The ND Mazda MX-5 Is A Wicked Little Roadster, But Definitely Not For Me

I recently spent a fortnight getting to know the new MX-5, and despite many miles behind the wheel I just haven't gelled with it. Sure, it's got the recipe of a great little sports car, but we'll never be friends. Here's why...
The ND Mazda MX-5 Is A Wicked Little Roadster, But Definitely Not For Me

Let’s get the joke out of the way: the Mazda MX-5 is a hairdresser’s car. It’s a stupid, misguided statement, but the underlying sentiment is legitimate. When the first generation of this iconic roadster burst onto the scene in 1989, the world’s motoring press lauded it as one of the purest driver’s cars out there. This reputation was well deserved, but it became better known for the way it appealed to people who didn’t care about driving and just wanted to pose. This reputation became ingrained as the following generations grew ever further from the original car’s pure driving experience.

Enter the all-new Mazda MX-5 in a blaze of hype. This was going to be the car that returned the little Mazda to its rightful spot as the entry-level purist experience. We heard loads of rhetoric about it using lightweight materials and being wonderfully balanced, its tiny footprint harking back to the original. And the motoring press ate it up. Richard Hammond sat in an ND MX-5 with a Top Gear camera pointing at his face lauding this thing as utterly fantastic, while well known magazines hailed it as one of the cars of the year.

So you can imagine my excitement when I was handed the keys to our new long-term ND Mazda MX-5. Its Mica Blue paint is rather understated, making it blend into the grimy backdrop of a wintry London, which is a shame, because in the metal that front-end looks fantastic. Two weeks later, and my excitement has fizzled out to the point where I genuinely don’t look forward to driving it.

The ND Mazda MX-5 Is A Wicked Little Roadster, But Definitely Not For Me

It’s not that I dislike the car, it’s a perfectly capable thing. It’s just that it has nothing of what I look for in a car, so there was nothing to look forward to whenever I slipped behind the wheel. So what exactly is grating on me so much? Let me explain…

I absolutely adore little lightweight sports cars. One of my favourite cars I’ve driven on this job is the Vauxhall VXR220, which has no fripperies and whose only purpose is to feel epic as you scoot across the tarmac. It does that job impeccably, and I totally fell for that car. I knew the MX-5 wouldn’t go to those extremes, but I expected it to at least channel the spirit of those raw road racers.

No such luck. Not even close. With comfy seats, air conditioning and skinny tyres, it was never going to glue itself to the black stuff in the way that VXR220 did, but I wanted to feel connected to the road, I wanted to feel everything that was happening underneath me, and most of all I wanted to feel confident enough to chuck the car about and have a giggle. None of this happened. The reason? It’s just way, way too soft.

The ND Mazda MX-5 Is A Wicked Little Roadster, But Definitely Not For Me

We all know that those non-petrolheads are a key demographic for Mazda with this car, but I feel that it has focused way too much energy on appealing to these consumers. That would be fine - Mazda has to make money, after all - I just wish it hadn’t billed the car as something people likes us would enjoy.

It’s time to talk specifics. First of all, it has a weird split personality with regard to how the car feels and how it looks. Your eyes are telling you that this is an upmarket roadster; it has sharp, bold styling, a high quality interior and a comfortable steering wheel. But then you open the door or the boot, and because everything is so light it feels cheap and nasty. I don’t care that the Vauxhall has a mesh engine cover or tinpot doors, because it’s employing hardcore weight saving and the interior is bare metal. In the MX-5 the lightweight clangs and luxury interior grate because they’re so juxtaposed.

If you're looking for an affordable, modern driver's car, you'd be silly to look anywhere other than the Toyota GT86

And then there’s the handling. The steering takes some getting used to, and feels annoyingly artificial. You’ll quickly acclimatise, but there’s always that nagging sensation that you’re not really sure what the front wheels are doing. And then there’s the suspension, which is so ridiculously soft that it feels like you’ll be thrown out of the window under hard cornering.

That’s great when you’re cruising about town at 30mph, because it means that road imperfections barely register and speed bumps will worry you not. So it’s nice and comfy at slow speeds, which makes it a little less fun on the limit - another sign indicative of the fact that this car has been tailored to non-petrolheads.

The ND Mazda MX-5 Is A Wicked Little Roadster, But Definitely Not For Me

Now I know it probably doesn’t sound like it, but I don’t really care that it’s not as good a driver’s car as I’d hoped. Yes, it bugs me that it had been hyped up to be something that I don’t think it is, but that’s not the end of the world. Sometimes it’s great to just cruise about in comfort. Unfortunately, the MX-5 does nothing for me here either.

The seats are comfortable, even on long trips, which is impressive given my long frame, but the steering wheel doesn’t adjust for reach which means I have to stretch for the wheel; long trips are hard on my arms. The multimedia system is clunky, the touchscreen isn’t particularly sensitive, and the satellite navigation system doesn’t allow postcode input. The speakers are pretty terrible quality, and the wind/road noise at motorway speeds make long distances at 70mph far from relaxing.

It’s not all negative, though. The gear change is sweet, and clicking each gear into place is a joy. We’re running the 1.5-litre engine, which means with 129bhp it’s by no means fast, but the engine’s delivery is smooth and predictable, and it’s fun keeping it high in the revs.

