Has Mazda made a good-looking pick-up truck?

Let’s get this out of the way first – Mazda’s new pick-up truck isn’t coming to Europe. Sorry. The new BT-50, which is actually an Isuzu D-Max with a prettier face, is mainly for Asia and Australia. It’ll compete with the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and so-on when it goes on sale there later this year.

And it looks… quite nice? Pick-ups aren’t the prettiest of vehicles by their very nature, and grafting a new face onto an existing design can’t be easy, but we reckon Mazda’s done a rather good job with this one. The BT-50’s front-end clearly references the company’s cars, which are all quite good-looking, and the interior appears pretty plush.

Of course the BT-50 pictured is in a spangly spec, with lots of chrome, leather and kit. The work trucks, which will actually make use of the BT-50’s 1,065kg payload and 3,500kg towing capacity and at no point be this clean, will no doubt look a bit plainer.

As standard it’s manual and rear-wheel drive, with an auto and all-wheel drive optional. For now Mazda’s only given details of one engine – a 3.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel making 187bhp and 332lb ft.

Mazda has sold pick-ups in the UK before, back when they were based on Ford Rangers. Reckon it should ship the new one over here too?