Mazda MX-5 RF 2.0 GT Sport Tech review: fun, but worth £32k?

Woah, little car, BIG name.

Indeed. With a deep breath, welcome to the new 2020 Mazda MX-5 RF 2.0 GT Sport Tech. Though don’t worry, because only the ‘GT Sport Tech’ bit is new for 2020, if you catch my drift.

Basically, if an ordinary MX-5 is a Snickers – simple and satisfying – this is a Ferrero Rocher. It thinks it’s all posh and terribly upmarket, but pretty much gives you the same fix under the sparkly wrapping.

So, what does ‘GT Sport Tech’ actually add?

Well, only this and the slightly lesser Sport Tech model are available with the wonderful 2.0-litre engine, which Mazda tuned up last year with lighter internals for more power and a zingier response. It’s a real gem of an engine, piling on revs with banzai enthusiasm, singing up to 7,500rpm. It’s the closest thing to a modern Honda S2000 out there.

I presume more middle-class MX-5s get some sort of engine?

They do – a still sweet but less angry 1.5-litre four-cylinder. It’s good for 130bhp – 52bhp less than the 2.0-litre peach. You’ll be revving the berries off that out of necessity.

And beyond the chilli-pepper under the bonnet?

Go for a GT Sport Tech and you can choose an automatic gearbox instead of the world class manual, if you want passers-by to swap their grin for a disappointed grimace when they shoot an admiring glace your way. The ‘GT’ and ‘Sport’ bits of the brochure are headlined by red wine-coloured Nappa leather seats, and handsome 17-inch alloys from BBS. A standard-fit reversing camera, blind-spot alert and automatic LED headlights take care of the ‘Tech’ side.

Sounds like a decent spec.

Undoubtedly. And when the GT Sport Tech MX-5 showed up to be tested, dressed in its mini Ferrari 812 GTS buttresses (the folding hard-top RF costs £1,900 more than the cloth-top), wearing its liquid-effect Polymetal Grey Metallic paint, it looked pretty bloody desirable. Menacing, cute, and yet somehow graceful. Like a bulldog puppy, on a velvet cushion.

Alright, put the thesaurus down, what’s the catch?

The catch is that this fully loaded, decked-out-to-the-nines MX-5 costs £31,805. Add in the exotic grey paint and it’ll sail past £32k.

Now, the MX-5 doesn’t have many rivals. Its Italian half-cousin, the Fiat 124 Spider, lasted on the market about as long as an ice sculpture in downtown Cairo. There’s the Toyota GT86 and Subaru BR-Z, but they’re feeling their age now and, as hard-top 2+2s, not really the same kind of thing.

So, you could argue that Mazda can charge what it wants. But at £32k, this particular MX-5 stumbles against the cruellest rival of all: another MX-5. A cheaper one.

A case of less is more?

Exactly – if you want the classic roadster experience, I’m not sure the top-spec MX-5 is enhanced enough to justify that sticker. For thirty-something thousand pounds, flaws we’re usually happy to overlook like the eerily numb steering and slightly lollopy body control become a bit harder to forgive.

The MX-5 RF is a lovely companion to mooch about in, gulping down lungfuls of countryside air and reddening the tops of your ears in the afternoon sunshine. It’s a tonic. You don’t take up much space on the road, it uses very little fuel (40mpg is easily within reach), and it exudes a peppy enthusiasm.

But unlike a true sports car, it doesn’t get better the harder you drive it. And with an engine as rampant and addictively revvy as the latest 2.0-litre unit, it deserves to. The chassis should be a bit more accurate, more keyed into the road and happy to accept mischief. Mazda equips all 2.0-litre MX-5s with a front strut brace, Bilstein dampers and a limited-slip diff but the overall effect, though often charming, isn’t quite the sum of those juicy parts.

So, here’s my plea to Mazda: if you have a market for a £31k luxury MX-5 (and clearly you must, because the RF GT Sport Tech is a thing), then how about a limited edition, more hunkered down model, for us Driving Nerds?

A sort of MX-5 GT2 RS, you mean?

Nothing that extreme. Keep the powertrain exactly as it is, use the elegantly simple soft-top roof, drop the ride height, and stiffen up the responses. Then kidnap an engineer from Porsche and demand he rewrite the power steering computer code to be a bit more tactile. Maybe fit a suede steering wheel and a more bolstered seat.

It doesn’t even need a rorty exhaust – the MX-5 already makes a pleasant-enough thrum. These natty BBS rims will do just fine, too. Oh, and don’t chuck the infotainment into the lightweighting bin. Mazda could teach many more ‘upmarket’ manufacturers a thing or two about easy-to-use in-car screens.

As CO2 emissions laws bite, and cars need electrifying to survive – and with sports cars sales collapsing – it’s time for Mazda to build the definitive love letter to its seminal roadster, before it’s too late.

There’s a hotel in Italy where it’ll certainly find a happy home…

Score: 7/10

Specs: 1998 4cyl, 182bhp, 151lb ft, 0-62mph in 6.8sec, 137mph, 40.9mpg, 155g/km, 1094kg, £31,805