2025 Mazda BT-50 XTR review

Following on from recent updates that have been seen on the Isuzu D-Max, the closely related 2025 Mazda BT-50 received a spruce-up for the Australian market.

There's a new look for the Mazda ute, with a sharper and more aggressive front end, updated technology and new levels of specification, which will help keep the BT-50 right amongst the fight in such a crowded and competitive space.

And it's not surprising to know that with these improvements, the 2025 Mazda BT-50 is a better and more competitive option to consider. Let's have a closer look.

XTR sits one position up from base in the Mazda BT-50 range, between XT and GT trim levels. And from that point of view, it threads a nice balance of inclusions without blowing out the budget as much as others.

Disclaimer: there is also a Mazda BT-50 XS, but that's only available in two-wheel-drive guise. In terms of four-wheel-drive, dual-cab utes (the kind that most of us are buying), it's XT as the starting point.

Priced at $62,750 plus on-road costs, the BT-50 XTR gets a pragmatic range of standard equipment without going to town. This includes the upgraded 9.0-inch infotainment display with in-built navigation, 18-inch alloy wheels with tyre pressure monitoring, keyless entry, and LED lighting up front. This spec also gets dual-zone climate control and carpeted floors, as well as leather wrapping on the shifter and steering wheel.

So while we miss out on things like leather upholstery, heated front seats with electric adjustment and front parking sensors, the BT-50 XTR hits a lot of notes that help convenience and everyday usage.

And from that point of view, it makes a lot of sense. Less pragmatically, the wheels on our test car – an 18-inch accessory option – cost $2044 and change up the look nicely.

External and internal dimensions of the 2025 Mazda BT-50 haven't changed for this midlife update, which isn't a bad thing I reckon. The Mazda BT-50 sits towards the top of the segment for overall dimensions, which gives a relatively large cabin for work and family usage.

Buyers will notice and appreciate this most notably in the second row, where the BT-50 outguns the likes of a Toyota HiLux or Nissan Navara for overall space. There's room for adults without jamming your knees into the seat in front, and a rearward-facing baby seat can also fit.

Although, the BYD Shark and forthcoming Kia Tasman have both upped the ante in this regard by offering additional second-row space.

There are air vents and USB power outlets in the rear, and the decently comfortable seats can be lifted up for some extra storage nooks underneath.

Up front, you've got the same layout overall as before, which works well. Climate controls are easily managed through the piano-style buttons and display, and you have an extra storage bin in front of the cupholders and average-sized central console.

The extra glovebox in front of the passenger is useful, although the twin-under-the-skin Isuzu D-Max offers a little more practicality in this regard. The Isuzu has extra pop-out cupholders at each end of the dashboard, and another lidded storage point up on top. The Mazda doesn't get these.

This 2025 Mazda BT-50 moves to oval-shaped USB-C power outlets as well, instead of the rectangular plugs you would get in previous years. A 12V plug carries over as well for other charging duties.

The seats in this trim level of BT-50 are cloth-wrapped and manually adjusting, so those wanting leather (or fake leather, more accurately) and electric adjustment will need to spend up some more. But there's nothing wrong with a good cloth seat, and these ones feel nicely comfortable and with good levels of adjustment.

This XTR spec of BT-50 gets a tub liner as standard fit, which means it can be put to work straight off the showroom floor without trashing the paint. In the back, you've got tie-down points but no light, cover or 12V outlet.

There have been some changes to the BT-50 on this front, with a new infotainment system that brings some key upgrades into the game. Gone are the clunky volume buttons below the screen, and we now have a superior volume dial, along with a tuning dial with some non-physical buttons in between.

The infotainment system – while carrying the same range of equipment – now has an improved operating system as well, which feels better and more intuitive to use.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both wired and wireless, digital radio and native navigation are accounted for.

Although, there is no remote connectivity or companion app available for the Mazda BT-50, which is something we are seeing more commonly across a range of competitor vehicles.

The digital instrument cluster in front of the driver – which is updated and has the ability to cycle through useful information and readouts – is good, and an improvement for 2025. Although, I couldn't for the life of me find a 'distance to empty' figure on the fuel side of things. This is a useful tool for daily drives and road trips alike, but I couldn't see one in this vehicle.

Against testing conducted by ANCAP in 2022, the Mazda BT-50 earned a five-star ANCAP safety rating. The BT-50 scored 86 per cent for adult occupant protection, 89 per cent for child occupant protection, 67 per cent for vulnerable road users (pedestrians), and 84 per cent for its onboard active safety systems.

However, it's worth noting that this rating isn't extended to the BT-50 XTR LE or Thunder variants, both of which are fitted with a bullbar. It's also worth nothing that this crash test information was garnered from physical crash testing done on the twin-under-the-skin Isuzu D-Max on which the BT-50 is based.

While a majority of the top-line safety equipment carries over for the 2025 Mazda BT-50, there is updated hardware here, like better cameras, for example, to improve and broaden the operational performance of the safety equipment.

