-50 is a truly "survivable" machine. It's based on a ladder frame, with torsion bars up front and leaf springs at the rear. But, as the company assures, the new pickup has become significantly more comfortable than its predecessor. Inside, by the way, everything is done quite neatly. If not for the high seating position and the clutter of transmission levers on the center tunnel, you might think you're sitting in a regular car. Although BT-50 certainly hasn't become a full-fledged luxury SUV. And no one expected that — it's not meant to carry kings, but all sorts of stuff in the bed.
The main thing is the engine and gearbox. Here is a new 2.5-liter turbodiesel with direct injection, producing 143 horsepower. Seems decent, but how will it behave at our gas stations, won't it fail on Russian diesel fuel? The company claims it won't. Before launching the BT-50, Mazda engineers specifically came to Russia, collected fuel samples in the capital and regions, and concluded that the new diesel can handle such "food".
All-wheel drive is also done in a serious way. The front axle is engaged manually, there is a low range and a rear differential lock. The organizers offered to test this setup on a specially prepared off-road track. What can I say — the car didn't fall apart there, it confidently crawled even with wheels hanging in the air, but honestly, it's hard to call that a real test. If only it could go into a real swamp...
BT-50 has no problems with geometric off-road capability. But the tires that come in the "base" clearly can't handle serious off-road.
In Russia, the Mazda BT-50 will be sold only with a four-seat cab. The starting price is $23,490, and for that money you get power steering and a couple of airbags. Air conditioning, CD player, power mirrors, ABS, central locking, and heated seats — that's an extra $2,000 to the budget. And if you shell out $30,300, you can get alloy wheels, side steps, a CD changer, as well as a chrome grille, door handles, and mirror housings. That's when you can carry fertilizer in style.
For a pickup, the interior is quite decent. But the base trim is frankly "bare".
Last year, Russians bought about nine thousand pickups. Of those, almost ten percent were Mazdas. The company expects that the fresh BT-50 will attract many more local farmers and anyone who needs a practical and capable vehicle. Plans for this year are to sell a thousand such cars, and next year — already fifteen hundred. And if buyers aren't scared off by the name, then why not?
