Can I really call the Last-generation Miata pudgy? No, no I can’t, nobody can when cars that are around the same weight include the Mini and the Honda Fit. However, the last generation gave us the very CC-Friendly, the Mazda Miata Brougham. Well, it’s called Gran Touring instead of brougham, but the folding metal-roof, automatic transmission and leather wrapped everything must’ve caught someone’s attention, it was time to go back to the basics.
The maxim for the new MX-5 was that of the great Colin Chapman, if not in phrasing at least in spirit. For the first time since 1997 the MX-5 has a curb weight of under 2,200 lbs. and an engine option of less than 2.0-liters of displacement (Not in America though). It’s shorter in length and a tiny little bit lower than its predecessor, but it’s wider and lighter. Much lighter, 200+ lb.lighter.
Engine wise, outside of U.S shores you can get your Miata with a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter four cylinder with 129 Horsepower, which means all in all you’ll get essentially the same performance you got from the early nineties Mazda MX-5, but with an extra gear and all the benefits from nearly 30 years of evolution in the automotive field. It seems Mazda thought that such an engine would make little sense in the U.S and Canada so the only engine available is a 2.0-liter producing 155 Horsepower, the equivalent of the 1.8 in the original one. No turbochargers or other fancy gubbins. Unless you consider an automatic gearbox with paddles “fancy”.
Want a hardtop? Better get one of the last-gen models on clearance. The only option is a manual fabric roof. Having said that some pictures have surfaced that may indicate Prices in America start at $30,500, which sounds a bit dear considering that the original one was $26,073.25. Unlike that one however, on this one you actually do get power steering as standard, and air-con, and many other things that you wouldn’t even dream of finding in Miatas of yore.
There’s something I don’t like about the interior however, and it extends into other current vehicles, because infotainment systems have ever larger screens it doesn’t make any sense to bury them in the middle of the dash like you would a conventional stereo. It has to be put on the top of the dash and every manufacturer is trying to come up with aesthetically pleasing ways to integrate them onto the dash. Unfortunately Mazda has really half-assed it with a design that looks something akin to a Nexus 7 glued to the top of the dashboard, right in the place where any half-stoned guy will think he can rip it out of the dash. I can kinda forgive it in something like this mazda where some plastic to better integrate it to the dash would add precious grams to the weight, but on a Mazda 3 or a Mercedes it’s pretty much inexcusable. Clean instruments finish nicely, you also get a temperature gauge, which now is something to be glad about because every day more and more manufactures seem to decide that a little idiot light would do the same job. Hardly useful because by the time you notice it the biggest indicator of overheating will be the clouds of steam pouring out of the engine bay.
Regarding the exterior, I’m not so sure about the front of the car, if I’m honest. Mabe it’s the headlight-grill ratio that rubs me the wrong way. The rest of the car is brilliant, the rear seems to have taillights inspired by the Jaguar F-Type and the sides look muscular without being exaggerated.
Am I wrong in naming a car that hasn’t even been released a classic? I don’t think so, because really what it’s doing is merely expanding an already-classic model. This is not an MX-5 in name only, what Mazda have done is stick to the tried-and-true formula closer than they have done since the original. And we’re all the better for it.
The front end has turned the older cars “happy face” into an evil, mocking grin.
Exactly. The “floating dash screen” was also one of the big turnoffs to me when I was considering the Mazda 5 last year.
Yes! It’s as if a child with a happy disposition has turned into a teenager with a bad attitude.
“Mean Face” styling seems to work better on cars like the new Mustang than on the little Miata.
See, I must not relate car front ends to faces in the same way as most seem to do – the slanty headlights on… everything now, including the new Miatas and Mustangs, look more like the ends of a clown smile than an aggressive mean face to me, which depending on your view on clowns is either just goofy or creepy.
With that mindset I think the first gen face was actually the toughest looking of all the subsequent followups with the marker lights on a level slightly frowny plane. Which I prefer on EVERY car, the 2014 Mustang looked way more aggressive up front to me for this reason, the 2015 looks wimpy.
Anyone else look at cars this way or am I completely alone on this?
You’re not alone. I think that because auto styling has become so amorphous, at least as far as the outer “shell” is concerned, and because most cars today lack any real trim, manufacturers are resorting to some rather wild shapes in grille openings and head and taillights. This tends to give front ends a rather lurid appearance, in my opinion.
Not so much evil in my eyes as “pucker-faced”.
The full frontal shot with the Mazda MX-5 license plate put me in mind of a smiling teenager with goo stuck in their retainer. Not the most aesthetically pleasing.
The rest of it is quite attractive.
But when you are in the drivers seat, you can’t see the front and just don’t care. 🙂
I’m admittedly being nit-picky. Mazda did a really good job with the car.
Did I ever tell you I once drove a Miata? It was wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable. That same day I was also driving a Buick Roadmaster – quite the contrast.
+1!
I agree .No so attractive as previous gens. Good that the old girl has lost weight as she gained to many pounds when they dropped her on bigger brothers RX-8 chassis. Hate her i-pad to A class Merc.But its what the younger buyers wont?.
