Perhaps being the most recognizable sports car on the planet, Mazda MX-5 is an elegant, extravagant, and marvelous graphics sports car, designed by idealistic minds at Mazda.  It’s purely a joy to drive, cheap to run and driving thrills get little purer as you speed up while hitting the roads. The MX-5 provides enormous fun at fairly legal speeds. Mazda has sold 1.1 million MX-5 till now in 29 years, making it the largest selling roadster on the plant (Guinness certified). This is quite a large number when compared with its competitors in the automotive market.

The fourth generation MX-5 has some big updates. The first thing you’ll notice is that it has a sleeker look. It’s definitely styled to look like it can carve down a mountain like water off a duck’s back. The designers made a point to lose weight on this fourth edition. It possesses a marvelous 155bhp in power compared with the former NA/NB which possesses 130bhp, taking 6.4s in reaching from 0-60mph, and revolution limits at 6800rpm. That’s why it is quite remarkable in numbers. It applauds the driver with more fun while running hard on the engine with its six-speed manual gearbox. With rear-wheel drive, this presents you enormous power with a sleek design and elegant touch on exteriors together with extravagant headlights design. Many will say it’s a slow car but it’s definitely a fun car to drive.

What is it like on the Road?

The MX-5 is an example of why pure, simple yet elegant sports cars are joy and fun to drive together with the applauded lightweight making its steering and accelerating more phenomenal that might be vanished by more weight. It is still an extravagant joy and good gesture, sticking to the old manual gearbox, rear wheel drive with no turbocharging. One just gets in and ready to hit the roads as there is no need to get delayed by switching between the modes or searching for stability controls as this is quite easy to solve with just pushing one button.

The 2.0 litter’s extra power is tangible and swift than ever before and the extra RPM will get your attention during the drive as it sounds like hitting the roads with madness and feels like getting off from your hand’s and taking you far away from your consciousness. The exhaust has been livened up with its update as nickel plated muffler exhaust sounds raspier than ever before and seems quite marvelous with gentle sound and reward of hanging on smoothly until the red line.

Interiors

On first sight, MX-5 seems simpler and easier to learn. It definitely, is. Its pleasingly simple layout takes minutes to learn and seconds to appreciate. A big, yet simple revolution control counter, perfect pedal placement, and manual air conditioned controls will make you happy if you love simplicity and elegance applauded with technology and sleekness.

One thing for sure is that you will definitely love this car’s interior as closely packed, tightly joined parts together with smartness of coverings and elegant leather touch with comfortable seats applauded with precarious leather could welcome the driver and passenger with warm gestures and like open heart, loving person. It seems friendlier when you put a sight on its interiors. Everything looks tuned and tamed to serve you better. Air-conditioned vents, controls, smartness loaded up and speedometer designs will compel you to love its interiors. Another noticeable thing is vast space between the seats just like old storage cubby that is deep enough to lose small pets in. Its interior is a mixture of soft-touch materials and hard plastics. It is applauded with a user-friendly infotainment system, making it easy for the driver to control the tech of this Mazda MX-5.

Running Costs and Reliability

The USA market only sells the 2.0L engine while other markets still have a choice between 1.5 and 2.0. Another thing to consider is a soft top or hard top. The choice involves three-piece folding roof that’s more like a Targa top, making you far less exposed to elements while it is open. This is a bit complex in operation as it requires you to be driving on 6mph or less and take 12 seconds to electronically open or close. Besides this complexity, MX-5 have all operations, entirely manual and take only three seconds with a flick or gentle push of your arm.

Talking about the fuel economy and CO2 emissions, this claims CO2 figure between 143 and 157g/km, reliably low value and great to know. In the real world, it seems quite realistic. Discussing fuel economy is also a gentle turn as it lies on 44.8mpg for 1.5-liter engine whereas 40.9 for the 2.0-liter engine. This seems quite a bearable phenomenon as its fuel economy together with power beats its rivals in the race. When it is tested in true MPG testing, the 2.0 liter gave an impressive 45.1 mpg, exceeding Mazda’s claims of 40.9 mpg for 2.0 liter.

Touching the Realities

Being a passionate road partner, MX-5 equips you with an ease of driving and understanding the techs of the car. It applauds you with multiple driving feasibilities together with joys of exploring the roads and your enthusiastic personality by keeping up to the limits and didn’t cross the red line.

Talking about its exteriors and interiors, it shines like a hot star under the sky with an extravagant, sleek design, performing extraordinary and out of the box. Its golden star alloy rims give it a snoopy look and adding elegance to the exteriors. Being an adventurous driver, it applauds me with unforgettable experiences together with unmatchable satisfaction level while hitting the roads. Truly, it is a friendlier vehicle with power and elegance on the cloud.

My Mazda MX-5, dubbed Batsu Maru after the Sanrio character Badtz Maru because there are many good and not so good points with this car, has been through many things over the past 10,000 miles and I wanted to write this review while fresh. It hasn’t demanded major upgrades…I take it back. There are a couple performance modifications that I did. Here’s a list of my upgrades and why:

Suspension

Doing the suspension was one of the first things I did. Mainly because I wanted that stiffer driving experience for track days. While I love the Billstein suspension, I opted for the Ohlins because I wanted that ability to make adjustments based on my driving style and road conditions. The Eibach sway bars remove any kind of body roll. When I first starte driving the MX-5 I thought there was no body roll. I was wrong. There is currently not a lot of body roll at all.

• FPSPËC OHLINS DFV (ND MIATA) “LONG-STROKE”
• Eibach ANTI-ROLL-KIT (Front and Rear Sway Bars)

Wheels & Brakes

One of the first things I noticed was my braking wasn’t what one would expect from a small car or I started driving faster. My braking distance seemed too large so I decided to upgrade the rotors and brake lines. I noticed a difference right away. I can now stop on a dime. For the wheels and tires, I decided to put on some summer shoes. Also, the price was just right for the Advantis and Falkens.

• MiataSpeed 2-Piece Sport Rotor Front Brake Kit
• MiataSpeed 2-Piece Sport Rotor Rear Brake Kit
• MiataSpeed Stainless Steel Brake Lines
• Ferodo DS2500 Street/Track Brake Pads
• 17X9 ADVANTI DST STORM S1 17 METALLIC BRONZE
• 235/40R-17 FALKEN AZENIS RT615K+ SL

Interior

These changes are mainly cosmetic. The interior is great on its own. The big change is the steering wheel. See my review of the Ergo Race Wheel.

• Satin Shift Knob by Voodoo
• MiataSpeed Ergo Race Wheel by Sake Bomb Garage
• Air Bag Warning Overlay Replacement by MX5Things
• Central Console Shelf by MX5Things

With that said, I’m extremely happy driving around in my MX-5. And when given a choice to drive this versus an S2000, I choose the MX-5. The modifications done have honed the driving experience like the sharpness of a samurai sword.

See all the modifications here.

Drive a MX-5? Tell me about your experience.