MAZDA MX-5 RF
Retractable hard top enhances many charms
Mazda had a little problem, admittedly of its own making.
In 2016 it rolled out an all-new Miata MX-5 (known on the rest of the planet as the MX-5 but in North America the appellation Miata is added. Digressed, didn't I). Anyway, every reviewer known to humankind immediately pronounced it the best affordable sports car ever, so how do you top that? How about a retractable hard top? Thus, the MX-5 RF (which stands for retractable hard top), which gives the little two seater something it doesn't really need, including some extra weight, but somehow Mazda pulls it off. I was dubious of the hard top myself, because one of the chief attractions of the MX-5 is that the soft top takes, like, three seconds, to put away. Reach up, flip a lever, and toss the rag top into the boot behind the seat. Poof. Open-air motoring. Quick. Easy. The electric requires 13 seconds for two little motors to lift the storage panel, fold the top away and seal it shut. To keep the driver entertained, a dash display plays a little movie of the exercise. With the top down, two plastic buttresses and a sliver of roof remain in place. The roof section is non-load-bearing, so if you plan to go racing, roll bar hoops, standard on the roadster, are still in place. So what does an extra $2,700 for this gadgetry get one? A slightly different open-air experience, for one. The buttresses cut down on wind an noise from the side, making it easy to converse. On the other hand, they cut down on rearview visibility, so blind-spot and cross-traffic monitoring are a little more important. Headroom is about a half-inch lower, too, so hats—required for even the shiniest of heads when the top is down— must be stowed, which is an issue in a car that doesn't have a glove box. On the plus side, the steel hard top dissuades burglars, who otherwise can use a small knife to slice a hole and steal goodies. More importantly, the RF adds flowing lines that turn a handsome car into a real beauty.
You're probably thinking that I, like every other reviewer of this affordable roadster, really like this car. I do. If you're thinking of an MX-5 as a Baby Boomer plaything—a roll at which it excels—then style matters, and the RF is visually stunning enough to raise the machine from very good to great.
One of the MX-5's chief selling points last year was that designers used a “gram” approach to cut the weight down 148 pounds to 2,332. The hard top adds back in 130 lbs. but Mazda drilled holes in the center support to slice about 15 pounds.
Does all that make a difference in drivability? Not that you would notice, certainly not in everyday driving.
Sure, some folks buy an MX-5 to do club racing on the weekends, but they have no need for the hardtop, which would just get in the way of required safety gear, so this is really a trivial debate.
Other than that, the RF maintains all the same characteristics that make the RX-5 the most enjoyable, affordable, fun-to-drive car
With the MX-5 RF, Mazda shows it knows how to rebuild a refined automobile for the masses.
in the solar system. It still has a short wheel base that lets it turn sharply; is close to the road for great aerodynamics; and, in the age of exponentially expanding complexity in automotive technology, it still has fewer things to go wrong than most cars.
It is not unusual to see a Miata from one of the three previous generations go 350,000 miles or more before major rebuild, and one suspects that will be true of this iteration as well. The car is just so tight, so slick, so accurately screwed together.
On the other hand, there's more styling, more safety features, a wider monocoque unibody, a bigger trunk, and more interior room, (although one found it better just to keep one's things in one's stylish, leather man-bag, which could be tossed in the trunk. It has nearly 5 cubic feet, huge for a roadster.
The MX-5's six speed manual clicks into place as well as any, but if clutches terrify you, relax, the six-speed automatic also hooks up nicely.
The 155-hp, 148-ft.-lb torque power plant spools up quickly, eagerly striving for its 7,500 rpm redline. Second gear gets you to about 64 mph and third to 88.
Working a back road at 55-75 mph, the car works nicely in second through fourth; at 80-105, close to the MX-5's top end, third through fifth will handle the curves nicely.
The highly efficient engine is a fuel sipper. We averaged around 32 mpg screaming around town with lead-footed driving. On the open highway with the cruise control set reasonably close to the posted limit, we averaged better than 38.
Driving with the recommended premium unleaded fuel and with some restrain, one imagines you could squeeze 40 mpg out of this cheerful little convertible. Although, personally, have no experience with that.
A nicely equipped MX-5 sport starts at $24,915 and there's not much you need to add.
Move up to the Club model, which adds a well-designed infotainment system, 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels and Benbro brakes and you're at $28,600 for a track-ready sports car. The Grand Touring model, $30,065, adds automatic climate control, leather-trimmed heated seats, a nav system, rain-sensing wipers, swivel headlights with auto-bright, and a host of nice safety features, like blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic warning.
The RF is available only on the Club and Grand Touring models.
Quick take: With the Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ, VW GTI and superb Mustangs and Camaros in the market, this may be the heyday of affordable sports car; none, however, have the Miata's joie de vivre.