The
Mazda Miata/MX-5 has been a hugely successful sports car because it has offered reasonable performance and plenty of fun. Is it still the best in its class?
On paper, this sports car looks good and is not too heavy – although the true weight is a little more than the specification says as there is no spare wheel, just an emergency canister.
I drove both the 1.8 and 2.0 liter models in the south-west of England, and later the 2.0 liter Sport in Scotland. First impressions of the MX-5 were good. It has a nice driving position, with more movement on the seats than before. There's a neat steering wheel, and even after I had lowered the wheel slightly – you couldn't do that with the old model – I could see the instruments clearly.
Mazda engineers resisted the temptation of putting a great big digital dial between the main instruments, so the speedo and rev-counter are easy to see at a glance. Oddly, though, the speedometer is divided into 20 mph segments, so you don't get a precise indication of 30 mph. The ambience is good, with the very short gear lever sticking out of the wide tunnel, which helps hold you in position when you get cornering fast.
Direct steering with good feedback
I snicked into first, and off we went. Once clear of the traffic and onto a more bumpy road, I found that the steering was giving plenty of feedback about the road surface, which is good – you really know what is happening. And the car steers very well, with gearing that seems about right – much quicker steering than you get on a hot hatch.
Visibility ahead is good, but not quite as good as on the old car, particularly for shorter drivers. With that almost flat hood, you almost feel as if you are in a sedan, which is not the impression you want – sports cars need to look and feel different. Rear visibility is pretty good, though.
The soft top comes down and goes up very quickly as there is just one clamp to undo or do up. It stows neatly when down too. However, the older car I drove– 9,000 miles on the clock – suffered from too much wind noise with the top up, which is not good. The buffeting with the hood down was not bad, but too much for a long drive.
Out on the open road, all these niggles were forgotten. Immediately I was conscious of that delightfully quick steering, with no hesitancy on entering corners, which is what you expect – and want – in a small sports car. The car seemed to be riding well, and it was clear that the body is much stiffer than the old one, allowing the suspension to soak up most bumps well.
Also, the new 2.0 liter 160 bhp engine packs a useful punch, accelerating more quickly than the old one, from about 3,000 rpm up to the read line at 7,000 rpm. It is one of those engines that has plenty of life in the mid range, but keeps accelerating well as the revs build up.
It is quiet around town, and has a delightful note when you accelerate at low speeds. Once you are out on an open road, shifting down, accelerating, braking, shifting up and so on at higher speeds, the exhaust and engine response are less satisfactory.
It just lacks the pizazz of some other engines – such as the Toyota 1.8 liter 180 bhp engine used by Lotus, or the Honda S2000. It feels rather flat, like the engine from a sedan, even though it pulls well, and keeps you moving rather quicker than you might expect.
By now, I had discovered that the gearshift of the six-speed box was pretty slick, and owing to the positive detent for reverse, had a much better shift from fourth to fifth than before. In fact, the box is much better all round, so despite that less-than-perfect engine note, the power train is a distinct advance.
A sports car that enjoys twisty roads
Later I took off through some deserted winding roads, and the MX-5 came into its own, going where placed with just a nudge of the wheel, turning in as sharply as before, and accelerating well. The ride is firm but good. True, it wanted to take off over big humps, and jumped about a bit on poor surfaces, but I always knew I was in control.
The great joy of the car is that you can drive energetically through quiet country roads as fast as you are allowed – or if you get the chance to drive on unrestricted country roads, you can cruise at 80-90 mph. The brakes work well, with a good progressive pedal, and the seats hold you in quite well. They are average in this respect – Recaros would make a lot of difference.
On most of those short curves, you hardly turn the wheel, the car turning in smoothly, so you can hurtle across quite twisty roads at surprisingly high speeds.
Little roll on sharper corners
On the sharper corners, the car continues to corner in a neutral stance with little roll. Push harder, and you can feel the back end wanting to come out, and then being restrained by the stability control which works quite well.
When you do push too hard, the tail does slide out a little, but is easily controlled. Clearly, the handling is what you want from a small front-engined sports car. Just great, whether you are pushing hard round tight bends or driving fast through a series of curves.
Once, I did need to accelerate quickly out of a T-junction on a wet road, and the traction control made a mess of it. As soon as one wheel started to spin the stability control came into operation, slowing the engine down, so it hardly had enough power to get away. A more sporty setting would be better.
So back to the beginning: Is this still the definitive, affordable small sports car? That depends how you define affordable, because the Lotus Elise S, which costs $5,500 more (£3,000) is a much more exciting car, reaching 60 mph in 2 full seconds less than the MX-5. On the other hand, the MX-5 is a car you can drive every day, use for shopping and most other things, and is much easier to get into and out.
So, yes, the Mazda MX-5/Miata is still a great little car, with super handling, a willing engine, and is still fairly practical. What the new car lacks is excitement – either in appearance or sound – but not once you start driving. It is a fine little car, and retains the fun factor. Highly recommended.
