2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Grand Touring: Still a small wonder?
Price: $39,130 as tested. Gray paint added $595, and the RF’s retractable hardtop is almost a $3,000 premium over the traditional soft-top version.
Conventional wisdom: Consumer Reports offers so many positives! “One of the few affordable roadsters on the market; agile and super-fun to drive; one of the best shifting manual transmissions you can buy; easy manual top operation; 34 mpg overall translates into guilt-free fun; eager and willing engine; exhaust sounds invigorating.” Less enjoyable are that it’s “excruciatingly loud on highway,” with a “jittery ride,” and the “tight, low cabin won’t fit everyone; infotainment system requires a learning curve.”
Marketer’s pitch: “Passion meets power.”
Reality: A breath of fresh air, despite — and because of — its age.
What’s new: The MX-5 Miata celebrates its 35th anniversary with a special edition package.
Otherwise the little convertible carries on basically the same as it has since this generation was introduced in 2016.
The RF’s distinctive wedge shape offers a retractable hardtop instead of the soft-top convertible profile that’s more traditional; it was added to the lineup in 2017.
Competition: BMW Z4, Nissan Z, Toyota Supra
Up to speed: The two-seater hurries to 60 mph in a mere 5.5 seconds, according to Car and Driver’s 2024 review of a manual model. The vehicle’s 2.0-liter engine creates 181 horsepower, where it’s been since a 2019 upgrade.
The delight happens at almost any speed; use the gears and the accelerator to make the most fun as you move through town or the countryside.
Shifty: I’ve driven more than my share of automatic Miatas, and they’re still available, of course, but the manual just makes the drive so much more fun.
Even despite my atrophied shifting muscles. It took a few days of practice, when I remembered that a heavy foot on the accelerator and then a slow release before shifting keeps the lovely Mrs. Passenger Seat from miming vomiting motions next to me.
I confess my hip was whining about clutch work for the first couple days, but after I revised my technique above, it went away.
On the road: I don’t think it gets much better than this. Put the top down and just zoom around Pennsylvania’s twisty roads, in the breeze, in the sun, under the clouds, it doesn’t matter.
On the dim side, we did have more than our share of rain while I tested the Miata. I expected the little rear-wheel-drive unit to skid and slide, but it handles like a dream in rough weather. I was enjoying sliding into corners on dry days; I tried it in the rain and the vehicle hardly slid at all.
Driver’s Seat: The leather bucket seats offer a delightful experience down here near the road.
Mazda keeps the old days alive with gauges and controls — and the company’s limited budget may be a factor — but it’s giving them top-notch ratings in driver experience. The good old days were actually kinda better, kids.
Friends and stuff: Pick your favorite friend, and Marie Kondo your stuff for the ride.
The passenger’s footwell does have lots of intrusion from the transmission.
Cargo space is 4.59 cubic feet.
In and out: Duck down. Duck a little bit more. Practice your yoga stretches. It’s difficult but worth it.
To avoid embarrassment, park far away from your destination; the walk will do you good.
Play some tunes: The stereo operates through a smallish 8.8-inch touchscreen or the awesome Mazda dial-and-buttons system. (I really don’t see this as needing a learning curve, Consumer Reports.)
Sound is very good, about an A-. It was great until I had to put the top up for some rain and I realized, nah, it’s not so perfect. Cue the wah-wah trombone.
Keeping warm and cool: Old-fashioned dials! Three of them — temperature, fan speed, and blower location. OMG, I thought to myself, how will I ever survive without crazy tiny icons on the screen to stab at and to bake themselves into uselessness in hot weather! Will I even be able to drive?
Fuel economy: The test model’s trip computer showed that it averaged 33 mpg since forever. It prefers better fuel but will work with 87 octane.
Where it’s built: Hiroshima, Japan
How it’s built: The Miata continues getting the top rating from Consumer Reports in reliability.
In the end: Aw, go ahead. You know you want one.
