What the Mazda BT-50 Freestyle Looks Like

Posted by Mike Levine | June 9, 2011

What the Mazda BT-50 Freestyle Cab Looks Like

Mazda has released the first photos of the upcoming four-door BT-50 Freestyle world truck.

Freestyle is Mazda-speak for extended cab. It's a smaller cabin configuration than what we saw when the BT-50 debuted last October at the Australian International Auto Show with a full crew cab, but the polarizing swoopy styling remains as strong as ever.

The Mazda BT-50 is the sister truck to Ford's all-new Ranger global small pickup. Both were developed by a team led by Ford’s Australian engineering team, though Mazda had considerable input from the start.

You access the BT-50's seats via a wide pillar-less door opening with two standard doors in front and small reverse-opening doors in the rear, like most extended cab pickups have used in the U.S. for years.

Australia is expected to be the BT-50's largest market when it goes on sale by the end of the year. As is the case with the Ranger, there are no plans to bring the BT-50 to North America.

Mazda-bt50-1-560

[Source: Mazda]

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Comments

The rest of the world can have it. Ugly!

Posted by: Lou | Jun 9, 2011 11:38:16 AM

I think it looks like a tundra.

Posted by: Curtis | Jun 9, 2011 12:45:12 PM

I know I'm going against the grain here of the truck's controversial styling, but I say that I like it in that it's not a me-too truck. It will definitely make people notice you more. It looks like the Mitsubishi Triton from the side, NOT the Tundra, Curtis - not the first or second generation. It looks better than the Tundra.

For the record I would prefer the Ranger, but I like the Mazda a lot too.

Posted by: Billy | Jun 9, 2011 1:47:56 PM

yeah i have to agree its lookin like a tundra yuck lol

Posted by: chevy guy | Jun 9, 2011 2:15:42 PM

The only part that looks like the Tundra is the rear lights. The front end is fugly. People buy trucks that look like trucks for a reason. No one wants a truck that looks like a car. Everyone in Oz, I know your love of the ute but that is a car with a bed, this is different, and worse for it.

Posted by: mldrieling | Jun 9, 2011 2:46:53 PM

@mldrieling" I saw it up close and personal "at the Sydney MotorShow. It is hideous by anyone's definition. Rear view shot
I took at the show.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/RobRyan7/Mazdarear-1.jpg

Posted by: Robert Ryan | Jun 9, 2011 3:34:43 PM

@midrieling US Pickups do not look like trucks to us, they collectively get put into the car/truck "Ute" category. Talking to another person from another company about the Mazda, they said they liked the Ford take, but found the Mazda styling "interesting"

Posted by: Robert Ryan | Jun 9, 2011 3:45:23 PM

@Billy
Your wrong I own a 2010 5.7L tundra dc and the part that looks a little like the tundra is the cab area with the doors closed not the front or the back.

Posted by: Curtis | Jun 9, 2011 6:14:55 PM

Yeah let the rest of the world have this. Doesn't excite me one bit.

Posted by: Nate.M | Jun 9, 2011 7:00:27 PM

It looks similar to- and will probably be better than the next Colorado.

Posted by: a different Luke | Jun 9, 2011 7:40:23 PM

Quite unattractive, but I sure wish that diesel engine was here.

Posted by: UncleBud | Jun 9, 2011 8:45:47 PM

Hi, it looks like Mitsubishi L200 :
http://www.autofirmowe.pl/galeria_zdjec/z,96,253,5946_mitsubishi,l200.html

Posted by: tomasz | Jun 10, 2011 4:34:04 AM

@mldrieling- not the case everywhere- in Germany (I know its a small market), the L200/Triton is the best selling truck, and has been since the current model came out. Almost no pick-up sales over there are purely coommercial- they have van cab-chassis for that.

Posted by: Mrknowitall | Jun 10, 2011 8:12:40 AM

Funky, I like the aerodynamic styling attempt but looks like it was beat with an ugly stick.

Posted by: Ken | Jun 10, 2011 1:02:04 PM

@tomasz The Mitsubishi Triton(L200) has that very asiatic styling as well, but it is a very capable vehicle nonetheless.
@Mrknowitall The Van Cab Chassis' are the F250-F550's of Europe. They also fill many other roles as well i.e. Buses, Motorhomes, Armoured Personnel Carriers etc

Posted by: Robert Ryan | Jun 10, 2011 6:37:37 PM

Bring it on! We need more aerodynamic trucks if we want better gas mileage and good horsepower. Stop hoarding the best in Australia!

Posted by: Vulpine | Jun 11, 2011 11:19:31 AM

Re: mldrieling "No one wants a truck that looks like a car." Actually, you're quite wrong, a lot of people do. Quite honestly the only reason trucks soared in sales back in the '70s and '80s and are still big now is that it's a great way to get massive horsepower without paying ridiculous insurance rates. You look at a lot of trucks and you'll see that they almost never carry any loads and are tricked out like the muscle cars of old. Quite honestly I live in RedNeck country and see more 'show' trucks than working trucks.

Personally, bring in some of the aerodynamics and stop pushing that brick-wall nose through the wind.

Posted by: Vulpine | Jun 11, 2011 11:28:28 AM

@Curtis,

OK I see a little Tundra resemblance in the front door and the mirror as well as the lower body lines. Coincidentally the Mazda has a similar color blue when we saw the first 2007 Tundra in Double Cab too. How about this, from the side it looks like a Triton/L200 morphing into a Tundra with front and rears from a Mazda6...LOL!

Posted by: Billy | Jun 11, 2011 12:49:31 PM

Uh, this is just wrong on so many levels.

Posted by: Johnny | Jun 12, 2011 9:38:48 AM

Looks like whoever designed this was a little loose with the nitrous oxide (laughing gas). This abomination looks like a cross between a tundra and a mazda 3 yuk!!!!

Posted by: sandman4X4 | Jun 12, 2011 2:37:13 PM

@mldrieling I think this is Mazda going right to the extreme-aero, more car-like appearance to chase the customer who doesn't want a boxy, bulky 'truck' look. Sure it will not be to everyone's taste, but probably a better bet than doing the same thing all the other manufacturers are doing.

Ironically pickup trucks are less swoopy than 18-wheelers these days! It is probably also worth a couple of highway mpg also, why wouldn't you want that?

Having said that I'm not a fan of that front-end design, too over-styled as with all Mazdas of the last 3 or so years.

Posted by: outback_ute | Jun 15, 2011 1:21:09 AM

and the reason why we cant have it is WHAT????????

Posted by: andrew skinner | Jun 16, 2011 12:00:56 AM

I like it. The big 3 trucks look a lot like uninspired, oversized boxes on wheels. It's past due time for something different and fuel efficient. Kudos to the Mazda/Ranger team for a job well done. Bring em on!

Posted by: Bob Canada | Jun 19, 2011 8:47:21 PM

I want one, don't care what maker, Ford, Toy, Maz even Jeep. Give me a small easy to park pickup with great mileage, 4wd and keep it simple.

Posted by: momic | Jul 28, 2011 11:01:26 AM