Category: Pick-ups 
Price Range: No data available
Quality interior, refined and punchy common-rail diesel, decent value, square-jawed looks.
Rocky ride from unsophisticated suspension, not enough innovation, no high-spec halo model.
A million miles from its no-mark predecessor, but not enough glitz or intelligence to tap into the pick-up boom.
This is a revelation. If the suspension makes the Mazda feel crude and old-fashioned, then the refined, powerful engine fast-forwards to the present again.
Under the bonnet is a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine. It's not completely new, but it has been given a 16-valve head, a posh new variable-geometry turbo, a large new intercooler and, most importantly, common-rail injection.
With all that fitted, the power jumps from 108 to 141bhp and the torque from 196 to 243lb-ft. There are more powerful pick-ups, most notably the 172bhp Nissan Navara, but the Mazda never feels slow. The claimed 0-62mph time of 12.4sec feels right.
The Mazda-designed engine is also very refined. The diesel racket that afflicted the old model is all but gone, even with the rev needle past its comfort band of 3000rpm.
First gear is designed to get the horsebox moving (it'll tow a whopping three tonnes of braked trailer) and so it throws great handfuls of torque at you very quickly.
This is what usually sends curious SUV owners scurrying back to their Discovery. The BT-50 is built like every pick-up, involving a cabin and a bed lashed to two girders and suspended by leaf springs in the rear. It's a simple, tough and cheap formula that does nothing whatsoever for driving refinement.
The old B-Series was a shocker in this respect, so owners upgrading will be pleasantly surprised by the BT-50. SUV owners will stay shocked.
The rigidity needed to support a maximum 1,175kg in the load bed creates an unyielding platform when tackling bumps. The coil-sprung front makes a halfway decent fist of removing the sting, but the back end leaps up and crashes back. What saves it are the seats, which are twice as effective as the suspension at soaking up the jolts.
Cornering in the Mazda doesn't bring the lurching you might expect - mainly because it's so tightly strapped down - but the steering is uncomfortably numb. That's welcome off-road, where it prevents rock-shocks from travelling up the steering column, but tackling a tight B-road will look like comic exaggeration from the passenger seat. It's also got a huge turning circle.
Off-road you shift the second, stubbier gear lever to access the low-ratio gear set, and the Mazda copes pretty well. The common pick-up problem of a lengthy wheelbase means it'll never achieve Land Rover status, but it's tough.
