RAY MASSEY: Mazda revs-up the MX5... the best British sports car to ever come out of Japan
Three decades on, the fourth generation of Mazda’s MX-5 two-seater drop-top convertible is out, just in time to catch the last rays of summer.
And it comes complete with a meatier new 184 hp 2-litre engine that answers critics who said the 160 hp version lacked sufficient oomph.
The new MX-5 range is priced from £18,995 to £29,195, with the RF (Retractable Fastback Convertible) version — complete with a hard, folding roof — starting from £22,595.
Formula fun: The fourth generation of Mazda’s MX-5 two-seater drop-top convertible
The new MX5 comes complete with a meatier new 184 hp 2-litre engine that answers critics who said the 160 hp version lacked sufficient oomph
The RF (Retractable Fastback Convertible) version comes complete with a hard, folding roof — starting from £22,595
Holiday romance: Ray fell in love with the original MX5 during a holiday to Hawaii in 1992
The original MX-5 was Japan’s genius move to reinvent the classic British two-seater roadster for the modern era.
It caused a storm when launched at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show.
It bore an uncanny resemblance to the Lotus Elan built in Norfolk during the Sixties and Seventies, and came nearly a decade after MG at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, closed in 1980, marking the end of the Midget and MGB.
I owned a Midget in the Nineties and I remember fondly my first encounter with an MX-5 in 1992 during a budget trip to the Hawaiian islands.
Apart from the new engine, the MX-5 Mk4 is barely distinguishable stylistically from the aerodynamically sculpted lines of its 2015 predecessor
I’d booked a Jeep Wrangler 4x4 to do dirt-track exploring. But seeing rows of the little sports cars in the pick-up point, I did a U-turn. Aloha! I was smitten.
Part of the MX-5’s charm has been Mazda bravely resisting the temptation to mess too much with a winning formula.
Apart from the new engine, the MX-5 Mk4 is barely distinguishable stylistically from the aerodynamically sculpted lines of its 2015 predecessor.
Mazda offers a choice of seven colours, including Soul Red Crystal Metallic which adds £790
Promising a more engaging drive, it accelerates from rest to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds — 0.8 seconds quicker — and has a top speed of 136 mph.
There’s a choice of seven colours, including Soul Red Crystal Metallic which adds £790.
Marginally shorter, lower and wider than the previous MX-5, it is the most compact version yet. But the only major styling tweak is a new design of 16in and 17in alloy wheels.
It’s come a long way from the more rounded original I drove along twisty mountain passes and heavenly sunset beach roads on my Hawaiian adventure.
Kia's stylish new load-lugger
Kia has unveiled its new ProCeed GT grand touring estate car with coupe-like ‘sportbrake’ styling.
Expect prices from about £21,000 when it arrives here next year.
The five-door load-lugger is designed in Frankfurt, built in Slovakia and has a 594-litre luggage capacity.
Kia's new ProCeed GT grand touring estate car is built in Slovakia and has a 594-litre luggage capacity
Engines include a high performance 1.6-litre T-GDi for GT models, and choice of petrol and diesel for GT-Line variants.
It comes with a seven-year, 100,000 mile warranty.
As petrol and diesel prices soar, it’s been an exciting week for rechargeable electric car batteries.
Williams Advanced Engineering and the Unipart Manufacturing Group are to open a factory in Coventry creating nearly 100 new jobs.
Aston Martin’s first electric supercar, the Rapide E, to be built in Wales from next year, will be its first customer.
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