Why am I so excited about getting a cheap no-frills mass-market roadster which has been in production for 8 years or so already? The fact that it's been around a while is probably part of the reason. It wasn't engineered to comply with regulations into the 2030s, nor in a world where everything is touch screen so it's a bit of a throwback. Mazda's update for 2024 hasn't changed much but the bigger (and more importantly, higher resolution) screen on the dash means it doesn't feel out of date. And as the rest of the world stops producing light, simple cars it stands out more, even at over £30k new these days.
There was something very joyful and back to basics about my mk1 MX5s. They were both classics, the first acquired at 17 years old and the second sold at 25. The second was bought because I missed the first, and both genuinely managed the trick of being perfectly reliable (even after being left in the garage for months) while costing buttons to run. Other than depreciation (which I don't care about because I'm never selling), the road tax, insurance and fuel economy on the new one look like they'll do the same.
Will this one be as joyful and back to basics? It's just over a tonne, so lighter than an Alpine A110 and only 10% heavier than the last Elises. It does have plenty of kit on it though; decent upholstery, really good air-con, servo brakes, PAS and things like auto lights/wipers and Carplay which were never on the agenda with an Elise or mk1. But it is completely manual (no auto-blip throttle even). The 6-sp gearchange is nice enough that you change it for fun without needing to - though even my recent rental Transit was like that. I wouldn't say the Emira was, and my old Elise with a 5-sp box required you to be in the right gear to make progress, so it wasn't a case of playing tunes with it.
The view out is a bit like my Elise S2 with the creases along the tops of the wheelarches framing the view. The alcantara seats are upholstered very similarly to my Race Tech spec Elise, to the extent that I found myself dangling my left hand onto the passenger seat, fondling it and getting a really nostalgic deja vu feeling. Getting in and out is actually more similar to the Elise than the mk1 too because the steering wheel really blocks the space between seat and dashboard. The wheel is adjustable but only up/down and I can't see that anyone would be able to get in at all if the wheel was below its highest setting. And the Elise comparisons continue with the performance. I know a 120bhp Elise isn't considered particularly fast these days but at just over 700kg, the 0-60 time was under 6s and it could be fully wrung out on the road. The new MX5 has 184bhp in 1050kg so almost identical power to weight ratio and an extra gear to make use of the extra power. It's a great amount of power for the road; even running in and avoiding using full throttle or more than 4000rpm I overtook a few things yesterday. It isn't compromised by the lack of power as a mk1 is. It it light enough to leap away from the line too, like my old Elise - lack of inertia is a great thing.
Since I bought it in Liverpool I got the train up there and drove home via the Mersey Tunnel, then New Brighton/Hoylake/West Kirby because I'd never been to the Wirral. I didn't want to sit on the motorway so then headed into Wales (via Chester to pick up a Cinnabon for my wife), trying to find quiter roads but failing a bit because even the B-roads have school buses on them on a weekday afternoon in term time. My navigating was a bit rubbish because I didn't plan a full route and Google Maps doesn't show B-roads like an OS map (whoever produces a Carplay app with 1:50,000 scale OS maps, I'll buy it), so I first stopped at the Ponderosa cafe then headed to Corwen and the B4401 towards Bala. Before reaching Bala I turned off down the B4391 over the mountains to LLangynog - always a favourite in the past and I have a photo of my Elise on there so stopped in what I hoped was the same lay-by. Looking back now it was, but I didn't park in the same place - doh
https://maps.app.goo.gl/g15GgBufAi8b9owy5
So I have put 186 miles on it (without using a motorway), 90% with the roof off, already done some Evo meet roads of old and really wanted to take it out again today. It's done 39mpg so far; almost zero cruising in 6th because I'm varying the revs all the time and wasn't on that sort of road anyway. It is capable of being driven in a restrained manner but does goad you with short gearing and a sense of urgency. I'm looking forward to being able to use all the revs.
Likes and dislikes so far?
- The Recaros are lovely and the leather parts are upholstered in what feels like a nice nappa leather, not some cheap stuff. Very pleased I got these. They are a bit tight across the arse but that just means you're held in well. Though they could still do with being a bit lower.
- The size. It's a plus and a minus; it's got a boot so not totally impractical but it is small in the cabin, I kept smacking the windscreen with my fingers when waving at other traffic and hit the peak of my cap on the header rail a few times. Did I mention it's small? It's comfy though, and there's room to twirl your arms to steer so the use of space is well planned. It doesn't feel as narrow as a mk1 (I'm sure it isn't) but there's still space in a lane to choose your position without crossing the white line - unlike my Audi for instance.
- The roof is a thing of beauty. Sorry John, the RF really is not the right choice. It goes down or up just like that; it's sprung to make it one-handed and latches immediately in the up or down position. And the one time I had the top up, I looked in the mirror and noticed the rear window was big and glass; it's so well engineered. Unlike the mk1 there are no exposed clips when it's down. Just brilliant.
- It feels so planted on a dual carriageway. This could be a decent motorway companion; rather unexpected. It loved the twisty roads in Wales but the last few miles to home were normal roads and compared to the mk1 which is buzzy and feels like it's reaching the edge of its operating envelope beyond 80mph, it just feels solid.
- The brakes. I mentioned them above but they are brilliant. Normally brakes just slow you down so aren't even something I would comment on; in this I actively noticed how good they are (feedback, power, weighting of the pedal - everything).
- The electric windows. Annoyingly they drop (quite a bit) when you put the hood up and down but don't go back up automatically. And they're not one-shot up which feels a bit 1990s.
- It's not as rock solid as you might think for a more recent convertible - the rear view mirror shakes a bit, for instance. That gives it a bit of mk1 character so I quite like it.
- The ride is pretty good but it does feed back some types of minor surface imperfection even on what look like newly surfaced roads. The steering is not as talkative as the mk1, but equally you don't feel like you have to hang onto the wheel like a mk1

I think the steering is the most notably modern thing about it.
I could guff on all day about it - I really do love it more than I even expected. That's despite it being a nothing car, you see them all the time, it's mass-produced and virtually everyone has already owned one. And the reason why it's so good is exactly that - Mazda have had the experience, sales and profit to hone it into what it is now. My garage photo below looks like I collect cars which fit that description.
Oh, and I'm quite amused that the plate has both M and X in it. If I'd bought it in 2025 then it'd be even better. It's going to get another registration which my wife bought simply to get that into our names, then that's going on retention and M1OWK is going on it. Meow, ok?