Mazda MX-5 review

The MX-5 is a prime example of why pure, simple sports cars can be so much fun to drive. Its light weight immediately makes itself known, the car steering and accelerating with an agility that’d be lost with more weight and complexity.

On the whole it’s a joy to drive, and a great advert for sticking with a good old manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive and no turbocharging. You just get in and drive the knackers off it, not delayed by the need to prod through any confusing driving modes. Bar choosing whether the stability control or lane keep assist are on or off, selections which each require one simple button press.

Is turning off the stability control wise?

You can safely drive it with the nannies off, because it’s a car of fine balance and with (still) not quite enough power to overwhelm the rear axle through throttle use alone. Unless it’s particularly wet outside, you’ll need to throw this car around a bit if you want to free your inner rally driver.

It’s a sweeter car driven just below its limits, though. It’s not as hardcore or focused as something like a Toyota GR86, and you’ll enjoy it more when you’re smoothly flowing between corners, maintaining your momentum on a great piece of road rather than trying to paint black lines on it.

Built for pleasure not for speed, amirite?

In a nutshell, yeah. The key thing here is to not mistake ‘fun’ for ‘satisfying’. The MX-5 majors on entertainment that’s accessible without pinning you into your seat: tucking into corners and grazing apexes aren’t it’s jam. Drive it as such and you’ll quickly be disappointed. Go buy an i30N for that.

No, the MX-5 is for sunny days with a friend in the passenger seat and the sat nav set to that coastal gourmet pub you’ve been wanting to try. Forget your troubles and enjoy the moment. Ahh.

Which engine should I go for?

The 2.0-litre’s extra power is tangible over the entry car, but it’s those extra revs you’ll really notice compared with turbocharged rivals. While 7,500rpm still isn’t as dizzying as sports cars of old (the Honda S2000 comes to mind), it’s still a riot to rev out second and third gear in this thing. The exhaust is livened up and sounds raspier than ever, you’re really rewarded for hanging on until the red line. That gearshift is oh-so sweet, too.

The cheaper 1.5-litre isn’t a bad substitute, though. It also revs to 7,500rpm, so you’ll be getting similar thrills, just at slightly slower speeds. The 2.0 gets more senior stuff as standard – a front strut brace, limited slip differential and Bilstein dampers – so it’s probably the keen driver’s choice.

Just don’t expect either to be especially tuneful: buzzy, vanilla engines have always been an MX-5 weak spot, and they still are. Still, as we’ve discussed you don’t push the MX-5 into its happy place, and on a long motorway cruise you’ll pull more than the 44.8mpg that Mazda claims for the 1.5 and 40.9mpg for the 2.0-litre car. A 45-litre fuel tank makes long range touring simple. Happy days.

Anything else I need to know?

All MX-5s now get Mazda’s new KPC (kinematic posture control) system, which surreptitiously brakes the inside rear wheel during hard cornering. It’s designed to help the car stay flat on disjointed surfaces, and it’s so subtle you’ll struggle to notice it at work.