I have recently moved from Nissan GU Patrol wagons (had two) to Mazda and thought I'd share the experiences of driving a few bush Km -
well, actually 25,000 bush km in the 2011 built BT 50 auto XL.
I bought a dual cab as I have had a dual cab previously and liked the concept/practical nature of this format. A dual cab has twice the storage space of a wagon. The significantly greater load carrying capacity (vs wagon styles) was also a major factor in swapping.
The sums I did showed me changing to a new BT 50 would actually be cheaper over the next 3 years than retaining my 2002 Patrol. A significant component of this cost is the fuel saving - the Mazda halves the fuel cost of the old Patrol. Currently I am getting 11L/100 km - you'll see why this is so as you read on.........
My requirements are for a practical and comfortable 4 to 5 seater, diesel formatted 4WD, capable of carrying a load of up to 1 tonne and being able to tow a 1.4 t trailer easily. Due to limited availability of tyres in remote Australia, I did not want 17” wheels. Nor did I want alloy wheel rims. My original plan was to order a cab/chassis but they are only available in manual.
Test driving the new BT 50 in manual and auto, with & without my trailer led to the utterly inescapable conclusion that the auto was the only one to order, despite the extra $2K. After the first 25,000 km, I am still glad I chose the auto.
The Ford variant was never in the race, principally due to extra $ 5 K price and a crappy towbar offer. Toyota was only considered in the 70 series format with a custom made tray to effectively create a dual cab. But a Toyota badged heavy duty 4WDcosts at least $ 20 K more. I did not even inspect the Hilux dinosaur.
So, I ordered a newbie Mazda BT 50 with window tinting, towbar (with aftermarket Philips plug for trailer battery connection), floor mats,
snorkel, auto trans, white XL ute (as mentioned cab chassis is n/a in auto. I have thus foregone my plans to have an integrated body/canopy/roof rack unit fabricated onto the chassis, and will cope with
the tub of the ute as best I can). Happy enough with the deal offered by Paradise Motors, but it was obvious that I knew more about the vehicle than the dealer staff did – be they service or sales staff.
I then traded up to 265/70 Bridgestone 697 LT tyres (very hard to fault this tyre & it’s predecessors for value, performance & reliability). Fitted an aftermarket ute liner. Fitted dual merit plug 12 volt power outlet to tub. Had custom designed & built aluminium roof rack made + 2nd spare wheel holder + UHF aerial mount. Fitted GME UHF in behind dashboard ventilation controls(it’s out of sight) and have mike/speaker sitting on centre console. Fitted a Redarc electric brake unit. Installed an aluminium tool box against the front wall of the ute tub, which must weigh >100 kg with tyre gear, tools, compressor, spares, etc. Custom made soft tonneau goes over
the tub. Transferred my Lightforce Genesis HID spotties to a new ARB steel Bull Bar. The total after-market spend has been about $ 10 K.; another $ 2.5 K is required for a 2” lift.
A bush ready beast, indeed. Due to exorbitant costs of
long range fuel tanks and current mounting of tool box, I’m happy to use jerry cans for extra range. I deferred the decision about clearance until I saw how it coped. More on this issue later. All up weight without passengers is 2.7 tonne.
Recently I fitted mudflap chains after ripping off both rear flaps in a bog - only one flap was recovered. I did not order side steps but the dealer offered them at no cost, so I accepted. After the first 2,500 km I removed the side steps to enable better clearance. While this has worked, I now have a seriously stone chipped exterior on the rear leading edges from the front doors backwards. Interestingly, I find the vehicle easier to enter & exit without the side steps. We'll see what a
suspension lift does and if I can refit the side steps. The vehicle, IMHO, looks dorky with them on.
I live in
Adelaide and principal routes from there have up until now included the Strzelecki,
Birdsville &
Oodnadatta tracks;
Alice Springs to
Kiwirrkurra to
Kunawarritji to Punmu to
Marble Bar; Talawana Track; Gary Highway; Great Central Rd;
Heather Highway; parts of the
Gunbarrel Highway; Uluru;
Alice Springs to Old
Andado to
Oodnadatta;
Flinders Ranges;
Broken Hill to
Cobar to
Bourke. In summary, approx 60 % of the 25,000 km have been off bitumen.
