The MX-5 is the automotive embodiment of Japanese principles
irresistibly into the clouds, offering a flowing series of bends that look as though they have been designed for the MX-5. Slingshot corners eject the little sportscar with a flair of tail-slide and the new rev limit requires only second and occasionally third to maintain brisk progress.
The MX-5 chassis engineers could have easily tuned the ND to be Bonneville flat through corners, but I respect the decision to opt for a softer calibration and, happily, there are no suspension revisions for the 2019 update. Rather than a stiffly suspended chassis that gives you little chat right up to the moment you’re about to spear into a tree arse-first, the Mazda leans into a corner and talks you through technical sections like its hands are on yours. Perfect for roads like these where feedback is everything and mistakes are embarrassing at best.
Retracing my steps for several passes over the mountain, the Mazda allows me to build up to its limits of adhesion confidently and not blindly up to the limits of my ability.
That’s a little typical Japanese friendliness coming through right there. The roads are starting to clog with hot metal. Probably best then that my journey in the best MX-5 to date has drawn to a close as planned at the gates of the Fuji Speedway, but there’s time for one more chapter in this tale of Mazda magic.
Japan is a nation of fascinatingly complex paradoxes. From Monday morning to Friday evening, its population obediently shuffles back and forth from home to work in a river of white shirts and face masks, never once questioning the rules that govern society. Yes, the ancient guiding principles of the Japanese work ethic are slowly changing in a nation that’s torn between tradition and modernisation but, more often than not, company employees will remain pinned to their desks until their manager has left the office, regardless of the hour and workload.
Put simply, it’s a country that places immeasurable importance on core virtues: respect, politeness, honour, and trust. But as soon as the time card is punched, something else is added: the enjoyment of life itself.
And it’s only as I’m once again riding public transport on a Friday night through endless Tokyo suburbs that I finally understand, not just my road companion of the last few days, but each generation of the MX-5 spanning 30 years.
The little Mazda roadster is the automotive embodiment of Japanese principles – an accessible pricetag and unbreakable reliability are the MX-5’S staunch work ethic, but when the weekend comes around, boy, does it know how to have fun. Sure, the MX-5’S formulaic recipe, which borrows all of the attributes of old English sportscars (without the steaming radiator and worn trunnions) is certainly part of its phenomenal success, but trying to understand this driver’s car icon by looking at oily bits alone is misguided. A car that so beautifully balances affordable, stoic dependability with joyous, simplistic enjoyment could only ever be a product of Japan’s dazzling culture.