All-new Mazda BT-50 aces ANCAP crash test with five-star rating

Apart from being sturdy workhorses and stylish recreational vehicles, pickups can also be paragons of safety. The all-new Mazda BT-50 demonstrates this as it gets a perfect score of five stars on crash tests conducted by the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). 

Mazda's BT-50 midsize pickup gives a stellar performance in ANCAP crash tests 

On frontal offset crash tests, the driver’s head and upper legs received good protection, garnering a perfect four points each. Chest and lower leg protection fared slightly worse, being assessed as adequate with 2.69 points and 2.84 points, respectively. 

Protection for the front passenger’s head and upper legs was also good with four points, while chest protection was rated at 3.39 points and lower leg protection merited 3.31 points. The head, neck, and upper legs for both driver and front passenger experienced good protection with four points each in a full width frontal crash. 

For the side impact and oblique pole tests, protection for the head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis was likewise good at four points each. Whiplash protection from a simulated rear impact resulted in 3.5 out of four points, while rescue and extrication earned two out of two points. Overall adult occupant protection was placed at 33 points out of 38, for a total of 86 percent. 

The ratings apply to almost all Australia and New Zealand releases of the BT-50 except for the Thunder trim level

Head and chest protection for child occupants were good during the frontal offset impact test. These were observed in the side impact assessment as well. Front and side dynamic tests achieved perfect scores of 16 points each, while child restraint installation garnered eight out of eight points. Overall child occupant protection was placed at 44 points out of 49, for a total of 89 percent.

Onboard safety assist features also performed admirably, with the autonomous emergency braking and forward collision warning receiving a good rating at speeds of up to 80 km/h. Occupant detection, seatbelt reminders, and driver monitoring also received passing marks. The BT-50 received 13.49 out of 16 points overall points for safety assist, translating to 84 percent.    

Scores for the BT-50 were based on the crash safety performance of the Isuzu D-Max 

Note that the ANCAP safety rating achieved by the Mazda BT-50 is based on that of the Isuzu D-Max, since both automakers collaborated on the same platform for the current iteration of their respective models. ANCAP says that technical information for both models show that the test results for the D-Max also apply to the BT-50.  

The BT-50’s latest crash safety performance is likely attributable to the inclusion of a revised driver knee airbag and instrument panel for units built from July 2022 onwards. Additional frontal impact tests were reportedly performed on the updated D-Max to verify the improvements in safety, with the results combined with the findings on the initial D-Max tests held in 2020.    

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