Ford Ranger v's Mazda BT-50

[Scooby Steve]

Ford Ranger v's Mazda BT-50 from 2012 onwards which way would you go? These two look to be the best going around at the moment I know they are basically the same ute with just a few differences but which way would you go. And have you heard of any problems with these models.

From what i have seen and heard for myself the Mazda is cheaper but far uglier, the Ford handles better, the Mazda has a little more turbo lag (mentioned in some reviews), the Mazda customer service is arguably better. Heard both had an issue if your towing a trailer with led trailer lights apparently you need an adapter plug or something but i dont know if thats been fixed or not. Anyone heard this too?

I'm very happy with my commodore ute but i need to be able to put in a baby capsule/ booster seat which would be a hassle in my current vehicle.

Alternatively i could keep my current car and buy another car to use for personal use but then i'm looking at two of everything like insurance, rego, servicing costs etc, etc.

Happy to hear everyones opinion.

If you own a diesel ute what fuel consumption are you getting while towing? I have heard of figure of 10-11L per 100 kms for these models without a trailer.

Cheers

[Andy B]

Scooby, you've been doing the same research as me! I'm leaning towards the mazda, but I'm thinking of only a single cab, the mazda b2500 boss has a bench seat apparently and the cheapest of the bunch. My wagon is starting to cost too much to get things fixed and causing me too much stress so when the bank agrees I'm in the market. Are you thinking a single or dual cab? I also like the idea of going trailer less some days which I have tried with the wagon but always find it just as much of a pita as towing a trailer anyway if not more. And the idea of taking on jobs I've previously had to refuse because no trailer parking is appealing too.

[4 Gardens]

I am looking at the new bt, only because I currently have the old dual cab 4wd, 2006 model, manual.

It has been fantastic, economy is around 11 litres per 100 towing my trailer around town.
I also have a really steep driveway to back up every day, and it does that without even touching any pedals, in low range 2 wd

Put a bulbar on the new one and it looks pretty good too

[bb1]

Looked at the BT50 today, bit pricey thats the only thing, the Flexiglass canopy on the back looks usefull.

[Redeye]

I'd love a new BT, my '02 mazda has just turned over 84 000km, so prolly won't need one for a while :)

[Scooby Steve]

Put a bulbar on the new one and it looks pretty good too

The one on the Mazda website looks great with the alloys, bullbar, driving lights, side steps and sports bar but i nearly fell over when the dealer told me the price $8000, ouch. Pity they look so bad without the bullbars. Ranger looks great but is more expensive again. The cheaper ones come with i think a 2.2L diesel as you move up in price the 3.2L comes into play.

[4 Gardens]

I'd love a new BT, my '02 mazda has just turned over 84 000km, so prolly won't need one for a while :)

Wow that's not many km at all, I do 40,000 a year, but also use it to tow my jet ski to coast etc and boys weekends away

[4 Gardens]

The one on the Mazda website looks great with the alloys, bullbar, driving lights, side steps and sports bar but i nearly fell over when the dealer told me the price $8000, ouch. Pity they look so bad without the bullbars. Ranger looks great but is more expensive again. The cheaper ones come with i think a 2.2L diesel as you move up in price the 3.2L comes into play.

One of the Indys up here got the 2.2, said he is pretty happy with it

[holdenhead]

I have a '06 Bravo sdx. Great ute. Tow with it every day and had no probs. When Im not using it for work we have the van hooked up to it. My bro in law just brought a new BT-50. He just wanted the base model 2 wheel drive as he is sick of having cars that are too pretty. He wanted rubber floor mats etc. The ford is what he went out to buy but the base model comes with 2.2l engine. For the same money he got the base model BT-50 and it has the 3.5l engine.
Cheers rick

[DavidS]

I am looking at a BT50. Ford are dearer but they have fixed price servicing like, Holden and Toyota, where Mazda don't as they don't do Fleet sales. If you have a ABN then you can get some discounts on the Ford, Holden and Toyota's. I was offered a 2.8 Colorado dual cab, 6spd Auto with canopy, bullbar and towbar for $48000.00 this had a $8000 discount for ABN. I have not been to Ford, Toyota gave me $8000 discount but they are way out of my price range. Toyota's are to dear even secondhand. I looked at the 2wd BT50 has all the same options as 4wd but is cheaper.

