Mazda MX-5 RF GT
GOODBYE £ 27,795 OTR/£28,815 as tested/£290pcm WHY IT’ S HERE Do a hard-top roof and big buttresses add to the MX-5 experience? DRIVER Ollie Kew OLLIE KEW: TIME TO WAVE THE MX-5 RF OFF. I WAS ALL SET TO MAKE A case for roadsters being better when kept cheap and simple, and now you’re bowling around in a £52k al fresco Supra. How does the Z4 justify that?
STEPHEN DOBIE: With a proper engine. A big 3.0-litre six that feels muscular and sounds mega, but does 35mpg with ease. Then there are its many screens, its smooth auto ’box, its heated seats and wheel. It’s cocooning over long distances in a way the Mazda isn’t.
OK: It’s true, most people who’ve driven or ridden in the MX-5 have lamented that its appealingly tiny footprint means the cabin fits you like a scuba suit. But its experience boils down to teaching you what you can happily live without, so you can better enjoy what you’ve got. I couldn’t drive to work in smart shoes because they didn’t fit the pedals, but I got there less stressed because it snuck through teeny gaps and squish-squashed over potholes. It’s a happy compromise. And I got 40mpg. Thing is, do you think of the Z4 first and foremost as a fast ’n’ serious sports car, or a convertible?
SD: Um, neither. I see it as a mini GT, such is its maturity. It definitely has a sporty side, just not one that’s always fighting for your attention. There’s a lot to like about that, but I do prefer cars a little rougher around the edges. As for it being a convertible, I fold the roof down far less than I ought to. Blame a) London’s franticness and b) how blustery it gets on the motorway.
OK: The RF’s roof-down wind-chop at 60mph sounds like a Chinook is trying to land on the boot. I concluded that an MX-5 is not an entry-level sports car but the quintessential roofless experience. It ticks every box we beg carmakers for: less size and weight, balanced grip, simple but effective driver assists. The RF is so pretty, but the cost and hassle of a folding metal roof jars, so I’ll take this fab 2.0-litre engine and slot it into a canvas-roofed MX-5 at £22,795. I can’t imagine ever needing more of a drop-top than that.