Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 win 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Dual-Cab Ute

The Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 tied for Australia’s most coveted dual-cab award. Here’s why.

The contest was so tight this year, we have two winners in the 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Dual-Cab Ute category – for the first time in the history of the award. It is not because we are sitting on the fence. Rather it’s an indication of the level of competition in this segment – and the similarities between these two jointly developed utes.

The Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 are twins under the skin, with identical engines and transmissions, suspension settings, safety technology, and infotainment systems. In fact, the only major difference is the external appearance, with each vehicle wearing body panels styled to fit within their respective brand’s broader range.

One clear example of this is the identical bi-LED headlight technology packaged in different-looking housings. One is a sleek Mazda design, the other has a truck-like Isuzu appearance, but the spread of the beam is the same.

The Isuzu and Mazda utes are made on the same production line in Thailand – even the air in the tyres and the coolant in the radiator are the same. The steering wheels and key fobs are the same, too, only the badges are different. The list of similarities is seemingly endless.

Another point worth considering: the Isuzu D-Max might not be as good as it is, if not for the significant investment and commitment from Mazda throughout the development process.

So why did the Isuzu D-Max win this award by itself in 2021, but is a joint winner with the Mazda BT-50 this year? A year ago, the Isuzu D-Max had a significant price advantage. But after three price rises in 12 months, the Isuzu D-Max lost its value edge, and you can now throw a blanket over it and the equivalent Mazda BT-50 – depending on which price list you reference.

The RRP of the Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain automatic test car is $65,900 plus on-road costs which, earlier analysis showed, pushed the price beyond $70,000 drive-away according to Isuzu Ute Australia’s website.

The RRP of the Mazda BT-50 SP automatic test car is $65,090 plus on-road costs, or $66,900 drive-away according to the Mazda website as this article was written.

Isuzu has since reinstated a drive-away offer of $62,900 drive-away for its flagship model. But as history shows, this price is not permanent and the flagship Isuzu could return to $70,000 drive-away at the stroke of a pen.

We also looked at pricing and specification for the base variants of each model, and found that while there were differences in price, differences in spec offset this.

This is why we determined the price of the Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 to be line-ball, especially when comparing their RRPs and standard equipment at, or near, both ends of their ranges.

There are other small differences which, in Drive’s opinion, balance each other out. Isuzu offers a six-year/150,000km warranty, Mazda offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.

Some buyers may prefer the Isuzu’s extra 12 months of coverage – or Mazda’s unlimited mileage up to the five-year mark. With these two utes, the choice is yours.

The cost of routine maintenance – based on capped-price service programs for each vehicle – works out to have a difference of $7 after five years. 

Routine maintenance in the Mazda BT-50 is listed at $2308 over five years; the Isuzu D-Max is listed at $2315 over the same period. But Isuzu’s capped-price servicing lasts seven years, the Mazda program runs out after five years.

Then there were the vehicles themselves. They drive identically. Mazda spent its money on unique bodywork rather than fine-tuning the suspension or making any significant interior changes. 

Which is perhaps why the Isuzu/Mazda twins aren’t at the top of the class in terms of driving dynamics and comfort on-road – or in terms of their ability off-road. 

But the Isuzu/Mazda twins excel with their long standard equipment lists and impressive levels of advanced safety. In this regard, they truly are class-leading.

Isuzu and Mazda ought to be praised for democratising advanced safety, regardless of your budget – or model choice.

In addition to the usual array of autonomous emergency braking, radar cruise control, and speed sign recognition, every model – in both the Isuzu and Mazda ute line-ups – comes standard with blind-zone warning and rear cross-traffic alert, intelligent cruise control (which will match the sign-posted speed), and autonomous braking capacity in intersections.

The lane-keeping tech was frustratingly overzealous when this model came out in 2020, but a tech update in late 2021 muted the aggressiveness of the lane-keeping intervention – and a one-touch ‘off’ button was added to the steering wheel (rather than having to navigate the driving menu).

To sum up, the Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 twins tick the most boxes across broad criteria. And, because of this, they are both worthy winners of our 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Dual-Cab Ute category.

The finishing touch: the subtle styling differences mean the Isuzu D-Max will appeal to buyers who prefer tough-truck looks, while the Mazda BT-50 will appeal to buyers looking for a sleeker, upmarket appearance. 

They really are two cars in one – and buyers are the winners here, because they are spoiled for choice.

The post Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 win 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Dual-Cab Ute appeared first on Drive.

Komentar

Posting Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

Teacher accused of using rented Toyota Supra for land-speed record attempt

Gambar
A high-school teacher in the US could be more than $6000 out of pocket if he is found to have violated the terms of use of a rented Toyota Supra driven to a top speed record. A US high school teacher is facing legal action – and $US4000 ($AU6000) in costs – after being accused of renting a turbocharged Toyota Supra performance coupe from a car-sharing service and used the vehicle in a racing competition without the owner’s knowledge. The high-school teacher from Indiana – and his team of female mechanic students – were on their way to compete in the 2023 U.S. Mile land-speed trials in Texas last month. The girls and their teacher had built a high-performance Chevrolet S10 pick-up for the ‘Texas Mile’ – a competition which sees vehicles try to achieve the highest possible speed from a standing start within one-mile (1.6km) on a runway. However, the 1997 Chevrolet S-10 ute suffered a mechanical failure on the way to the event. Due to the hard work put in to make the 1800km j...
Baca selengkapnya

2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport imagined with this artist impression

Gambar
The new flagship of the Toyota HiLux range was caught on camera in Thailand late last year wearing little disguise. Now we have created an artist impression of what it could look like. Last month we got our first look at a camouflaged version of the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport , the flagship ute set to replace the range-topping Toyota HiLux Rugged X in Australian showrooms later this year. Now we have an artist impression of the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport (pictured above) that aims to remove some of the camouflage of the test vehicle caught on camera in Thailand mid-December 2022. As previously reported, although other versions of the Toyota HiLux GR Sport have been launched in Europe, South Africa and Japan over the past year or so, the 2023 edition appears to be the most aggressive yet. The latest Toyota HiLux GR Sport is set to come to Australia for the first time, though timing of the international unveiling and showroom arrivals are yet to be announced. A series ...
Baca selengkapnya

2023 LDV T60 Max price and specs: Prices up by more than $4000

Gambar
The LDV T60 has been hit with its second major price rise in 12 months to account for new equipment – but the ute still lacks key advanced safety tech. 2023 LDV T60 Max pricing and specifications New equipment for Pro and Luxe grades Only top 10 dual-cab ute without auto emergency braking Priced from $38,990 drive-away for ABN holders 2023 LDV T60 Max Luxe The updated 2023 LDV T60 Max has arrived in Australia with a $4000 price rise and some equipment upgrades – but it still lacks advanced safety technology which is standard in its rivals. LDV Australia has announced the T60 Max 4×4 ute has undergone a handful of tweaks for 2023 after its major facelift (and $5000 price hike) last year – resulting in a price increase of $4000 across the range for buyers with an ABN. But Australia’s ninth best-selling ute continues to forgo advanced safety tech such as forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring and autonomous emergency braking – making the T60 the the only du...
Baca selengkapnya