FOLDING HARD-TOP ONLY - SOFT TOP IS NO MORE

+ Click to Enlarge PUTTING ON A HAPPY FACE: The Mazda MX-5 now has the "corporate look" five-sided grille - but on the roadster it looks cheekier than ever.

November 4, 2009

The original concept behind the MX-5 two-seater was so successful that Mazda has never changed it: affordable to buy and run, light, intuitive handling and classic roadster looks.

Now the latest version, facelifted again to mark its 20th anniversary, is in South Africa. It's now available only as a Roadster Coupé with folding hard top – the soft-top version has been discontinued – and sells for R337 500, only R300 more than the outgoing model.

The MX-5 is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling two-seat sports car yet - 850 000 and counting – and has won 178 automotive awards, including 58 for the current third generation, among them Japan Car of the Year 2005-2006 and Top Gear magazine's Roadster of the Year 2005.

So what needed improvement?

The company says it has incorporated Mazda's newest design themes while carrying forward the familiar personality.

The grille is bigger and the previous oval outline has become a five-pointed shape, as in the latest Maxda3 and CX-7, but with more rounded corners. Chromed trim frames the mesh grille and the inner bezels of the headlights and foglights and the rear bumper has been reshaped to make the back of the car look wider.

The inside retains the MX-5's traditional combination of comfort below shoulder level and openness above it.

The instrument-panel trim has been changed from glossy black to dark silver, the dials have new, easier-to-read graphics and the aircon controls now have chromed trim rings.

The Bose sound system now has a six-channel equaliser, an auxiliary jack and a 12V socket, the door pockets are bigger and the door armrests now have elbow-cosseting pads.

Engine power is still 118kW but peak revs are up from 6700 to 7000rpm thanks to tighter tolerances, with 188Nm available at 5000rpm. The inlet and exhaust manifolds have also been retuned for a crisper engine sound throughout the rev range, and the gearbox internals smoothed for crisper shifts right up to the new red-line at 7500rpm.

Mazda SA general manager Brendan Lyne said: "The MX-5 is as fresh and enjoyable as ever. It's top-down, wind-in-your-hair driving fun honed by Mazda over 20 years."

The MX-5 comes with a four-year or 120 000km warranty, a four-year or 60 000km service plan and a three-year roadside assistance plan. Service intervals 15 000km.

See how the Mazda MX-5 looked at its SA launch in 2001… which was some years after its first launch and subsequent disappearance.
And at the second-generation launch in 2005…
And at the introduction of the Roadster Coupé in 2007.