Ever driven an older car with a manual gearbox? Then this will be familiar. 

You’re driving up a steep hill and you’ve come to a stop. You push down the clutch pedal and shove the shifter into first gear. Left hand on the handbrake and right hand on the steering wheel. And then that sinking feeling begins to fizz in your stomach.

The car’s going to roll backwards.

You g-e-n-t-l-y press the accelerator pedal with your right foot. Slowly release the handbrake. The car starts to roll backwards. You slam the brake pedal with your right foot!

That fizz in your stomach rises even further.

Mazda has the answer. It’s called Hill Start Assist. It keeps the vehicle’s brakes applied while you move your foot from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal when you’re setting off up a hill.

In the Mazda BT-50 it’s especially useful when driving off-road.  

Watch the video below and discover how it works.