Need advice: MAZDA BT50 or Toyota Hilux

DrunkenMaster16 · Postby **DrunkenMaster16** » November 22nd, 2014, 7:36 am

The BT-50's (i own a 07 - 11) are a beast, preventative maintenance is key to a long lasting engine / pickup. I used to drive on field roads daily for 2 years carrying different things in the tray Heaviest being a complete goose neck errr cable err heavy no arse cable used to lift the block while drilling and the lift while pulling out. basically drove that bad boy coiled up in my tray from Palo Seco to Otahiete to be inspected. No damage to pickup at all, i broke the diff cause I was being a jack arse, changed the radiator after 90 000k's to a locally made 3 core (the original has plastic end's that WILL CRACK)

otherwise pushing 180 000k's original suspention, original engine, original gear box.. etc etc BT-50 Beast.

4x2 toyota will last you for ever, that said parts tend to be a bit more pricey for the toyota brand, as with the bt-50 preventative maintenance will make your pickup last longer. With some decent tyres you won't have to worry about sticking in mud once its mild but in a sticky situation your going to want the 4x4. Flood's you'll want the ride height also. Personally I would not easily go back to a non 4x4 but its what you need, where you work and past experiences that should guide your purchase.

jattsrobby · Postby **jattsrobby** » November 22nd, 2014, 7:42 am

Toyota has its quality, i understand the predicament. Did u consider the 2.5 hilux 4x4? last price i knew was around 250k, if u can afford it u may be killing two birds with 1 stone.

kamakazi · Postby **kamakazi** » November 22nd, 2014, 7:53 am

That's a though call

The Toyota has a bigger cab than the mazda you mentioned. The rear legroom is almost non existant in the older mazda. Your family will hate the space or lack thereof.

Ride quality I will give to the mazda. Toyota suspension is a bit stiff and with commercial tyres it will be even worse...I say this but somehow the hilux is quiet running over humps but the mazda kinda crashes over them... but overall I think mazda wins in ride quality

As for the gearbox...I hate the long a$$ stick that Toyota uses. .. It makes you feel like your driving a piece of agricultural machinery.... the gearstick in the mazda is by comparison shorter and feels better to drive.

I have experienced clutch problems in both though
In the mazda that i used to drive,the clutch engagement range would move closer to the floor as the van heated up. So after about 2 hrs of driving, the clutch would start engaging if I release it less than an inch off the floor.
The earlier Toyota manual used to have this awful noise attributed to lack of lubrication off the pilot bearing.... Now we haven't had to change it but it has been re greased about 3 times already

As for power I would say the mazda feels like it has more than the 2.5 lux. I rather drive the mazda in anger over the lux. ....it's just easier

The engine though. .. Never had a problem with the lux engine. ...never had the mazda long enough to experience any engine problems either...All I can probably say is that the older diesel engines are more tolerant of our diesel than the newer common rail systems

The Navara is also in that price range but that has its own set of pros and cons

3stagevtec · Postby **3stagevtec** » December 9th, 2014, 1:40 am

The 2.5 BT50 is a lot more powerful than the 2.5 Hilux.. The BT50 has a much better low end response and pulls strong when driving at low speeds in high gears. With the Hilux, I felt I needed to keep it in the right gear or the motor will bog down.. Pulling off in 2nd from a very low speed is more of a challenge where as with the BT50 it will pull off normally.

The BT50 will last once you maintain it right and the drivetrain is proven strong.

Ted_v2 · Postby **Ted_v2** » December 9th, 2014, 6:10 am

Hilux all day.

A bt50 is a beast however just known to head failures

Havoc · Postby **Havoc** » December 9th, 2014, 6:24 am

My in-laws bt50 on its second head and it recently went down again with suspected head problems

Beware of tht wlt engine, its a known head killer

Toyopet · Postby **Toyopet** » December 9th, 2014, 1:12 pm

While the head is a problem in the mazda, as said before, preventative maintenance is key. Change the radiator to a metal one and watch that temp guage. I think once that's done, it would last very long and you would enjoy it a lot more.
Dad has a B2500 thats doing over 220,000kms but we did change the head last year, and that was only because he didn't listen to me when I told him the temp guage is going up for a reason. It was only after changing the head and realizing the temp was still rising did he decide to check the radiator and fix the leak in it. That was at about 195,000km

Ted_v2 · Postby **Ted_v2** » December 9th, 2014, 7:29 pm

boy thats true. a next thing tho is those raj with 24" chromes on their bt50.

you using the wrong rims and always in boost.

DrunkenMaster16 · Postby **DrunkenMaster16** » December 10th, 2014, 8:12 am

3stagevtec wrote:The 2.5 BT50 is a lot more powerful than the 2.5 Hilux.. The BT50 has a much better low end response and pulls strong when driving at low speeds in high gears. With the Hilux, I felt I needed to keep it in the right gear or the motor will bog down.. Pulling off in 2nd from a very low speed is more of a challenge where as with the BT50 it will pull off normally.

The BT50 will last once you maintain it right and the drivetrain is proven strong.

BTW broke the original BT50 Diff. Have ford guts now.

Just yesterday was doing some minor preventative maintenance and found one of the water jackets / sleaves had rust in the middle and a pin hole leak. Went in originally to change my exhaust gasket. By the time my mechanic was taking off my turbo manifold I found 3 issues. 1 day and 700$ poorer my BT50 is back to top condition mechanically (well saw some cracks on the front boot rubbers to change out next week.)

Otherwise good to go, 184 xxxk's original head, block, injectors, plugs, turbo etc etc etc

Changed : Radiator, Clutch, Clutch fan, Water pump, Hoses, Intercooler (damaged my original, sportero 3.2 equipped now.), Clutch master and slave + lines, tyres, brake pads etc etc etc

I have overheated 3 times, but due to my diligence no damage was done. Cracked radiator, hoses that collapsed, clutch fan, water pump. No intention to sell the beast.

kamakazi · Postby **kamakazi** » December 29th, 2014, 1:29 am

Looks good. .. its just that gear change. I do not mind the length of the gearstick but it has so much travel between gears. Other than that. ... decent vehicle.

It also bears repeating.... Take your time on those bridgestones in the wet especially as they wear down.

aviboy · Postby **aviboy** » January 15th, 2015, 5:31 pm

van looking sweet

supernedd · Postby **supernedd** » September 22nd, 2018, 7:26 am

now its 2018 ..what everyone driving

trebornattaj · Postby **trebornattaj** » September 22nd, 2018, 11:25 am

dieselburner wrote:DSC02325edit.JPGDSC02325edit.JPGSeasons greetings fellas and all the best for 2015!!! thanks for all the the information/advice you all took the time to give me. I do appreciate it and have made my decision. I decided to take jattsrobby advice and put out the extra cash($234k) an went for the 2.5 4x4 toyota hilux manual. I must say she runs beautifully and have not regretted this decision!!

Nice, have me a 2010 model. ....good choice