I run a 90 Eunous Roadster V-Spec, Jap spec, has air & pas as well as leather
seats ,so not much different in spec.
Best handling car I have driven.
Removing the front licence plate certainly helps.
Add me to the list of those who find the front end rather unattractive. Well, not the entire front end but the headlights which are disproportionately small and make it look like someone squinting because they’ve lost their glasses… I can’t believe they allowed that through as the finished design actually, I suspect it’ll turn some buyers off.
I like the styling of these a lot and can’t wait to test drive one. At around only $30,000 it’s a great car for the money. There’s something I don’t like about the interior though. It looks high quality, but I think it could benefit from some contrasting trim pieces such as some kind of metal or even some modern-looking wood trim.
As the owner of a (midnight blue / tan) 2002 Miata since new, I really like the looks of the 2016 MX-5.
My only complaint is the all-black interior, which appears to be the only choice at this time. I can only imagine what it would be like to be stuck in traffic at high noon on a hot, sunny day with the top down, sitting in that black interior, surrounded by heat-soaked asphalt…
IMO, convertible interiors should have lighter-coloured interiors.
Tan leather is available on the Launch Edition. I’d expect it to be a regular option starting next year.
While I prefer a tan interior, I don’t like leather seats that aren’t ventilated, so I’m happy with the black cloth in the Club version.
Brougham? In a Miata? You’ve got to be joking! This is supposed to be a sports car, not a luxury car.
but the last gen just didn’t have the look of a MX5, they made it too luxury, that was his meaning, glad to see the miata is back, nice piece
1) Smaller than the last gen
2) Italian (not Japanese) engine
3) Japanese (not Italian) styling
4) Soft top only (no more hardtop)
I wish all of these were the opposite…
I really, really, REALLY miss the pop-up headlights. They were popular when I was a kid and I thought they were so cool. $30K seems like a lot as I’m thinking you can pick up a lower trim Mustang convertible with MOAH POWAH, IRS, a back seat suitable for groceries, a power top, and some serious, if not equal, handling chops, for about the same $. I suppose the issue is the Mustang still has something of a Joe Mullet image but they are pricey nowadays.
My only gripe with the pop-up headlights on my NA is that they are so big that they really get in the way of the driver’s normal sight lines to the point of being a bit annoying.
The other problem with the popups is that, when they’re up, they increase turbulence in cockpit. With the top down and the lights up, my last Miata was pretty unpleasant at speed.
I know what you are saying but that’s a factor of the age of the car really.
If they lit road as well as the stick up, they’d be truly brilliant!
I like it. I know that the front end has come in for some criticism, but when we consider the faces of some other recent cars out of Mazda, I think that we should be happy that we got one this good.
Also, in this age of high beltlines and gunslit windows (I’m talking to you, Camaro), any gripes about the front end are minor. Mazda has kept the car’s classic proportions, yet made it fresh. So, I’m a fan.
I have read some glowing reviews of the way this car drives, by the way. I see no downsides here. For those who really need the retractable hardtop, there are lots of other choices. I believe that the world needs a simple, fun, relatively inexpensive sports car. THIS is the niche that has been completely ignored by all but Mazda.
Well that car has a too high beltline too. In the past, the first thing to be lowered in a sportscar was that line. Nowadays they seem to adopt armoured car influenced styling which I detest. But I’m sure it’s a very good car mechanically, dynamically etc. Just not something I’d spend €30K + on (that’s what the outgoing model, still advertized for sale here in Austria, costs).
Well they’ve dumped the pleasant soft lines of Miatas past in exchange for the aggressive looks requested by the guys who think it’s a girls car.
I’m a longtime Mazda and Miata fan, but I’ve got to disagree with many of the opinions here – I think this is up there with the original in terms of the design both in and out.
I think this new design is a great combination of the classic Miata look combined with some cues from the Jaguar F-type, Alfa Romeos, and Ferraris.
Agreed.
And I rather like the screens that sit on the dash rather than integrated. It looks more honest and practical to me.
Re: the infotainment screen stuck on top of the dashboard. I just bought a Mazda6, which received the same infotainment screen stuck on top with the 2016 interior redesign. I didn’t like it at first, but I like it now. It’s a good size, it’s easily viewed and it makes the rest of the dashboard seem visually lower. It does look like it’s stuck on but I think it’s a relatively minor complaint compared to how well it all works when you’re driving the car.
I’ve seen pictures of this generation MX-5 Miata, and I have mixed feelings at best. From some angles it looked very nice, while other angles I found it to be *ugly!* The least attractive of the car (IMHO) was the front end of the car. I thought it looked like something out of a Japanese Anime horror movie.
Honda S2000 at the front, F-type at the rear. Nice looking car but most of the visual characteristics and a lot of the consumer appeal for the previous series is how they sustained the Elan thing. (Which is not to say they weren’t also great cars underneath). This shape is going off somewhere else opening the door for Lotus to step back in.
The price is way too steep for me, not when a Mustang with a 300hp V-6 can be had for a lot less. I can do a LOT to a 1st gen MX-5 for $30K…like transplant a V-8, suspension and brake upgrades…