The Mazda BT-50 is based on the Isuzu D-Max and it has gotten a mid-cycle facelift. There are some exterior and interior changes but the truck remains more or less the same. Mazda has done a great job with the refresh and it now almost looks pretty which is high praise for a pick-up-truck.
Lets start with the exterior first which has a larger front grille. which also houses a larger Mazda logo. The LED headlights are also new and feature new DRL design. It also gets new LED taillights, new bumpers, new alloy wheels and a new tailgate with ridged design. It also gets new paint schemes and Mazda has introduced Red Earth Metallic, Geode White Pearl, and Sailing Blue Metallic.
The interior has also gotten a few updates, most notably the 9-inch infotainment touchscreen and a new 7-inch drivers display which has grown in size from 4.2-inches. It also receives wireless Android Auto. Previously, only Apple CarPlay was wireless in the BT-50. Mazda has also upgraded some of the trim materials specially on the door cards, dashboard and centre console lid. Top of line variants can also be optioned with Terracotta Maztex leather seats with synthetic suede.
Mazda has also made a lot of safety features standard now. This includes stuff like rear cross traffic brake assist, adaptive cruise control, and traffic sign recognition. It now also gets stereo cameras up front for the ADAS systems to double the field of view. The new cameras can detect the edge of the road without the need of road markings and the AEB systems now account for motorcyclists and pedestrians at intersections.
Mechanically, it remains more or less the same. It features the same base 1.9L turbodiesel engine which produces 148 bhp or a 3.0L diesel which produces 187 bhp. You can pair both the engines with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed torque converter gearbox.
The BT-50 might not come to the India market but we sure do hope that the new generation of the D-Max makes it to India.
