2012 Mazda BT-50

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The current BT-50 is Mazda's only offering in the utility segment. It is an established utility that has won numerous awards and gained a strong following all over the world.

In developing the new model, Mazda intended to expand its appeal to customers who lead active lifestyles and have needs that cannot be met by conventional utilities. It provides the perfect solution for a wide range of customers who lead active lifestyles and offers all the functionality required for business use combined with passenger car-like comfort for family use. And for active customers in Australia and Europe, it is the perfect answer for all kinds of outdoor leisure activities. In this way, the all-new Mazda BT-50 has been developed to fulfill the varied requirements of customers in every market.

To ensure all these aims were met, the Mazda BT-50 was developed under the theme, "Active lifestyle vehicle." The result is a utility that offers unique value; it has refined and expressive styling; a comfortable, high quality interior; a smooth ride with the feel of a passenger car; sporty and responsive driving dynamics that reflect Mazda's DNA; and outstanding environmental and safety performance.

"Sophisticated Beast"

Mazda targeted a unique and expressive design that people would find desirable and also strong and dependable. This led them to define the design concept as a "Sophisticated Beast."

As Ryo Yanagisawa, chief designer of the Mazda BT-50 explains: "Mazda's brand message is Zoom-Zoom, which refers to the emotion of motion first experienced as a child. With the Mazda BT-50, we aimed to express this emotion through the design, and we drew a lot of inspiration from various "movements" in the world around us. For example, we had a photograph of a lion. He looked like a magnificent predator with his muscles all bunching up as though he was about to pounce on his prey. His sinews were stretched taut ready to strike, and his mane framed a sharp, masculine countenance that seemed to say, 'I am the proud king of the beasts!' In profile, that lion appeared to be both intelligent and powerful. I really wanted the design of the truck to project that kind of image. This kind of inspiration was the basis of the emotional design that we worked so hard to achieve with the Mazda BT-50."

Mazda BT-50: Review (2/2)