After a decade on sale, the MX-5 is better than ever – and now stands in a class of its own
The Mazda MX-5 is an atypical recipient of our rare and coveted five-star road test score, the only car to have been awarded top marks over the past 12 months. Not because it isn’t worthy – far from it – but because it isn’t new.
Normally an instrumented full test is part of the launch hubbub for a new car, and if it’s exceptionally good and moves the game on in one way or another, it might have a chance of a perfect score.
Instead, the fourth-generation MX-5 has been on sale for 11 years, and while it has received some tweaks and improvements over the years, it’s not a radically different car from when it was launched in 2015.
Really, putting the 2.0-litre MX-5 through a road test felt like taking care of unfinished business.
We evaluated the 1.5-litre version in 2015 and gave it four and a half stars. It was a fabulous roadster that could brighten up even the greyest day but, in that spec and in the face of vibrant competition, it lacked some grunt and body control.
In a thorough update in 2018, the 2.0-litre model got exactly those things. It won plenty of praise in various group tests thereafter, but newer and shinier things got in the way of us rerunning the numbers. In the meantime, though, the MX-5’s affordable sports car rivals were removed from sale one by one.
The little Mazda has outlasted all of them, and without itself being diminished in any major way. So it was worth asking the question: what if this car were launched today? Well, the answer is that it would cause an absolute sensation.
Here stands a small sports car that weighs barely more than a tonne. It ticks every box an enthusiastic driver could want: a zingy, naturally aspirated petrol engine, a manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive, a bespoke chassis and an ingenious convertible roof mechanism. And, unlike the vanishingly few other cars on sale today that fit that description, the MX-5 is priced such that it’s attainable for many people.
At £28,605 for the 1.5-litre Prime-Line or £36,065 for our preferred 2.0-litre Homura, it’s not as cheap as it once was, but you would still struggle to find a new car with a warranty that serves the same amount of entertainment and usability for twice the price, let alone the same.
From the fundamentals to the small details, everything in the MX-5 is clearly designed for and by driving enthusiasts. It’s no bigger than it needs to be to accommodate a wide range of body types with a pedigree sports car driving position. The interior is simple yet elegant and remains unsullied by enormous digital screens, a thick and non-round steering wheel or even a drive mode button.
After all, the joy of the MX-5 is in how simply excellent it is to drive. It doesn’t need different drive modes, because everything about it is set up right from the start. Even on a boring A-road commute, the MX-5 will liven up the experience. The feeling of mechanical connection through the tactile steering and delightful manual gearbox will remind you how much fun driving can be, even without having to go particularly fast. It won’t beat you up, either, because the suspension is set up for real roads.
Of course, if you do up your pace on a good B-road or a race track, the MX-5 will serve up an engrossing experience. The relatively soft suspension invites you to play with the weight balance, while the sensibly sized tyres grip gently and then break away progressively, so exploring the limit becomes entirely unthreatening and fun.
That’s the entire point of the MX-5: it’s fun. Other driver’s cars may push the boundaries of speed and grip, but they often forget to actually be entertaining.
The MX-5 has been around in one form or another since 1989, and the fourth-generation model has existed since 2015. As a result, it’s easy to take this car for granted, but we really shouldn’t. In a world where exciting engines, manual gearboxes and light cars have become rarities and collector’s items for the ultra-rich, the MX-5 is a bit of a miracle, and we should treasure it.
It has been a long time coming, but its five-star status is finally official.
