Mazda MX-5 review

Pros: improved infotainment, sharp styling, amazing to drive

Cons: cramped cabin, tiny boot, can be expensive as 2.0 RF

Mazda MX-5 Design

Although this fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 has been around since 2015, this is the first time the company has felt the need to change its exterior design. However, it’s a subtle set of alterations, mainly relating to the lights – in that the daytime running lamps, previously arranged in LED strips in each of the outer air intakes in the Mazda’s front bumper, are now incorporated into the headlight units. Meanwhile, at the back, there’s a more pronounced ring shape to the illumination. Aside from that there’s a solitary new body colour called Aero Grey and a fresh design of 17-inch alloy wheel, while the car continues to be offered in soft folding top ‘Roadster’ form and as the distinctive ‘RF’ – short for ‘Retractable Fastback’, as it has a fancy folding hard roof.

Mazda MX-5 Interior

One of the areas of the MX-5’s cabin which took some flak was the dated, seven-inch infotainment screen. This has now been replaced by a sharper, faster system presented on an 8.8-inch display and it’s a really worthwhile improvement. Slicker graphics are also to be found in the Mazda’s instrument cluster, but aside from that it’s the usual MX-5 story inside – it looks nice and is beautifully put together, but even considering the modest exterior size of the car it’s a compact interior. Taller drivers and passengers might find the tops of their heads sticking over the windscreen’s header rail when the roof’s down, for example, and the Roadster’s mini-GT capabilities are not helped by a minuscule boot measuring just 130 litres in capacity.

Mazda MX-5 Performance & Drive

The same two engines as offered prior to the 2024 facelift continue in service. That means there’s a lower-powered 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol unit, with an 8.3-second 0-100km/h time, or a more potent 2.0-litre model that’ll do the same benchmark sprint in a swifter 6.5 seconds. The 2.0-litre also gains a firmer chassis set-up, which means it rides less well than the 1.5 but handles even better in the corners. One feature that has been added as part of the 2024 updates is a ‘halfway-house’ mode for the car’s dynamic stability control, called DSC Track and designed to allow inexperienced drivers a better, safer way to explore the Mazda’s chassis capabilities.

To be fair, though, any version of this generation of MX-5 is a delight to drive. They have incredible steering and a hugely impressive sense of body control, while they send power to their rear wheels for maximum driving fun. The 1.5 is a softer, looser car, so it feels more comfortable to travel in around town and on rougher road surfaces, but the 2.0-litre is a hugely assured sports car that turns the right sort of remote route on a sunny day into a fabulous driving experience. They also both have one of the best six-speed manual transmissions in the entire automotive industry.

There’s precious little between the Roadster and the RF, either, although some enthusiasts will tell you there is. Due to the way its unusual rear bodywork is shaped, you do find there’s a little more wind buffeting at speed in the passenger compartment of the RF if you have the roof down, but for some this will be a minor price to pay for the added insulation and comfort its solid lid brings in winter, not to mention security.

Mazda MX-5 Pricing

Prices start at less than €40,000 for the 1.5 Roadster, rising to almost €46,000 for an RF fitted with the 2.0-litre engine. It’s basically €2,500 to switch a Roadster MX-5 to an RF of equivalent spec, or an extra €3,400 if you decide to uprate the 1.5-litre engine to the 2.0-litre, and therefore €5,900 to go from a 1.5 Roadster to a 2.0 RF. To keep things simple, Mazda Ireland sells the updated MX-5 in a solitary specification called Exclusive-Line, which comes with leather upholstery, the new infotainment system, a nine-speaker Bose premium sound system, 16-inch alloy wheels, a frameless auto-dimming interior mirror and much more for the outlay.

Carzone Verdict

There’s a good reason that, since it launched in 1989, the Mazda MX-5 has gone on to become the best-selling sports car in the world – and that is, it’s simply brilliant. This is especially true of the current, fourth-generation car, which has always been great, but which is notably improved by the careful polishing Mazda has enacted on it here. About your only issue with the MX-5 is deciding whether to choose the 1.5 or the 2.0, or the Roadster over the RF, because there are precious few cars available for anything like similar money that offer up such a rewarding ownership and driving experience as this Japanese two-seater does.