The fourth generation Mazda MX-5 (Miata) has been available for purchase since late last year, and we finally got a chance to review it last week. The MX-5 is completely new and will continue to carry the torch forward for the best selling two-seat sports car in the world, with over one million units sold worldwide since it was introduced in 1989.

The Mazda MX-5 is know for its light weight, small size, and back to basics driving fun. The Japanese car maker took great efforts to reduce the weight of the 4th generation car even further, the 2016 MX-5 weighs over 220 pounds (100 kilograms) less than the car it replaces, weighing about 200 pounds more than the original 1989 Miata. This is quite the achievement considering all the heavy modern safety equipment. What’s also impressive is, most new cars keep getting bigger and heavier, while the MX-5 is getting lighter and getting back to its roots.

Pricing

In Canada, the 2016 Mazda MX-5 is offered in three trims: GX, GS, and GT. Prices start at $31,900 for the GX trim, GS starts at $35,500, and the GT has a starting price of $39,200. An additional package, “Sport Package”, can be added to the GS trim for $4,400, this package includes Brembo front brakes, red calipers, 17” black BBS wheels, and heated Recarco sports seats with leather and Alcantara trim.

Our week-long test car was the 2016 MX-5 GS with the Sport Package and Soul Red Metallic paint ($300), with a total price of $40,000 plus Freight & PDE of $1,795.

Engine

All three trims come with a 2.0 liter SKYACTIV 4-cylinder engine, producing 155 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 148 pound-feet of torque at 4,600 rpm. 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic (no extra charge) transmissions are available; the automatic transmission on the GS and GT trims come with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. Power is down from the 3rd generation car, which had 167 hp, but the 4th generation MX-5 is considerably lighter than that car.

If owned a sports car I wouldn’t care too much about fuel economy, but it’s good to know you can have fun in a sports car and not pay too much at the pump. The 2016 Mazda MX-5 is rated at 8.8 L/100 km in city driving and 6.9 L/100 km on the highway on premium fuel. For our week-long review, we averaged 8.2/7.0/7.5 L/100k in city/highway/mixed driving. Not bad at all, and I was driving the car as a sports car should be 😉

Driving

There really isn’t any other car you can compare the MX-5 to, some people do compare it to the FR-S or BRZ, but those are 2+2 cars and not convertible. However, there is a new entry that competes directly with the MX-5, the Fiat 124 Spider, which is based on the MX-5 and is actually built alongside it at the factory in Japan.

A couple of months back, I went to San Diego to drive the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider, and will try to compare the MX-5 to it. While the MX-5 uses a naturally aspirated engine, the 124 Spider uses a turbocharged 1.4 liter 4-cylinder engine, producing 160 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. However, the Fiat is about a 100 pounds heavier, so making the HP difference a non-issue, but the torque difference is apparent.

In most circumstances I’m looking for more horsepower, but the 155 hp produced by the 4-cylinder engine seemed more than enough for city driving and taking the MX-5 on some twisty roads. Thanks to its lower weight and the new 6-speed manual transmission, which is absolutely fantastic and has beautifully short and direct shifts, the MX-5 is a heck of a lot of fun. I loved shifting through gears on our review car’s 6-speed manual, the shifts had a very satisfying sound every time I changed gears.

Speaking of sound, the new SKYACTIV engine sings a beautiful melody and the exhaust note is something I could listen to all day. The engine just wants to rev all the way to the red line, and revs very freely. The sound and revving abilities of this engine are far superior to the turbocharged 4-cylinder of the 124 Spider, a turbocharged engine could never sound as nice as a naturally aspirated engine.

As I mentioned above, the horsepower was enough for city and twisty road driving, but on long fast highways, I did feel like I needed more power/torque. I would give the edge to the torque of the 124 Spider here.

The suspension on the MX-5 is stiffer than the 124 Spider’s, but I felt perfectly comfortable on a 500+ km trip I took over the weekend, the stiffer suspension made the car feel more lively. Many reviewers have complained about the body roll on the MX-5, maybe it’s a factor on a track, but I didn’t really notice it much on my normal driving.

Styling

Styling is subjective, some people love a design while others hate it. I personally like the styling on the new MX-5, in fact, it’s my favorite design of all four generations. I really like the smooth lines and sharp headlights, the overall design is very attractive. However, I’m not a fan of the rear end, especially the taillights, they seem to be too close together, giving the rear a pinched look.

Our review car had the optional “Soul Red” paint, which looks very deep and suits the car. The same paint covered the 2015 Mazda6 I reviewed a couple of years ago, it looked great on that car too. Our review car also came with the Sport Package, which added black 17” BBS wheels and red brake calipers.

Interior

The interior on the new MX-5 has a very simple and easy to understand layout. The overall layout is a minimalist version of the Mazda3 and CX-3’s interior design, and looks like quite a step forward over the previous MX-5. Our car’s optional package included leather/Alcantara Recaro seats, which are a must have if you plan to take your MX-5 on twisty roads, these seats hold you tightly in place and even come with heating feature, for those chilly top down drives.

The interior does get very noisy at highway speeds, at speeds over 120 km/h I could hardly hear myself think. Fiat has insulated the 124 Spider more, which was much quieter at highway speeds, but all that insulation does add weight. I personally don’t do much highway driving, so it’s not that big of a deal and I would rather my MX-5 weigh less.

Overall Impressions

I really enjoyed my week with the 2016 Mazda MX-5 GS, I had a lot of fun driving this nimble little sports car and went for a lot of drives for no reason and always took the long way home (pardon the cliché).

The MX-5 is extremely fun to drive and makes you feel like a much better driver than you actually are. It has enough power to let you enjoy a nice curvy road and the power is low enough that you won’t get into any serious trouble. The sweet melody of the SKYACTIV engine is enough to get you to take off from work early and just drive.