IT JUST WANTS TO HAVE FUN
FIRST DRIVE: 2016 MAZDA MX-5 MIATA,
Just jump in, throw back the soft-top and drive
HOLLY WOOD, Calif • Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars, died in 1982, a full seven years before the first Mazda Miata ever rolled off the assembly line. His design philosophy, which he employed on his sports and race cars alike, focused on light weight and superior handling rather than brute horsepower. Indeed, he is famously quoted as saying, “Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.”
Mazda’s engineers and designers must have framed pictures of Chapman in their cubicles. Never a porker to begin with — the Miata was a Japanese reimagining of the lightweight 1960s British roadster, only without the oil leaks — the new, fourth-generation MX-5 has, nonetheless, been put on a diet, part of the automaker’s “Gram Strategy.” This approach has engineers seeking the tiniest improvements in every area of the car — “a shave here, a redesign there, a complete rethink somewhere else,” says Mazda.
Accordingly, more highstrength steel was added to the MX-5’s structure to improve safety while reducing weight. At 1,058 kilograms for the GX and GS models (add another 20 kg for the GT and a further 22 kg for the available six-speed automatic transmission), the 2016 MX-5 is some 68 kg lighter than the thirdgeneration MX-5, and only 83 kg heavier than the initial 1990 model — a noteworthy achievement considering the tech and safety features of the new car versus the original.
The above history lesson/ tutorial is for all the grousers whining that the 2.0-litre Sky-Activ-G four-cylinder powering North American MX-5s produces only 155 horsepower (at 6,000 r.p.m.) — and 148 pound-feet of torque (at 4,600 r.p.m.) — less than the 167 hp of the third-generation model specifically and not nearly enough generally.
Allow, then, a short, sophomoric rejoinder: “Tough noogies!” Since its debut 26 years ago, more than 950,000 MX-5 Miatas have been sold globally. The fact it is the most-popular selling two-seat sports car in the world is not due to over-sophistication — like those expensive, exotic beasts with boosted big-cube engines, mega-horsepower, 200-mile-per-hour top ends and aerodynamic enhancements worthy of a Le Mans race car — but because it is simple, in the purest sense of the word. Forget scrolling through the owner’s manual to figure out the myr- iad buttons and settings. Just jump in, throw back the softtop and drive.
And drive we did — in U.S.-spec, pre-production models, top down and heading north from Hollywood toward the twisting, undulating rural mountain roads running through the parched Angeles National Forest above L.A. — Angeles Crest Hwy., Upper Big Tujunga and Lower Tujunga Canyons and others. The more the tarmac corkscrewed, the more the MX-5 was in its element. It has absolutely brilliant handling, maintaining poise even when hooning deep into corners or dispatching potholes, dips and other irregularities. As with previous models, the fourth-generation MX-5 uses a double-wishbone front suspension and a rear multi-link setup. The ride is firm, yet civilized — for a short-wheelbase sports car, anyway. Plus, the engine sits lower and farther back in the engine bay, which lowers the centre of gravity and thus improves transitional response.
Mazda North America vehicle development engineer Dave Coleman said the goal was to tune the car to be fun when driving on “real” roads, not the track. “And good roads are the ones nobody drives on because they are bad.”
Matching tire grip and suspension compliance in superlatives is the new doublepinion electronic power assist steering rack — with a smaller steering gear ratio designed to instil a sense of road feel, says Mazda, and reduce steering kickback. Tuned to clearly communicate the car’s cornering loads, it inspires a confidence that makes even average drivers want to wring more out of the roadster.
As for the powertrain: The engine is flat-out strong and responsive, with the horsepower and torque maxing at lower r.p.m. than in the previous MX-5. Even when dealing with elevation changes that ranged from just above sea level to 4,000 feet, it didn’t run out of breath. Keep in mind that the car’s power-to-weight ratio is just 6.825 kg/hp (it was 8.6 in the original Miata). Fuel economy is rated at 8.8 litres per 100 km in the city and 6.9 L/100 km for the highway for the six-speed manual, a 20 per cent improvement over the 2015 model.
Speaking of the new manual, it comes with the same tight shift throw but with lighter effort and a big, fat shift knob to hold on to. Sixth gear is 1:1, not an overdrive as before. And the differential’s final gear ratio is completely different from the previous model — 2.867:1 versus 4.10:1. (Yes, there is an automatic transmission available — with Mazda saying it expects about 40 per cent of the cars sold to be so equipped. Heresy in my book, but whatever …)
Style-wise, Mazda has been refining what it calls its “Kodo — Soul of Motion” design language for the past five years, defined on the MX-5 by a long and lowered hood, short overhangs, a cosy cabin pushed far back on the body and large wheels hung as close to all four corners as possible. The A-pillars are more upright for better visibility. Some see hints of various other sports cars in its profiles, anything from the Honda S2000 and Nissan 370Z to the Jaguar F-Type. Throwing in my two cents, I see a more compacted version of Ferrari’s deliciously curvaceous California T grand tourer.
From the cockpit, the MX5 was designed around the driver — “driver-centred everything” being the goal. Pedals fall in-line with the natural movement of the feet for greater comfort. And small tweaks in the seating position make a significant difference for taller drivers — more recline, more leg clearance between seat and steering wheel, etc. Personally, at 6-foot-2, I was plenty comfortable when behind the wheel, Not as much when sitting shotgun, though, with my knees bent more than I liked — a couple of more inches of seat travel would have been appreciated. And while the softtop has been made even easier to open and close — it can be done one-handed from either seat, encouraging maximum open-air driving — headroom clearance is still tight for those of us of taller persuasion. By the way, there is no power hardtop option available for the new model — for now.
How does driving the new roadster make you feel? Judging by the ear-to-ear grins and the sunburned faces of all assembled, I’d say it makes one feel as though there’s not a care in the world. That is the pure and simple genius of the 2016 MX-5. And with prices ranging from $31,900 for the base GX to $39,200 for the topline GT, it’s cheap therapy.
Cars are expected to be in dealerships by early summer. Standard items on all models include air conditioning, push-button start, cruise control, USB input, Bluetooth wireless phone pairing and audio streaming and a CD player. There is no additional cost for the optional six-speed automatic.