[bb1]

BT50 - 46K plus 6K for tray and canopy, plus almost 1K for towbar. thats 53K and they said about 3K discount for ABN. Thats the 4 X 4 Cab chassis, 3.2L turbo diesel, manual

[4 Gardens]

BT50 - 46K plus 6K for tray and canopy, plus almost 1K for towbar. thats 53K and they said about 3K discount for ABN. Thats the 4 X 4 Cab chassis, 3.2L turbo diesel, manual

What model was that? XT or XTR.

[bb1]

what model was that? Xt or xtr.

xt ..................

[4 Gardens]

There's a few on car sales web site, but sounds like a pretty good price.

The add ons are where they hit ya

[PaulG]

BT50 - 46K plus 6K for tray and canopy, plus almost 1K for towbar. thats 53K and they said about 3K discount for ABN. Thats the 4 X 4 Cab chassis, 3.2L turbo diesel, manual

$1000 for a towbar? I bet that was through the dealer? I'm sure you'd save on that through a Hayman Reese dealer, one of the 4WD accessory shops or caravan sales/service shop.

[ian]

$1000 for a towbar? I bet that was through the dealer? I'm sure you'd save on that through a Hayman Reese dealer, one of the 4WD accessory shops or caravan sales/service shop.
or anyone who isn't a dealer :laughing:
i remember when i brought my van the dealer wanted to charge me nearly double the price for a towbar that i had been quoted by a company that does a lot of work for different dealers i would also recommend ringing a few aftermarket guy's regarding pricing on trays

[DavidS]

Towbar BT50 $850.00 fitted by dealer, ARB fitted $840. if I buy the bar and fit it myself $720.00

[Andy B]

Serious, my last tow bar was $295 fitted on site and they didn't just have to bolt it on and do wiring, the rear had to be stripped and re installed.

Try these guys if your a qld'er they were the cheapest when I worked at a panel shop a few years back. http://speedytowbars.com.au/
and from memory (and if he still exists) there's a fellow Gary's towbars down at Wynnum who was awesome and supplied all hayman reese gear.

I sat in a bt50 2x4 cab chassis today and had to enquire with the dealers finance dept cause the deal from the salesman seemed to good to be true, yeah it was until they mentioned the $8k balloon payment. But add it all up and for a little over 30k including interest and balloon over 5 years I'd be driving a brand spanker compared to a 12yr old wagon... food for thought.

Is it just me or does a bench seat with a longer tray make more sense than a dual cab for our industry??? Especially if you want to leave the trailer at home more often?

[4 Gardens]

Is it just me or does a bench seat with a longer tray make more sense than a dual cab for our industry??? Especially if you want to leave the trailer at home more often?

It probably does but then wher do you put the wife and kids on the weekend?

[bb1]

Is it just me or does a bench seat with a longer tray make more sense than a dual cab for our industry??? Especially if you want to leave the trailer at home more often?

The idea is good, but with 2 growing kids, need the extra room for school pickup/dropoff. Looked at a banch seat but it is really not suitable for more than 2 people.

[ian]

It probably does but then wher do you put the wife and kids on the weekend?

sorry i don't understand the wife and kids should be in the same place on the weekends as they are during the week wife in the kitchen or laundry and daughters helping her so they can learn to do it properly and the sons should be outside doing the garden or inside watching sport on tv with you

[Scooby Steve]

Is it just me or does a bench seat with a longer tray make more sense than a dual cab for our industry??? Especially if you want to leave the trailer at home more often?

Need room for the baby capsule Andy. My workers are getting younger by the day lol.

Your right the longer trays work better for what we do.

Thanks for all the replies thus far.

I will let you know once i decide and keep you all informed on how whatever it is i buy goes.

