Stability control is now standard on all New Zealand Mazdas. Also standard for BT-50 are Bluetooth, cruise control, air-con, keyless entry, power windows, six speakers and a diff lock (only an option for many Rangers). The top-spec Limited includes leather seats, rear park sensors, rain sensing wipers and dual-zone climate air-con.
The company line
The flood-mandated temporary closure of the Thailand plant building BT-50 may not affect launch sales with two months of supply already landed or on the water. But "it's a pretty fluid situation" puns Clearwater, who needs production lines to restart within a month, though "natural disasters are something we're having to learn to cope with".
Meanwhile, Mazda NZ hopes to offset your own natural disasters by setting a $200 fixed service cost.
What we say
Mazda has priced its ute to just undercut Ranger and delivered workaday stuff like the diff lock as standard. The more rugged-looking Ranger sticks it on the options list for several variants along with city frills like satnav and a reversing camera, which Mazda says can be better supplied by cost-effective after-market items.
On the road
It's hard to tell how effective Mazda's altered suspension tune is without having driven the Ranger on New Zealand roads. But this is a remarkably refined ride for a leaf-sprung ute and six speeds deliver fuel-frugal cruising.
Off road on rain-drenched hilly paddocks and farm tracks the suite of four-wheel-drive, hill descent, very effective traction electronics and a diff lock meant we went anywhere we wanted to.
Why you'll buy one
You want a ute that's effective both on and off road and like Mazda's on-road manners, standard diff-lock and futuristic design.
Why you won't
That face will frighten the horses and, anyway, the Ranger has cupholders in the load tray.
