2017 MAZDA MX-5 RF

Appropriate tires and not a metal roof turn a car into a four-seasons machine, but if that roof helps you justify the purchase . . .

Sports cars represent driving fun in its most passionate form, and the Mazda MX-5 has helped bring enjoyment to more than one million enthusiasts around the world since 1989. For 2017, the current MX-5 (née Miata) roadster is joined by the MX-5 RF, which stands for Retractable Fastback.

Although the RF looks like a coupe, Mazda couldn’t help but fiddle with the MX-5’s formula to create a degree of open-top touring, as it did with the previous generation’s Power Retractable Hard Top (PRHT) variant.

This time, though, the two-section top folds and drops in behind the seats in a power-operated ballet that involves briefly raising the rear roof portion. Once the lid is stowed, the remaining roof drops back into place. The driver can monitor the process from the left-side gauge pod that livestreams the action.

Would it have been simpler and cheaper for Mazda to install targa-style detachable roof panels? Probably, but stowing them in the trunk would have eliminated much of the already limited luggage space. As such, trunk volume for regular convertible and the RF are identical.

Whether the roof is in place or stowed, the RF is a sweet-looking coupe. The flying buttress roofline (the rear window is inset) is reminiscent of the 1980s Ferrari 308’s faux fastback, which isn’t a bad thing. MX-5 roaster owners get noticed, but RF owners will draw crowds.

With the right tires on the RF, owners might also be encouraged to drive the RF all year long instead of garaging it for the winter. That’s where most roadsters outside Sunbelt areas tend to wind up.

Other than the added top-mechanism switch, the roadster and RF interiors are identical. Both require a degree of entry/exit dexterity with the tops in place and the seats are snug fitting, but at least there’s plenty of legroom for taller drivers. Obvious drawbacks include a pair of cup holders between the seats, placed so far back that they’re impossible to access. Same goes for the CD slot — located just above the cupholders — below the storage cubby that’s sunk into the rearmost interior wall. Note that there’s no glove box or even map pockets lining the door panels.

Drivers will likely be too engaged in piloting their steed and absorbing the engine’s sweet sounds to concern themselves with such matters. As with the roadster, the RF runs with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 155 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. The previous MX-5’s 2.0-liter was rated at 167 horses and 140 pound-feet.

There’s a choice of a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic, but those who prefer selecting the gears themselves will revel in the shifter’s short travel and the clutch pedal’s equally direct action.

Fuel economy is equal to the roadster’s at 26 mpg in the city and 33 highway (26/35 for the automatic).

In other ways, the RF behaves much like the roadster. Both excel at taking the curves with great precision and absorbing road bumps and lumps without becoming unsettled. While the ride quality is astounding, the road noise at low speeds is pronounced and even tiring.

The RF weighs about 115 pounds more than the roadster, so there is, technically, a slight performance penalty, but it’s not noticable. To tell, you would need drive both cars back to back.

What’s very apparent are the rear blind spots that are due to the RF’s wide roof pillars. You’ll need to properly adjust the outside mirrors and pay close attention to the blind-spot monitor that, fortunately, is standard equipment.

The base RF Club lists for $32,400 (about $2,750 more than the soft top). This includes a complete array of comfort/convenience/safety items, plus a premium nine-speaker Bose, brand audio system. The cushier RF Grand Touring deletes the sport-tuned suspension and limited-slip differential in manual-transmission Club versions, but adds heated leather-trimmed seats, climate control, navigation system and lane-departure warning.

A Brembo-brand brake package is optional, but again only with the RF Club. Ultimately, the RF lends an air of sophistication to an iconic sports car that originally shunned such measures. But with changing styles and attitudes, the trick-roof Mazda should make good fit for the MX-5’s expanding fan base.

(PHOTO: MAZDA) The comfy cockpit is built for driving pleasure, although there’s little or no lower back support in the seats. The cupholders located between the seats are almost unusable.

(PHOTO: MAZDA) The trunk is small, but no smaller that the regular convertible’s.

(PHOTO: MAZDA) Only the roof panel directly above the passenger compartment is stowed. The rear roof pillars simply move out of the way to allow the process.