[Andy B]

Did I tell ya I went and sat in the BT50 the other day, crikey if I could afford new it would be parked outside my place now. :)

[Fred's mowing]

I too am a fan of the BT50 & would like to replace my old bus with one although I dont think its big enough for my work requirements.
Talked to a guy last week & he said his tray is the biggest u can fit to the extra cab at 2150x1800.
I dont like the single cab as I feel the seating pos of single cabs abit restrictive,
But could I get away coming down in size considerably, yet still working 2 ppl out of the vehicle?
Id lift it, fit bigger tyres, winch, lockers etc, then it would be close to my dream dual purpose vehicle, if only it could hold enough gear/greenwaste?
Enough dreamin!!!!
This was the guys vehicle I was yackin to.608260836084
Cheers Fred.

[Andy B]

Sorry to steal the thread Scooby, I'm now tossing up between 2010 bt50's and 2009/10 hilux work mates. Without checking I think the tow rating on the fords is less, the falcon being only 1600kg braked...

[Andy B]

doh, just read everyones comments on weekend driving with the kids, don't you take the wife's car, stuff sitting in a dirty ute with the family. :)

[holdenhead]

My work car is the family truckster as well. We do a bit of caravaning and the wifes car wont do the job and I have offered to get her a Kluger or simular so we can take her car on weekends. No go she is happy with her commodore so I just have to keep the work truck clean. A good thing I guess??

[4 Gardens]

doh, just read everyones comments on weekend driving with the kids, don't you take the wife's car, stuff sitting in a dirty ute with the family. :)


There's some places you don't want to take the good car, so that's when you use the dual cab

[bb1]

doh, just read everyones comments on weekend driving with the kids, don't you take the wife's car, stuff sitting in a dirty ute with the family. :)

And why take the car to do school dropoff/pickup when thats just around the corner from most of your jobs, would be a 20 minute loss each run to go back and get the truck.

Oh and by the way whats a wife. moved her on years ago.

[ian]

Oh and by the way whats a wife.
someone who cooks,cleans,washs,irons and does all the other womens work when you watch T.v or play on the laptop while drinking the coffee and eating the meals she has prepared for you :)

[PaulG]

doh, just read everyones comments on weekend driving with the kids, don't you take the wife's car, stuff sitting in a dirty ute with the family. :)

Hopefully getting the old Hilux back on the road in coming months (if a few things come together at present) and it will be back in duty for work and for weekend fun :)

Would love to have a new dedicated work ute though but that's a long way off.

[Andy B]

someone who cooks,cleans,washs,irons and does all the other womens work when you watch T.v or play on the laptop while drinking the coffee and eating the meals she has prepared for you :)

You make marriage sound one sided, you left out us inventing things like the dishwasher, the washing machine, the vacuum and various other things like ear plugs and beer to make life easier. lol (If my wife reads this, it was nice knowing you all. :) )

[ian]

actually the dishwasher was invented by a woman to stop the servants breaking her good crockery :) not to make it easier for them

[Scooby Steve]

Ford Ranger update. Seems the delivery of most 3.2lt Rangers has been pushed back to October due to too much worldwide demand for the transmission they use. Wildtrack is out to Feb. $50,000 for the Ranger 4x2 XLT on-road but if you buy one today you wont see it for a while and they wont guarantee the value of your trade in. In my case i could lose $3,000 by the time they get the ute in. No base model in the 4x2 3.2lt so you have to stump up for the mid ranged model.

Will try a BT-50 to see if they are in the same boat. Ford didn't even have a Ranger to demo.

[Scooby Steve]

Ford Ranger update. Seems the delivery of most 3.2lt Rangers has been pushed back to October due to too much worldwide demand for the transmission they use. Wildtrack is out to Feb. $50,000 for the Ranger 4x2 XLT on-road but if you buy one today you wont see it for a while and they wont guarantee the value of your trade in. In my case i could lose $3,000 by the time they get the ute in. No base model in the 4x2 3.2lt so you have to stump up for the mid ranged model.

Will try a BT-50 to see if they are in the same boat. Ford didn't even have a Ranger to demo.

Should have mentioned the waiting list is for the auto, same goes for the shortage of demos. They had a manual to demo but no auto. Some dealers have limited stock of certain models but the double cab auto with the bigger motor seems hard to find. And like i said in the post above if the model/colour you want isn't in stock you are going to wait a while for delivery.