The ND Mazda MX-5 Is A Wicked Little Roadster, But Definitely Not For Me

Look, I can totally understand why some petrolheads might like the car, but for me it doesn’t do one job well enough to make me think it’s anything other than too compromised. It’s too soft to be a driver’s car and it feels too cheap to be a luxury ride for posers. Unless you literally only care about how you look to others in your car, I wouldn’t recommend buying an ND Mazda MX-5.

At the end of the day, if you’re looking for an affordable, modern driver’s car, in my eyes you’d be silly to look anywhere other than the Toyota GT86. Few cars deliver such a connected driving experience or provide such capability at this price point, and while the interior might not look so flashy it feels a lot better put together. It’s the price you pay for a heavier car, but the Toyota’s such a fun thing to throw around you won’t notice the weight penalty.

The ND Mazda MX-5 is a decent car, but that’s all it is: decent. I’ll no doubt draw the ire of the community for saying this, but the car in these pictures might just be the most overrated car I’ve driven in years.

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Comments

Dat muscle guy (Sam Stone)(Camaro Squad)(Die augen leader)(E

In reply to by Wheel Nuts

Damn you beat me to it LOL

01/05/2016 - 11:22 |
1 | 0

Please do a bit more research, it will be coming as standard with the Abarth 500’s 1.4 turbo but will be restricted to 140bhp in the UK, elsewhere it’ll be 165bhp and 100kg heavier than the ND.

01/05/2016 - 14:16 |
1 | 3

I think they are not going to make it but okay

But reliability fiat…..

01/05/2016 - 17:50 |
0 | 0

Also, most likely only automatic…

01/05/2016 - 18:57 |
0 | 0
Fabio Iurilli

TIme, depreciation and mods will solve everything.

01/05/2016 - 11:24 |
33 | 0

this guy knows what up..

01/05/2016 - 12:50 |
7 | 0
S A M M

I guess your not a hairdresser

01/05/2016 - 11:54 |
2 | 1
Anonymous

The main reason it’s not for you: Alex has one

01/05/2016 - 12:19 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

He meant the ND lol

01/05/2016 - 14:31 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I have a friend who is going to pick up his mx-5 next week. Is it a coincidence that his hair is always perfect?

01/05/2016 - 12:24 |
7 | 0
cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

Have you considered that with this verdict, you’re letting other people decide what you wanna drive

01/05/2016 - 12:25 |
3 | 0
Anonymous

Na>Nb>Nc>Nd.
An hypothetical Ne is going to be even worse and, yeah, I love my Nb.
But this Bimmer Wannabe, to me, it’s no Miata at all.

01/05/2016 - 12:51 |
2 | 2
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

WORD!

01/05/2016 - 22:37 |
1 | 1
Baboon

I have the solutiom for you. Coilovers

01/05/2016 - 13:02 |
1 | 0
Razorr

I really like my miata, but in this I actually have to agree with OP. The mazda is a great driver’s car, but the real reason it’s so popular is because it’s dirt cheap. However, when you put a $30k price tag I really don’t think it’s worth a single penny.

01/05/2016 - 13:40 |
4 | 1
Jamie_mx5

In reply to by Razorr

It’s worth every single penny, I’ve lived with it for 4 months.

01/05/2016 - 14:18 |
5 | 1

To be fair, the whole point of the MX-5 is to be affordable, yet a fun car. Sure, a random more expensive car is faster, could be even more fun, but it is less likely that the average gay can afford it. This is why many say “Miata Is Always The Answer”, because they can afford it, and are happy with their little, sporty, fun car. Sure it is not the best, but in almost every price range it can be considered a best buy, also it is fairly reliable, so your wife won’t hate you that you bought a piece of S* that doesn’t even work.

01/05/2016 - 19:02 |
1 | 0
Jamie_mx5

Darren, just to prove to you that this article is utter rubbish I welcome you to come test drive my ND 1.5 Sport which has all the gadgets and comfort your base model is missing oh and it has the BBR upgrade so it’s at 160bhp but it’s a damn sight more fun than the 2.0’s engine.. Please contact me.

01/05/2016 - 14:14 |
21 | 4

would be interesting if you would appear on the readers rides. Ive read that the sport suspension is not really that good and its just hard. But I was also wondering if aftermarket coils would solve that.
Nice car !

01/05/2016 - 20:02 |
1 | 0

The article isn’t utter rubish as he is only expressing his view, and with a view point there isn’t really a right or wrong. It was a very good, detailed article.

01/05/2016 - 21:13 |
6 | 3

I’ll be waiting for this. Would be nice to see how much difference it makes.

01/06/2016 - 02:22 |
0 | 0

Well first of all, like it was said below, it’s just my opinion. I get why some people will like it but it’s just not for me. Also, if yours is modded to get rid of the handling issues I have it’s not really a fair comparison.

Whereabouts are you based? More than happy to be proved wrong if you’re near London. The 1.5 Sport doesn’t have the sport suspension though, does it? Not sure I’d be convinced by this just because it has more power. Also the only gadget from the Sport trim I’d really want are the nicer speakers! Totally not wanting to sound like I’m hating on your car, it’s just not the sort of thing I like. As long as you like it that’s what’s important!

01/06/2016 - 12:57 |
0 | 2