Mazda BT-50: Know its alternatives

The Mazda BT-50 is the only pickup truck that the company has in its product catalogue for the Malaysian market. Unlike the Mazda’s CX family, this macho truck doesn’t follow Mazda’s KODO design language. It’s a good thing because perhaps that design philosophy wouldn’t have suited perfectly for a pickup truck. But this doesn’t mean that the BT-50 isn’t handsome to look at. Well, maybe it’s not that great from the rear.

Being a pickup truck, the BT-50 specs have got two engine options - 2.2-litre turbo diesel mill that produces 150 hp and 375 Nm of torque and a 3.2-litre turbo diesel engine with 200 hp and 470 Nm of torque on tap. Both the engines come with a 6-speed automatic transmission and 4x4 facility. It seems that Mazda has hit the bull’s eye with its BT-50. But if you are looking for its alternatives, the following are a few of them that you can consider.

Nissan Navara

Compared to the Mazda BT-50 price, the Nissan Navara price starts at RM 77,330 for the base model. There are numerous variants of the Navara available so you can pick the one as per your requirements. The engine option is limited to one - a 2.5-litre 4-cylinder unit with VGS turbocharger - but Nissan has tuned it in two configurations. The first configuration produces 163 PS and 403 Nm of torque and the other one will give you 190 PS and 450 Nm of torque. For the transmission, you get either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed automatic with manual mode.

All the variants of the Nissan Navara offer 4WD system and double wishbone suspension at the front and multi-link setup at the rear. The Navara also ticks many boxes in the safety front. It has ABS, EBD, brake assist, active brake limited slip, advanced hill descent control, and whatnot. It also comes with Nissan’s Intelligent Around View Monitor (I-AVM).

Isuzu D-Max

Isuzu is known to manufacture some of the toughest pickup trucks that one can buy in the country right now. To compete against the Mazda BT-50 it has got the D-Max. The price of this pickup starts from RM 86,750 for the base model with a single cab configuration and reaches RM 129,800 for the top-of-the-range model with a 3.0-litre engine and 4x4 capability. There are two engine options - a 2.5-litre 4-cylinder with 134 hp and 320 Nm of torque and a more powerful 3.0-litre mill which churns out 177 hp and deals with 380 Nm of torque that kicks at as low as 1,800 rpm.

In terms of features, Isuzu D-Max gets Terrain Command system for handling off-road conditions, we also have ABS, TCS, ESC, BA, and airbags for safety, and for looks, we get projector headlamps with integrated daytime running lights. Overall, the Isuzu D-Max looks pretty solid and rugged from outside. It feels like you can really take it anywhere you want without worrying about getting stuck.

Ford Ranger

It’s quite clear that the 2018 Ford Ranger is the best-looking pickup that we’ve got in our list in this story. Ford has done a great job in making it look that handsome. The front features a pair of angry-looking headlamps along with LED daytime running lights. Then the chrome grille enhances the premiumness of the vehicle. We like how Ford has designed the front bumper to make it as sturdy as possible without skimping on its aesthetic qualities. The rear end of the Ford Ranger gets a couple of vertically stacked tail lights.

Under the hood of the Ranger is a 2.2-litre diesel engine that produces 160 PS of power and generates a peak torque of 385 Nm at 1600 to 2600 rpm. The transmissions here include a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic. With such an engine and a 237 mm of ground clearance, it becomes a bit easier to take the Ranger off-road. Ford claims that the Ranger can wade through 800 mm of water without any hiccups. That’s impressive. You also get 4x4 shift-on-the-fly feature that lets you shift between 2WD and 4WD modes on the go. The 2018 Ford Ranger price starts at RM 78,910 and goes till RM 132,053.

These were a few interesting alternatives to the Mazda BT-50 that we’ve got covered for you. If you’ve got any other names in mind do let us know in the comments.