Motoring Insider with Mark Gallivan
Model: 2021 Mazda MX-5
Price: From £24,335 (UK prices)
Power: 2.0-litre four cylinder, 184 PS, 205 Nm
Performance: 0-100km in 6.2 seconds, 219km/136mph top speed
Fuel consumption: 6.9 l/100km combined /40 mpg
Verdict: The MX-5 perpetuates the thrills, driving dynamics, affordability with everyday bullet proof reliability
It’s the perennial question asked by most drivers sitting in a mid-sized SUV with two screaming children and eighteen years left on a mortgage. No, not the “what if I just ran for my life?” one. The other one.
Sitting there, the clichéd picture of driving a small two-seater roadster along somewhere like the Amalfi coast with the roof down. It’s the dream of simply escaping at that very moment which springs to mind. What she or he ponders above the din of the screaming children is which car offers the truest escape from the drudgery of everyday life for the price of a posh VW Golf? It has to be affordable, mind, bristling with fun, simple with sufficient connectivity and engage like a car that has been engineered by enthusiasts giggling like teenagers and hell bent on delivering the purest driving experience in spades. For my money there’s just one and it’s on sale today – the Mazda MX-5 Roadster.
Oh certainly, you can opt for the MX-5 RF (retractable fastback) version- it’s a riot to drive – but the RF’s steel folding hardtop adds a further 43kg of weight and is, frankly, unnecessary. Chiefly, because the roadster’s canvas roof can be lowered or raised while sitting in the cabin in seconds. I’ve tested both and of the two it’s the roadster that you need.
I tested the 2019 100th Anniversary model a few months ago. That version came with a 2.0 litre Skyactiv-G engine with 184 PS and a beefy 205 Nm of torque with the same rear wheel drive, 6 speed gearbox. Actually, let’s pause for a moment regarding the gearbox. Mazda’s engineers has buffed and finessed the mechanics of the MX-5’s gearbox to the point that every shift, action, or effort is as-makes-no-odds, perfect. With manufacturers like Lamborghini and Ferrari ditching manual gearboxes altogether and installing autos the lost joy of changing down a cog when approaching a bend is gone. Not in the Mazda. The subtle mechanical clunk when slotting the gearlever into place with every change makes you feel like you are driving the car.
The 30th Anniversary was fitted with Bilstein dampers and a limited slip differential with Rays ZE40 forged alloy wheels and orange painted Brembo 15-inch brake calipers, Recaro sports seats and the most vivid Racing Orange paintwork, it was hard not to spot this MX-5 when parked.
High praise too goes to the steering weight and progress feel and the clutch which was beautifully progressive – a key factor in delivering a sports car to the masses.
But none of this matters if the disparate ends don’t gell together to make one cohesive driving experience. It’s here the tiny MX-5 daintily darts right then left and eventually, if you’ve found the right stretch of road far from anywhere, you forget the steering inputs, progressive use of the clutch and envelope yourself into the car. I once spoke to the people at Mazda and about the MX-5 and what was their ultimate goal with the car. “For the driver and the machine to become one”. That’s no marketing slogan, it’s exactly how the car feels.
If you can fit the MX-5 into your life, make sure you give it some serious thought. Not tomorrow or next month – today. Few cars currently on sale offer as much unbridled fun and cheer than this small Japanese roadster. For the affordable price Mazda is asking for a new MX-5 roadster a whole world of happy times lie just down the road.
About Mark Gallivan
European motoring journalist, he is an active member and former Chairman of the Irish Motor Writers’ Association. Mark is presenter and annual vote on the Irish Car of the Year Awards, throughout the years he has been motoring editor and contributor to many print and digital business publications.
Contact Mark directly at: gallivan1@hotmail.com or visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-gp-gallivan-8a539b115/