Back in the day, when I started work as a young carpenter, my boss, Tom, would pick me up if we were working out of town.
Tom had a fairly new Mazda B1600 single cab flat deck Ute, which was pretty good in its time, but we are talking 1987. Thinking about that ancestor to my current Mazda BT-50, makes me feel very grateful for the continued development and innovation that Mazda has put into these vehicles over time.
Thinking back to those days, a double cab was not even an option, and any form of driver assistance was still on the drawing board, to say nothing of the safety, ease and comfort of driving today’s BT-50.
My BT-50 has become my mobile office and workshop, all in one. The ability to safely take a brief call via the handsfree system, the clear and generous sized display for navigation, the comfort of the driving position and the layout of the cab, combined with a no compromise ability to carry and tow all the gear I need as an LPB (License Building Practitioner), means the BT-50 has become an integral part of my business. The reversing camera makes you look pretty good when backing up to hook up a trailer too. This is a brilliant safety feature because, if you are working on your own, you now have that second pair of eyes to guide you to the trailer. This making the task of hooking up your trailer easier and safer.
Majority of my daily drive is done on our increasingly busy urban roads; however, I have just completed a three-day road trip Auckland to Wairarapa stopping in Napier on the way. A 1300 km round trip, which has made me appreciate the other elements of this current BT-50. The comfort, the navigation systems, the handsfree plus the occasional reminder about the proximity of another vehicle approaching alongside me on the motorway or the beep that lets me know how close I am to another car while manoeuvring into a carpark are useful and practical features of the BT-50 that make every day’s drive safer. The innovation and the practicality in the development from B1600 to today’s BT-50 make my new office very comfortable plus this make Road trips so much more relaxing and it incorporates very nicely into my family lifestyle too.
I have fond memories of that B1600 Ute and I’m creating new memories every day in the BT-50
