Mazda BT-50 VS Ford Transit

While the BT-50’s main rival, Ford’s Ranger (and the related VW Amarok), is often considered the class leader in road manners, the Thunder Pro’s Old Man Emu BP-51 suspension upgrade is a game-changer for the ute.

Even on particularly rough roads with brutal unexpected waterlogged potholes, the BT-50’s OME set-up managed to keep the ute on track and settled without letting crashy vibrations and forces enter the cabin too acutely.

Of course, the BT-50 is still a ladder-frame ute, and combining that with torrential rain in the middle of almost-nowhere isn't the right combination when it comes to leaning on a dual-cab’s dynamic ability.

But the braking and steering in the BT-50 are impressive for its category, both feeling well-sorted: the former firm and strong when needing to stop quickly, the latter light but communicative enough for purpose.

The Mazda doesn't feel too top-heavy in cornering, no wild pitching or rolling here. Stable on gravel, too, feeling sure-footed and only intervening with active stability control when necessary and in a measured way. 

With just little old me and some overnight luggage, the BT-50’s engine wasn’t exactly pushed to its limits hauling the 2.2-tonne-plus ute up the Hume Highway at 110km/h. But even on twistier roads and under load up hills it never felt lacking.

Though not on this test, we’ve also tested the BT-50 under load and towing, both proving easy tasks for the ute.

Mostly low-RPM work and cruising contributed to its fairly efficient fuel figure mentioned above, but putting the right foot down a few times confirmed the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel has some decent muscle if needed.

Finally, and very much worth noting if the Pro Pack is why you’re reading this, the combination of Lightforce LED light bar and twin-spotlights is a must if you regularly drive at night through unlit regions of Australia.

As someone who grew up driving 4WDs with spotlights at night on interstate trips, the lights fitted to the Thunder Pro are impressive in their illumination, combining relatively wide light - perfect for ensuring you’re not caught out by surprise wildlife crossing your path - with the strong beams from the spotlights turning what seems like thousands of metres of road ahead into daylight.

Both sets of lights are controlled by buttons on the right of the steering wheel, useful for when you only need one, or when standard high-beams alone will do.

It offers a comfortable and commanding driving position, thanks to the multi-adjustable seat, two-way steering wheel adjustment and clear eye-lines to the big truck-style door mirrors with lower sections offering wide-angle views.

You don’t need to warm-up the engine to generate cabin heating - it’s instant. And when you get underway it feels more like you're riding in a tram than a van, with its muted electric hum the closest we’ve come to driving a silent commercial vehicle.

With the big battery under the floor it feels firmly planted on the road when unladen, with a low centre of gravity providing good stability when cornering.

The battery weight, combined with E-Transit’s unique four-coil suspension, iron out the bumps and provide a supple ride quality.

Acceleration from standing starts is brisk and smooth in Normal mode, even though you can sense its 2.6-tonne kerb weight's slight reluctance to get moving even with 430Nm of instant torque. At 100km/h, there’s only tyre noise and a little wind-buffeting around the door mirrors.

We drove the first 100km in Normal mode, during which average consumption was 27kWh/100km. We then switched to Eco mode, which resulted in a drop in performance without a corresponding decrease in consumption. Perhaps you need to drive it longer in Eco to harvest the benefits.

We then switched back to Normal mode for our GVM test. We forklifted 1300kg into the cargo bay which with driver equalled a total payload of 1400kg, which was still more than 200kg under its GVM limit. The rear suspension compressed 50mm with ample travel remaining, while the nose rose 35mm in response.

The compressed suspension felt firmer, as you’d expect, but the electric motor hardly noticed this load around town, with acceleration and general response remaining strong if slightly subdued. Energy consumption increased to 28kWh/100km during our load run.

In strictly city driving, which the E-Transit is aimed at, it proved to be a capable workhorse. It can do the job quite economically, too, given that during most of our testing in Normal mode it was operating in the 0-50 per cent ‘power usage’ zone which provides ample performance.