About the Mazda MX-5
Jacob Hall purchased this Mazda MX-5 new with additional options for $57,500 (including all on-road costs). Jacob Hall would buy this car again because: “Yes in a heart beat!. The MX-5 captures a dying type of driving experience that makes the simplest of drives at any speed as enjoyable as you can possibly find on the market today or at any point, giving you the joys of old school open top motoring with the reassurance of modern day reliability and automotive refinement.”
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
As I’ve only had the car for a week and a half and have only done 1600km in it, commenting on overall reliability personally is hard to do.
The ND MX-5 is an almost 10 year-old generation now and currently in its 3rd iteration (ND3). Overall throughout the ND’s lifetime it’s been an incredibly well renowned and reliable platform and any issues with the car have been addressed throughout the life cycle.
As with all MX-5s for the past 35 years the ND fills the role of one of if not the most reliable, fun, and accessible sports car on the market and I have full confidence I’ll be able to rack up hundreds of thousands of kilometres in this little red sports car without any major issues.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
As I’m only half a week in it is also hard to comment but what I can say is in my 21 years I haven’t had a more fun week in my life.
Every morning I have woken up bright and early excited to go for a drive, whether it be five minutes to the shops or two hours down the coast, owning an MX-5 is something that leaves you as an owner and driving enthusiast beaming with joy and with an overwhelming excitement as to where you’ll go next!
How has the purchase and aftercare experience been with your car?
Fantastic! The salesman I purchased the car through is a personal friend who aided in me joining the car sales industry myself and the process couldn’t have been easier for myself and him as I knew I was going to buy the car before I’d even spoken to him.
It was something I’ve been working towards ever since the car debuted when I was only 12. The aftercare process has been great to with regular check-ins and many kind words sent my way by both my friend and his team who were all lovely and down to earth as well.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
Yes! $57,500 isn’t cheap by any means especially for a car so small, but it of course isn’t the point.
This vehicle provides you with an experience that is almost priceless and even though my spec was pushing $60,00 you can get into a soft top manual MX-5 for under $50,000 which is incredible value for the drive it provides which is well known by all throughout the industry.
Features on my particular variant is as plentiful as you can get in an MX-5. The RF GT offers heated leather seats, reverse camera and sensors, automatic LED headlights, blind spot monitoring, and and a nine-speaker stereo as the big ticket upgrades over a standard spec ND, and all are now available with wireless CarPlay and wired Android Auto.
For this car’s purpose features are by no means what it is aiming to give you but I was honestly surprised by just how much I got even at though I went for the top spec which has just made me love the car even more.
I’m a very simple person who priorities driving dynamics and enjoyment over features but the heated seats and wireless CarPlay are just fantastic and my personal highlights for the car, and really aid in the year round usability of such a purpose built car.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
This car’s performance when based solely on numbers being 135kW at 7000rpm and 205Nm at 4000rpm can easily seem underwhelming however, at 1134kg in the heaviest possible spec with a six-speed sports automatic the dynamics of the chassis and revvy nature of the engine are enough to make any driving at any speed an incredible amount of fun and can be described best as pure, uncorrupted automotive therapy.
So while the numbers of 0-100km/h in around 7.5 seconds and a 1/4 mile of over 15 seconds aren’t good it’s completely irrelevant when given the context of this car.
This car is at its best dancing along coastal roads with the roof down and engine singing, and on public roads which is where it is built to thrive it is more than enough to satisfy any enthusiast’s thrills across a huge array of different drives.
That is a true hallmark of any endearing sports car. It’s about the experience, not the numbers.
Economy-wise it’s fantastic. A huge benefit of such a small platform means the also modest 2.0L four-cylinder can plod along happily averaging about 7.2/7.5L per 100km which is exactly what Mazda claims for the car.
Even when driving enthusiastically (which every owner will) on a bad day I haven’t seen over 8.2L combined across a mix of town, highway and sporty coastal driving which makes regular use for this car incredibly cost effective.
Filling up the MX-5’s tiny 45L tank for under $85 for a full tank and about 550 kilometres of range is a great achievement for a car not at all built to be an economy car.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
The tech in the MX-5 is simple but executed well. There are better systems than Mazda’s but for what the MX-5 is it’s refreshingly usable and not intrusive towards the drive.
You have a toggle wheel for using Mazda’s interface which when switched to CarPlay can then be used as a touch screen along with the toggle wheel and the use of tech throughout the cabin really strikes a good blend of what’s expected in a 2024 car without leaning into the nightmarish overuse of screens and beeps and warnings common in so many cars in the market today.
Having a more minimalist approach to the in-car tech as well has also allowed for all the systems be calibrated correctly and work properly.
I’ve experienced no lag in hooking car CarPlay as a matter of fact I’m shocked at how quick it does it and the Mazda interface is smooth to look at, screen transitions are quick, and whilst the in built nav isn’t as good as Google or Apple Maps in a tiny sports car like this it’s incredibly usable.
My biggest gripe if I had to pick one would be the lack of front sensors, even thought the car is tiny and easy to place in any park the way the nose slopes makes it hard to see where it ends from the drivers seat and I often have to peek my head up to see exactly where it’s at even at 6 feet tall.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
Comfort compared to a modern everyday car is mixed and depends on what you want from your sports car. Ride is very controlled and comfortable on long drives however with a car this small and light you are definitely getting road noise and feeling the chassis move over surface changes at most speeds, which is by no means uncomfortable but it is definitely noticeable.
The MX-5 is my daily and the longest drive I have done in it so far is about four hours consecutive without a stop and whilst at the end I was tired that was more from the traffic and the complex roads I was on instead of the car.
The leather seats are tight on my six-feet tall, 85kg frame, however once in them they are comfortable and hold you well on the road throughout the whole drive.
The GT RS Recaros are definitely more secure for sporty driving but for my daily use and mannerisms these seats are fine.
Road holding is as controllable as any car I have ever been in and whilst the elements get to you much more than most cars on sale today that is what an MX-5 buyer is looking for so I can’t exactly mark it down as this car’s intent is very different to most on the market today.
Handling is about as good as it gets for a car regardless of price. The ability to control and feel every point of this car under high or low speed cornering is incredible, it allows a young driver like myself an ability to truly improve as a driver and learn car control like no other which is just an absolute joy and whilst it does have a good amount of body roll (which has been addressed and minimised for this ND3 update) in a car so small and light it really just aids in getting the car transitioned into whatever line or angle I want to take when driving and at all speeds is an absolute treat.
Compared to my 2019 Mustang GT this thing’s ability to handle whilst going slower is much more engaging and natural feeling through the wheel.