Well, that’s all background: what’s the vehicle really like?
Likes
Cabin comfort after a long day – at the end of the day’s driving, I find I am less tired than in the Patrol. Leg room, head room &
seat comfort in front & rear (with two not 3 people) is fine. I like the 3 x live power outlets also. iPod functionality & blue tooth for the phone is appreciated, (Bluetooth is new to me).
Roadholding is excellent and it hangs on in dirt & on the blacktop like you would not believe. It's a point & shoot vehicle and that makes it very easy to drive. It's a torquey beastie, but with so much power on tap that aspect is not immediately noticeable. Believe it or not, the Mazda has more torque than the 76 series Toyota (workmate wagon & troopy) & about 5 Kw less power !!!
DSC certainly works and is so smooth that it’s usually only by the flash of the
orange light coming on & off that I know it’s working. On rougher conditions I have occasionally felt it work.
Hill Descent – only tried it once & was very impressed at how slow & how controlled it was.
Electronically lockable rear diff is fantastic. A seriously good feature. In rough, slow, rocky going I now have it on all the time. It automatically disengages over 35 kph, which is handy. You can just let the 4WD idle along and the push from the rear means the front trans does not have to be engaged.
The Mazda tows
well. Has plenty of grunt but if you let the revs die too much the turbo lag kicks in which can cause a loss of momentum There is a auto trans clunk or kick as
well, which is surprising as the rest of the vehicle is so
well engineered. Perhaps a remap of the ECM could remedy this?
Highway cruising economy with an empty roof rack @ 110 kph gives between 10 and 11 Litres/100 km, depending on weather conditions. Fully loaded for 11 day outback trip, weighing 3.1 t, incl 4 people + swags on roof + 1.4 t trailer with roofrack, driving on dirt at speeds up to 80 kph gets up to 17 L/100 km. I estimate the roof rack sucks about 1 to 2 L/100 km.
Dislikes
Turbo lag – I still find it annoying and it’s very hard to drive the 4WD smoothly, especially at low speeds.
Gearbox clunk or kick as mentioned above is a downer. Sometimes, at lower speeds, it’s a jolt through the
seat into your back.
Seat belt chime is very annoying. The dealer told me it could not be disabled. However, in the last week I found a way to disable the chime
Dust ingress around tailgate is a serious issue. I filled as many gaps with door sealer tape + other foam tapes as I could and that helped. But it is still bad. I have to cover
the tub contents with a tarp under the tonneau to be thrown back when un-packing. This gets 90 % of the red dirt off the contents. It’s easy to see where the dirt floods in – it’s not from the tonneau seal. I have just ordered on ebay a seal kit and am hoping that may address the issue. This is a design flaw that is a real negative.
Duco seems to retain dirt/dust stains. The dealer told me it might be soft paint and nothing could be done! I’ve since used truck wash and polish to good effect.
The
parking lights come on if all the doors are not shut hard. I't's quite annoying - I should put a big sign on the windscreen to save those with good intent advising me that my lights are on. Again, the dealer says this feature cannot be modified.
I’d like a carpet dash mat but the owner’s manual says the airbag function may be compromised.
Future
Before I get underway again in 2013 I will fit an ARB
suspension kit. I’ve chosen ARB due to the design & testing work done and reputation in the market place. This
suspension upgrade delivers only 100 Kg extra to the GVM, so it’s an un-economic to upgrade on that basis. I am looking for a bit more clearance on sandy & rocky tracks, as I do very occasionally scrape – no damage done. But I’m also after extra clearance to avoid gathering spinifex underneath. In certain conditions I am currently stopping twice daily to hook the built up spinifex out. It gathers badly around (1) the exhaust as the pipe travels over the chassis cross member by the transfer box (2) the fuel tank and (3) the rear universal joint/mini flywheel & muffler. I’m anticipating a lift will help to reduce the spinifex collection issue, but I reckon I might need to build a deflection shield or two over summer to prevent the blasted stuff collecting.
Cheers.