What's good?
– Economical
– Fun to drive
– Smart, sleek design
What's bad?
– Lacks interior storage space
What's the score?
9/10
Mazda MX-5 Review
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Sam Worth
- 2 Comments
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It's a brilliant sports car, on all roads, at all speeds.
Overview
Mazda has kept their little rascal going for the past 31 years, with over 1 million sold globally making it the best-selling sports car, ever. Although we all miss the good ol’ pop-up headlights from the MK1, car manufacturers can no longer fit these characteristic features onto modern cars, due to safety regulations, which is a shame. But Mazda has done an impressive job of the design, giving it an aggressive front end, with the rear end looking rather perky.
Thankfully, Mazda hasn’t gone overboard with the fourth-generation model by adding turbochargers, a flappy-paddle gearbox, or an all-wheel drive setup. Instead, they’ve kept it being rear wheel drive, a proper manual gearbox, and the engines are naturally aspirated.
Mazda offers a soft top version starting from £23,800. For an extra £1,900 you can get the Retractable Fastback (hard top) body type, which starts at £25,700. However, before you start getting excited, if you have a heavy right foot, you may need to save a few more shilling’s as the more powerful engine is only available with the higher spec trim level. Which starts at £28,405 for the soft top, and £30,305 for the RF. Ouch.
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Drive
The MX-5 feels at home on our British B-roads and performs well, at a push. Because it doesn’t weigh much and sits relatively low to the ground with the power going to the rear wheels, it makes the car even livelier on hard cornering. Cars like the MX-5 make the drive feel more entertaining. You’ll find the MX-5 isn’t a hardcore, fast sports car. It’s a car you can chuck through the bends and smile when your foot collapses the far-right pedal.
The model I tested has the optional extra Bilstein shocks and a set of aftermarket BBR lowering springs, making the car feel more planted to the road and delivering sharper handling. On the higher spec models, you’ll get a strut brace and a limited slip differential, maintaining better traction when you feel the need to really chuck it into a corner.
Mazda offers two petrol engines to pick from. Both are naturally aspirated four cylinders and come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, phew. If you’re looking at getting the auto, give your head a wobble, because one; its more expensive, and two; it defeats the whole point of owning an MX-5. The 1.5-litre Skyactiv-G gets 132bhp, whereas the 2.0-litre Skyactive-G gets 184bhp.
All pre-2018 model years get 26bhp less from the 2.0-litre engine, giving it 158bhp. That makes 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds, with 148lb-ft, and a top speed of 134mph. The newer, slightly more pokier versions with 184bhp knock off half a second 0-62mph, get 151lb-ft, and flat out they’ll do 137mph.
When I started driving the MX-5, I quickly realised that performance figures aren’t necessarily relevant. You see, because the MX-5 is light and low to the ground, it feels faster on the road, than you may think. I also love the fact that you can push the engine and it feels happy to rev. The MX-5 feels nippy, eager to tackle some bendy roads, which is what it’s built for. You can use the MX-5 daily, although it may not feel especially comfortable on longer journeys, but that’s expected. You should get around 40mpg from it, too, even if you often feel the need to give it some beans.
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Interior
The interior is smartly laid out. There’s nothing overly complicated with the MX-5 cabin area, although it may seem a task getting in and out of if you’re lanky. The 7-inch infotainment system can seem dated and sometimes slow to respond too. It has a Sat Nav, DAB, Bluetooth, CD player, AUX, and it works with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. You can control the infotainment system via the screen itself or by the controls along the centre console, which can be a bit fiddly to begin with. Once you’ve driven over 5mph, the system can only be operated by the centre console controls, which can be a right pain.
When you’ve finished setting up the media, from the Sport trim up, you’ve got a Bose sound system to play with. That’s a total of nine speakers, two of them are in each headrest. Not bad for a two-seater sports car eh? Get them tunes bangin’.
You can get convenient features in the MX-5 like blind spot mirroring system, lane keeping assist, movable cupholders, climate control with air con, a speed limiter and cruise control. Oh yeah, and it has heated seats. Mind you, most of the time I spent in the MX-5 I’ve felt the need to have seat coolers instead, as I found my back was often getting sweaty. Ew.
Okay, I feel it’s time to tell you there is one problem with this car, it has no glove box. Although there are other small storage compartments scattered around the cabin area, but when I say small, they really are small. But hey, better than nothing, right? Although the MX-5 doesn’t have a glovebox, thankfully it has a boot. But that’s not majorly big either. That’s 127-litres for the RF and 130-litres for the soft top.
Pre-2019 models only have height adjustable steering wheels, which may seem a nuisance for some people, but it wasn’t for me. On later models, the steering wheel can be adjusted by both height and depth. As well as this, an optional extra reversing camera can be installed. Although if I were you, I’d open the roof up and stick ya head out the window. That’ll save you a few bob.
Verdict
The Mazda MX-5 is no doubt a thrill of a drive. It may not be quick, but it doesn’t matter. It has some issues, small issues that is, which isn’t bad for a small sports car. There’s a reason why the MX-5 is the highest-selling sports car in history. It’s cheap to run, has a background and it’s fun to drive at all speeds.
If you’re looking at buying one, I would personally choose the RF over the soft top, mainly because I prefer the look, and it also looks cool when it does ‘its thing’ on a summer’s day. It’s brilliant to drive and will put a smile on your face whichever engine you go for.
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