DRIVEN went racing last weekend, in the NZ Mazda MX-5 Cup. A one-make racing category with its home at Chris Amon Manfeild Raceway, all cars run the same 1.6-litre engine, same tyres and same mechanical make-up. Last weekend, the category attracted 20 cars, with DRIVEN’s new JPS-homage liveried joining in the action for some fun.
But, as fun as racecars are, there is a challenge of physically getting it to and from the racetrack, given their lack of road legality. Just one of those key components is a tow vehicle, and faced with around 1300kg of Mazda MX-5 and trailer (thanks to Shaun G, for the trailer loan), Mazda NZ came up trumps with its BT-50 Limited, with canopy, and 25,000km.
Apart from a slight squeak behind the steering wheel when turning, it was a good showcase for the quality and durability of the BT-50 after 25,000km, typical km for two years of ownership. In workhorse white with tow pack, good for 3500kg, its 3.0-litre turbo diesel serves up 140kW and 450Nm, and at $55,90 for the Limited Wellside (sitting above both $48,690 GSX and $52,690 GTX), power leather seats, remote engine start and on-demand 4WD were all along for the ride, even if it stayed in 2WD for the entire trip from Auckland, to Hamilton, Palmerston North and eventually back to Auckland. Rear cross-traffic alert came into play when pulling out backwards from a tight parking spot, before the trailer was hooked up, of course, but with trailer sway control, there was reassurance in many ways.
Beggars can’t be choosers, but we proactively chose the BT-50 for the brand-match with our MX-5, but mainly because it’s just a solid, reliable, known package. But the big focus test, for this trip, was on fuel economy.
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With the lockable canopy loaded up with bags and spares, we reset the trip computer for the 500km southbound trip carrying only the trailer from Hamilton to Palmy. With the Desert Rd closed, we went an alternate route via Taumarunui, the National Park and Waiouru, and upon arrival, showed 10.5km/l - the Japanese method of measuring fuel economy, which translates to an impressive 9.5l/100km.
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Mazda claims 9.2l/100km combined, so not a bad start considering the 400kg trailer. Unhitching the trailer revealed a few good points, like the 12.5m turning circle, about on par for a ute, and after the reasonably successful race weekend debut, the racecar was loaded up, trip meter A reset (with B still recording) for the 400km return trip to Hamilton: a late night Sunday drive with very little traffic, it was largely free-flowing all the way, and the result was similarly impressive, considering it added another 900kg to the total braked tow weight, bringing trailer and (100kg) payload up to 1400kg, just 40 per cent of its towing capacity.
Thankfully it didn’t add 40 per cent to the diesel bill, with the end result upon arriving in Hamilton of 8.6km/l, or 11.6l/100km, or 22 percent increase – that was a pleasant surprise!
For the circa-1000km round trip, the total fuel use sat at 10.6l/100km, with diesel around $2.50 per litre: that’s 106 litres of fuel used, for a total bill of $265. Even theoretically towing the trailer and car for that same 1000km round trip results in a total bill of $290.
So ute tax or not, with a 76-litre range offering over 800km unladen, and well over 600km+ while towing, the Mazda BT-50 offers the ability to do non-stop trips from Auckland to Palmerston North, even when loaded up with a trailer, racecar and gear. An electric ute can wait, because it’s things like this that contribute towards a great weekend.