Those cameras – mounted high in the windscreen of the BT-50 – can now identify motorcyclists and can see a wider aperture of what's in front.

Otherwise, the BT-50 is well stocked with safety equipment that mostly performs in an unobtrusive and effective manner. This is one vehicle that isn't as afflicted as others with overbearing and overreaching safety systems. And that's important.

Five years of servicing for the Mazda BT-50 comes in at $2547, which doesn't include the cost of a fuel filter ($95) that may be required sometime within that period. Five years also covers 75,000km, with the intervals set at every 12 months or 15,000km.

Otherwise, the service schedule appears to be quite comprehensive. And for comparison's sake, the mechanically similar Isuzu D-Max costs $2245 over the same period, offering a saving of around $300.

Another comparison to make would be the warranty offering, which is five years and unlimited kilometres of coverage. This isn't as plump as the Isuzu D-Max for time at six years, but the Isuzu is capped at 150,000km.

A year's worth of comprehensive insurance is $1981.29 as a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

One benefit of picking up Isuzu's well-regarded 3.0-litre four-cylinder engine is the good level of efficiency on offer. Along with having that juicy, fat band of torque to lean on, the BT-50 has a claimed 8.0 litres of diesel consumption for every 100 kilometres travelled.

This is a decent figure, and one you can get relatively close to in the real world. We saw an average as low as 7.9L/100km, which was after an extended highway run without any load on the back. But on a more mixed run, you'd see a figure of around 8.5–9.0L/100km.

While some of the updates in 2025 are important in keeping the BT-50 feeling fresh, there's not a whole lot different in the driving experience. Not to say that's a bad thing, because the BT-50 (and the D-Max to the same extent) has always been a solid offering.

It's not as good as what you get in the Ford Ranger, for example, but it doesn't sit too far behind.

The engine – a 3.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel that is unchanged from the Isuzu source – isn't the last word in refinement and decorum. A smoother V6 is better, and some of the newer four-cylinder offerings are more muted under load.

But considering the elements of a timing chain, instead of a quieter timing belt, and double scissor gears on the camshafts, some buyers would happily take on the gruff nature of this engine in compensation for the light-truck lineage and reputation for longevity.

The six-speed automatic gearbox is a steady and deliberate operator, making shifting decisions at the right time and not overreaching with its decisions. It's certainly helped by the easy torque delivery of the engine – which isn't a fan of big revs – in providing a cruisy, unflustered driving experience.

Its steering – with electric assistance – is light and direct, matching well to the rest of the driving experience.

The ride quality is fairly typical for a modern-day ute: not bad, but also a bit terse at times when you're unladen over rough surfaces. It's something that comes with the territory when you've got a four-figure payload and good towing capacity, and it will settle down appreciably once you add some weight into the rear.

You know, doing ute things with your ute. And if you're not ever going to do ute things with your ute, consider suspension modifications to suit your needs or buying another type of vehicle entirely.

The BT-50 is a better bet off-road these days thanks to a specialised off-road driving mode called 'Rough Terrain Mode'. This is something shared with the new Isuzu D-Max and MU-X, and helps considerably to control wheel spin off-road and when taking on technical challenges. It's especially beneficial because this mode works in concert with the locking rear differential in the BT-50 to provide good off-road traction.

Otherwise, the off-road performance of the BT-50 is fairly typical for a ute of this segment. Underbody clearance – especially in the sill areas underneath the doors – is the first point of weakness, along with relatively tame highway tyres in standard form.

Underpinning a 3500kg braked towing capacity in the BT-50 are some other solid numbers: a 1002kg payload, 3100kg gross vehicle mass and 6000kg gross combination mass.

That last one makes it a problem to actually tow 3500kg in the real world, but that's a problem shared with almost every other ute out there. When loaded up with a 3500kg trailer, an approximate 350kg towball downforce reduces the available payload from one tonne to around 652kg.

However, there is more to unpack here. Such a heavy trailer eats into your gross combination mass quite heavily otherwise, and leaves you with only 2500kg of weight to play with in the vehicle. Your full payload is well and truly gone, with only 408kg left before you exceed that gross combination mass.

In other words, the 3500kg braked towing capacity doesn't mean you can tow any trailer near that weight without carefully considering your other weights and limitations.

Provided that you are within your legal limits, we've historically found the Mazda BT-50 to be a solid tow vehicle. A lot of this comes from the flexible torque from the engine and relaxed transmission, as well as suspension that's well tuned for carrying loads.

Now it's been improved with a new look and updated technology, the Mazda BT-50 stays right amongst the top of the pecking order in the four-wheel-drive segment. It's well sorted for comfort and technology, and provides good levels of utility and capability at the same time.

The 3.0-litre diesel engine lags behind others in the segment for outputs and refinement, but real-world performance stacks up well, especially when put to the task.

This part of the world is hugely competitive, and buyers should spend the time wading through and assessing all of their options. But keep the BT-50 right amongst the consideration set, and especially the XTR if you're looking for a balance of value and features.

Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell

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