2024 Mazda MX-5: Nirvana for Motorheads

My definition of a sport car is really quite simple – light weight, two doors, two seats and feedback from a drivetrain and controls that make you want to find the long way home and/or a twisty piece of blacktop.

Add the ability to go topless (the car) so you can enjoy the smells and sounds, and that is pretty much nirvana for this motorhead.

Mazda has this category almost to itself. I say almost, because the Toybaru twins (Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ) are the only real competition, even though they are larger, have rear seats, and fixed tops.

With the Miata (now the MX-5), Mazda brought reliability and quality to the sports car world

The Mazda MX-5 (nee Miata) was inspired by the post-war British and Italian sports cars like the MG-B, Triumph Spitfire and TR-series, and the Fiat124.

As would be proven across the industry, the Japanese company brought reliability and quality to the sports car world. The standard joke at the time, was that the Miata was a sports car that started when asked, remained running until shut off, and didn’t leak fluids when parked.

I had the good fortune to be among a handful of North Americans invited to be among the first to drive a Miata in late 1989.

Mazda sent a half-dozen of the little sports cars to Hawaii, halfway between Japan and North America, and invited a group of us to wring them out and provide feedback.

We drove on public roads and on a temporary race-course set up in the vast parking lot around Aloha Stadium. We had very little to suggest the development team change before the Miata made it to market in the US and Canada the following spring as a 1990 model.

For more than three decades, the Miata and its MX-5 offspring have earned a reputation as pure joy on wheels.

Its light weight means it doesn’t have to have gobs of power to impress.

In fact, the normally-aspirated 2.0 four-cylinder produces only 181-horsepower. But that is enough to propel the little roadster from rest to 100 km/hr in less than six seconds, a feat that vehicles with double that output are hard pressed to match.

A six-speed manual transmission is standard, and it is a delight.

Widely recognized as the best of a shrinking breed, it boasts easily identified gates and a slick action requiring only a flick of the wrist. Add in a progressive clutch and the whole package is rewarding to use.

That light weight, combined with rock-solid construction and a sophisticated suspension allows the lithe two-seater to respond to inputs with an alacrity that brings a smile to your face every time you decide to explore the car’s capabilities.

It was a fun summer for this scribe, thanks to the ability to spend time with both MX-5s – the roadster and RF or hardtop version.

Updates for the 2024 model year include new LED lighting front and rear, a new grill, different wheels and colour options. Never content to rest on their laurels, the chassis team tweaked the steering rack and have given models with a manual transmission a new limited slip differential.

Another example of lightweight thinking is a soft top than can be easily raised or lowered by hand – no need of a heavy and bulky power mechanism.

Inside, cramped for tall people, but built for driving

This is a small vehicle, and the design and engineering teams were unable to create more interior space than the design allows. People over six feet in height will find it cramped, especially on the passenger side where there is even less legroom.

The fourth generation MX-5 gets a padded console and revised graphics for the instrument cluster. There is a larger (22-cm) screen for the infotainment system that adds Alexa capability as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration.

The control knob remains unfortunately where it can best be operated with your elbow.

Those in need of cup holders might complain about the build-your-own setup that places them out of reach. There is no glovebox, but a bin between and behind the seats as the only place to store small items out of sight.

Those who would bitch about cup holders, infotainment controls and a lack of storage provisions probably enjoy being driven – as opposed to those of us who enjoy doing the driving.

In this respect, the MX-5 is in its element. Small, pure, and elemental, this is the very definition of fun on wheels.

Check out artist Michael Doyle’s inspired gallery of the MX-5 here. 

FACTS & FIGURES – 2024 Mazda MX-5 Sport Design & RF GT

PRICE

GT Base: $42,000, as tested $44,395

RF Base: $49,195, as tested: $51,790

SAFETY – BOTH

Automatic levelling LED headlights with automatic high beams, distance and speed alert, smart city brake support, advanced blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure warning

INFOTAINMENT – BOTH

22-cm colour infotainment screen with. 7G Mazda Connect, and Alexa, two USB type C ports, Bose premium audio system with nine speakers, including sub woofer and in driver and passenger head restraints, Satellite radio,  wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

STANDARD EQUIPMENT – BOTH

17-in alloy wheels, radar cruise control with stop & go function, heated power mirrors, automatic climate control, tilt & telescope steering wheel, power locks and windows, push button start, keyless entry, heated seats, navigation system, HomeLink, 12-cm multi-information display in gauge cluster

SIGNIFICANT OPTIONS

GT – Zircon sand metallic paint, $300

RF – Soul Red Crystal metallic paint, $500, Grand Sport Package, $3,600; includes contrasting top and mirrors in piano black, tan Nappa leather seating surfaces, Brembo brakes with red calipers, 17-I BBS forged alloy wheels

MECHANICAL – BOTH

2.0 litre four-cylinder, 181-horsepower, 151 lb.-ft. of torque, premium fuel, six-speed manual transmission, rear-wheel-drive. NRCan rating (litres/100km city/highway): 9.0/7.0

DIMENSIONS – BOTH (except weight)

Length, 3,914 mm; wheelbase, 2,309-MM; width, 1,918 mm; weight, 1,095 kg (GT), 1,118 (RF)

COMPETITION

Subaru BRZ, Toyota GR86