[ian]

4 month wait for a car bugger that no wonder Ford are struggling

[SunM]

Someone said earlier Mazda don't do fixed price servicing, they do actually do it. There are a few differences between the 2, it's small stuff like a lockable tailgate and extra reverse sensors. I went with the Mazda XTR 4WD because for the same money I could barely get into a base model Ranger. Do some haggling, they will budge on price, I paid $48k down from $55k.

[Scooby Steve]

Someone said earlier Mazda don't do fixed price servicing, they do actually do it. There are a few differences between the 2, it's small stuff like a lockable tailgate and extra reverse sensors. I went with the Mazda XTR 4WD because for the same money I could barely get into a base model Ranger. Do some haggling, they will budge on price, I paid $48k down from $55k.

Thats funny Sun i was just talking to the Mazda dealer who said they didn't as yet do the fixed servicing, might ask again. Unlike the Ford dealers they actually have a ute to demo took a mid range model for a spin but unfortunately instead of the normal 6 speed auto this one had a 1 speed, stuck in 3rd so the test drive was brief. They managed to get me a top spec one to try which actually had all 6 gears but the shift quality wasn't what you'd expect of a new car. Clunking into gear but maybe it needed a re-flash of its ecu or maybe it to was a dud transmission as well who knows.

Ute drives nice, handles well for a work ute, turning circle is big though and the turbo lag that the reviewers talked about is definitely there. The lag is maybe something you'd get use to but i personally didn't like it at all. You put your foot down and its pauses then you get a shove as the turbo kicks in and you start propelling down the road faster than you wanted. How is the turbo lag in yours Sun? Yours auto or man? Price was really good, currently a cash back offer from Mazda, a free bullbar and towbar, i'm still considering it but i will also look at the Colarado.

[Scooby Steve]

Mazda have offered me a BT-50 for a day, has a tow bar too and they said i'm welcome to hitch the trailer up to it. I'll see if the turbo lag is going to be a issue.

[PhilG]

http://i40.tinypic.com/359emc0.jpg

Just drove my brother's BT50 to Birdsville and back. From home to Broken Hill and back we towed a tandem with a 1948 Land Rover on. I loved driving the BT50. Towed beautifully....good economy too. You would have to put bullbar on...too ugly without it.

[Fred's mowing]

Scoob, all turbo diesels have a certain amount of turbo lag.
When towing on hills, just make sure its in the boost range.
Plenty on the caravan forum towing big rigs (up to 3 ton ) with the BT50 & all seem happy!
Cheers Fred.

[PhilG]

BTW..no turbo lag

[Scooby Steve]

Thanks Fred and Phil. Mazda messed me around 3 times with the extended test drive so i went and found a 2nd hand Ranger XLT 4wd and test drove that.......wow what a ute drives very well, looks great less lag than the BT-50's i've driven so i'm thinking Ford Ranger i will either wait to pick up a 2nd hand 2wd one or just order one and wait the 8mths for it to arrive. For anyone looking for a newish dual cab ute def put these two on your shortlist.

This is the one i test drove http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Ford-Ranger-2012/AGC-AD-13401985/?Cr=14.

[4 Gardens]

Just got the new bt 50 XTR. Compared to the old bt50 it is a rocket, goes fantastic and very comfortable

[SunM]

They managed to get me a top spec one to try which actually had all 6 gears but the shift quality wasn't what you'd expect of a new car. Clunking into gear but maybe it needed a re-flash of its ecu or maybe it to was a dud transmission as well who knows.

How is the turbo lag in yours Sun? Yours auto or man? Price was really good, currently a cash back offer from Mazda, a free bullbar and towbar, i'm still considering it but i will also look at the Colarado.

You can feel the turbo lag, but it's the same with all turbo diesels. The lag isn't that bad, it's pretty good compared to other TD's I've driven and it's geared for it too. It's manual, but I've got the autos at work as well but only with the 2.2L engine. I test drove the BT50 GT auto and felt the same about the gearbox, felt a bit clunky for a new car but that ute had <1000KM on it, ones at work have >5000KM and the gearbox is pretty smooth.