ANCAP awarded a perfect 5-star safety rating to 2021 Mazda BT-50

KUALA LUMPUR: Last month, the 2021 Isuzu D-Max got a five-star safety rating in ANCAP (Australian New Car Assessment Program) crash tests, and now it’s the pickup’s mechanical sibling turn to shine on the safety scoreboard. Yes, we are talking about the all-new Mazda BT-50, which has recently grabbed the maximum number of stars for safety.

Category-wise, the Mazda pickup gets the following scores:

• Adult Occupant Protection - 83%
• Child Occupant Protection - 89%
• Vulnerable Road User Protection - 67%
• Safety Assist Score - 81%

The safety points of the BT-50 are equal to its Isuzu twin in all the parameters except one, which is vulnerable road user protection. In this category, the D-Max received a 2% higher percentage. This is due to the BT-50’s unique bumper design, which made it score less points in impact areas for frontal collisions with pedestrians.

The 2021 BT-50 grabbed maximum scores for side impact and oblique pole crash tests. And full marks were received for the protection of child occupants in the side impact and frontal offset tests.

“As the latest release into the volume-selling ute segment, the Mazda BT-50 provides a comprehensive safety offering to both fleet and private buyers,” says ANCAP communications and advocacy director Rhianne Robson. “This top rating underscores the importance placed on safety by Mazda, with all models in its range carrying a 5-star ANCAP safety rating,” said ANCAP, he further added.

Both pickups carry a suite of active safety technologies comprising

• Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection
• Forward-collision warning
• Turn assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Lane-departure warning
• Lane-keeping assist
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Adaptive high-beam

Mazda Australia unveiled the third-generation BT-50 back in June, and it is now available for sale in the country. It rivals the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger, the former also received a five-star safety rating recently in the ASEAN NCAP safety programme.

About its launch in Malaysia, Mazda has not yet spoken anything official but sources suggest the arrival in the first quarter of 2021. We also expect it soon as the Japanese automaker has not updated the pickup ever since it first arrived.

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