It’s not going to be long now before Mazda follows up the launch of the successful CX-30 with the revised BT-50, a long-awaited update which might just bring the workhorse into the mainstream…

Oh, it’s true Mazda sells a comfortable number of utes month in, month out, but the BT-50 has always deserved more than ‘comfortable sales,’ as evidenced by our sunset drive out in the boonies, where the BT-50 proved without a doubt, that it is already a serious player. 

And for the next few months, smart buyers will be keeping a close eye on Mazda for run out specials to score themselves some damn’ good utes at damn’ good prices.

Just how good – at least in terms of the ute – is quite clear to anyone who has the time, inclination or ability to drive the current BT-50 in the places NZ Company Vehicle did a couple of weeks ago.

Mazda supplied us a GLX double cab for our final farewell drive of the current model and we thought – rather than just a regular road review – we’d do something a lot of people won’t do with their new 4WD ute – we went bush.

Actually, going bush is too easy and you can see the road. Instead, we went forest in 4WD Adventure Park where 4WD specialist Roger Winslade has created a playground for recreational off-roading enthusiasts, but beginners especially.

Roger has set up tracks and routes well suited to family fun weekend events, so you don’t have to be a 4WD superstar to enjoy everything your vehicle can do. 

In fact, a day in the forest 4WD’ing with the family is a very rewarding activity. Who doesn’t love bouncing around, splashing through mud puddles, chasing through trees and doing hill-climbs which look more challenging than they are? It also lets you see just how good modern 4WD vehicles are – especially 4WD’s like the BT-50. 

But to get to the forest, we first had to travel on tarmac, and the BT-50 provides a very pleasant platform for this, which those who haven’t driven one for a while, might have forgotten. 

Some might remember the BT-50 uses a five cylinder, 3.2-litre engine and a six-speed transmission, which on the surface, puts the BT-50 at something of a disadvantage compared to its competition, which today run two-litre, twin turbo engines with higher power and torque outputs and a fantastic array of gear ratios. 

But – and this is a big consideration – surface impressions fail to factor in that little bit of magic which comes standard with every Mazda. 

This is a tangible thing, even if it’s not easily quantifiable. Mazda describes it as either Zoom Zoom (the joy of the drive) or as part of Jinba Ittae (where the horse/car and the rider/driver are one).  

If that sounded a little too “out there,’’ consider the success and the individuality of every Mazda product release over the past 25 years, especially when there has been a ‘partnership twin’ to square off against. Invariably, the Mazda has that je ne sais quoi which the twin doesn’t have. 

But I digress. Suffice it to say Mazda’s BT-50 – even in its current generation – offers a surprise and delight factor to on-road travelling. 

Showcasing Mazda’s expertise in balance between function and form, the BT-50 has all that you need and little you don’t, and that includes the controls for modern 4WDíng. 

All of which takes us neatly off the road and into the woods, or more specifically into the 4WD Adventure Park, accessed off Rimmer Road, where a handy shift to 4 Hi will get you through some mucky gravel before you get to HQ to get your maps and any advice you might need. 

At this point, we would recommend making a friend in the carpark. Like diving, 4WDíng is best done with a buddy who might just have the stuff you might have forgotten – a recovery strap, maybe a shovel and possibly a change of clothes… or a wetsuit. 

We’ll come back to the wetsuit. In the meantime, getting the BT-50 ready for its off road foray was a simple matter of pushing a button to engage 4WD hi, put it into drive, touch the accelerator and away you go – the rest is as easy as falling off a cliff! 

Actually, there is one other button to push and that is hill descent control and if you ever find yourself on slippery slopes in a BT-50, hill descent control is going to be your best friend for getting around.

 This system uses the vehicle’s computer to provide the right amount of torque to individual wheels to provide the greatest amount of traction and control to negotiate the most ‘OMG! Not down there’ descents. 

As to the rest, the BT-50 shares its technological talent with that of the driver, rather than taking control away completely. 

Indeed, there were certain tracks through the forest where the driver piloted the ute between unforgiving pine trees while the traction systems kept the wheels stable and steerable on soggy pine needles. Jinba Ittae – the best demonstration ever! 

The BT-50 took almost anything we could throw at it, proving itself to be particularly capable on logging truck trails and being able to go up inclines which flummoxed vehicles ‘custom designed’ for the task. 

There were areas the BT-50 could not go; trails where the wheel ruts had been carved in to about twice the depth of the road going 18-inch road going tyres, and one particularly sneaky puddle which looked so innocently shallow, but proved to not be! It also proved that it is possible to get from one side of the vehicle to the other if one of the doors are closed. 

The BT-50 exhibits a number of high points depending on where the occupants are sitting. 

For the driver, the off-road drive highlights of the BT-50 are all to do with the precision and accuracy of the steering, proven especially well on the ridge roads frequented by tracked vehicles. 

For the passenger, there is a considerable amount of comfortable space in the BT-50 cabin and hopefully that will stay the same in the next generation. It demonstrates the considerable amount of thought the interior design teams put into all aspects of the cab.

Back seat passengers – all three of them – have excellent vision, which is important when you’re being bounced around without any control influence. Big windows make a big difference between big fun and big mess in the back seat. 

The BT-50 has – until now – had its lights hidden under the bushel basket. The sunrise of the all-new BT-50 will change all that but keep an eye on the ‘sunset model’ for end of the road deals for a ‘Bloody Terrific’ truck.