Mazda MX-5 RF : a go-kart that is too expensive

Mazda

Germain Goyer

Tuesday, 3 October 2017 14:20

UPDATE
Tuesday, 3 October 2017 14:20

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The classic roadsters English had many qualities, but also a great fault: reliability. In 1989, Mazda has had the genius idea to launch a car that would have the same advantages as its counterparts british without having mechanical problems. Here, Mazda has just arrive to us with a version of RF of its MX-5. This is a version with a retractable hardtop. A bit like a targa, if you want to.

We tried the Mazda MX-5 RF for a week. Here’s what we liked, but also what we didn’t like.

What we liked :

Go-kart

Have you ever driven a go-kart? Well, the MX-5 carries on the same way. But without a helmet. No kidding, the MX-5 gives only one desire when the weather is good: take a leave of absence from “disease” and go to roll the roof down. Under its hood is a four-cylinder naturally aspirated 2.0 L, quite ordinary. This last is not to develop 155 horsepower and 148 pound-feet.

You guessed it, on a line, this is not that it stands out. However, once the first corner arrived, it will be far behind the big slippers with a V8, many times more powerful. With the MX-5, it was the smile split up the hair (it is a tick more than up to the ears) even if we do not drive at incredibly high speeds.

Seats, suspension, wheels and brakes

Our test model was equipped with Recaro seats, suspension Bilstein, wheels BBS and Brembo brakes. This set was not as simple virtue of being pretty. It is effective, also. However, beware, if you ride on a road with more potholes than cars, you may feel inconvenience because the comfort is minimal. Everything is oriented to provide efficient driving. If you like to drive, you’ll love it.

Fuel consumption

Even in a rolling manner, let’s say, strong for all of my travel, there was nothing to do : the consumption of gasoline remained excessively low. For a distance of a little over 750 miles, the dashboard was displaying an average fuel consumption of 7.9 L/100 km. For a car as sporty, it’s brilliant!

Mazda MX-5 RF 2017

Mazda

What we didn’t like :

Still noisy

The decrease of the noise in the cockpit once the roof mounted is one of the goals the major goals with this release RF. However, the difference is hardly noticeable. It could also be brought to believe that, given that it’s fitted with a rigid roof, she could roll all year. Let’s not forget that it was the rear-wheel drive, it is low and mostly very mild. I would be very curious to see it on highway 10 in the middle of a storm in January…

Transmission

The six-speed manual transmission is undeniably pleasant. For a driving noted on the winding roads, one could not ask for better. Finally, almost. When you are driving at the speed allowed on the highway, the engine revolutionizes to about 3500 rpm. This is huge.

We would have liked Mazda to design differently its transmission to reduce the rpm of the engine once the sixth gear engaged and, therefore, reduce the interior noise of the passenger compartment and the fuel consumption. Certainly, it is practical to exceed, but downgrade the speed is not rocket science either.

Mazda MX-5 RF 2017

Mazda

The small kick of the turbo of the Fiat 124

Earlier this season, I drove the clone of the MX-5 : the
A Fiat 124 Spider. I liked it despite its flaws. Admittedly, it is slightly less compact than the japanese, but the difference is hardly noticeable. The big difference lies under the hood. While the power of the MX-5 is, without a doubt, very linear, quite the contrary is true for the 124 with which pleasure is directly proportional to number of revolutions/minute of the engine.

This small upright that we had with the 124 after 4000 rounds/minute, it is not found without the MX-5. On the other hand, if I had to bet on the long-term reliability of the one or the other, I would not hesitate to bet all my savings on the Mazda.

Mazda MX-5 RF 2017

Mazda

Brief

Ironically, the most important feature of the MX-5 RF is also its biggest flaw, that is to say, its retractable hardtop. In addition to being terribly expensive (8000$), the added value of the version of RF is minimal.

The soft-top MX-5 conventional is so simple and effective, I was shocked when I saw it for the first time. It only takes one hand to lower it or fold it. Also, the mechanism of the soft top is experienced since of the moons. I beg me to keep a small reserve about its evolution in the time, but especially in regards to its replacement cost.

Technical data sheet

Name: Mazda MX-5 RF 2017

Base price : 38 800$

Price of model tested: 43 200$

Configuration : Vehicle rear-wheel drive with engine at the front

Mechanical : four-cylinder Engine of 2.0 liters

Power/torque: 155 hp/ 148 lb-ft

Transmission : 6-speed Manual or 6-speed automatic

Fuel consumption announced (manual): 8.9 L/100 km (city), 7.1 L/100 km (highway)

Warranty basic : 4 years/80,000 km

Competition: Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86, Mini Cooper, Nissan 370Z

Rating (out of 10)

Fuel consumption : 8

Equipment : 7

Price : 5

Style : 9

Comfort (front) : 6

Comfort (rear) : n/a

Handling : 9

Performance : 8

Storage space : 4

Overall rating : 7