Five Alive
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- The latest version of Mazda’s iconic roadster is a case study in proper sportscar evolution
By Nick Syn
ATTAINING CLASSIC STATUS is really an odd thing, one moment you’re on top of your game and the next you’re an elegy. Classic status is sometimes conferred on the Mazda MX-5, which isn’t really correct. While on the whole very little has changed, each iteration has always been subtly, contemporaneously, anchored.
In that sense, the MX-5 is like Harrison Ford without the dubious recent career choices, an icon in other words. Imagine Star Wars Episodes VII through IX, and the same in Indiana Jones flicks instead of tripe like Hollywood Homicide.
In fact, Mazda’s engineers seem to have adopted the same sort of guiding philosophy that drove Demi Moore’s team of plastic surgeons to produce the calibre of work seen on screen in the second Charlie’s Angels movie. When you’ve got such a good base to work from, evolutionary, not revolutionary changes are the order of the day.
This third generation model of the MX-5 doesn’t deviate from spirit of the original recipe, but it represents a big step forwards, nevertheless. For starters, the car is considerably larger all round, and significant gains have been made in the wheelbase especially, which translates to more interior room.
Mazda’s designers have taken styling elements from the RX-8 flagship and very successfully integrated them with the clean lines of the second generation MX-5. The result is still recognisably MX-5, but with an added dose of aggression in the form of bulging wheel arches. The second generation model’s headlamp layout has been retained but the lamps themselves now boast very intricate and attractive internal elements.
The fabric roof now has a redesigned folding action, stowing neatly away with a Z-shaped action. It’s still manually-operated but this is no bother as the roof is just about light enough to open and close with one hand.
