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RPM TV Website | March 28, 2024

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New Mazda MX-5 to reach SA before year end

New Mazda MX-5 New Mazda MX-5 Mazda MX-5 New Mazda MX-5
Deon Schoeman

Hiroshima, Japan. – It’s official: the all-new, fourth-generation Mazda MX-5, as well the as the stylish CX-3 compact crossover, will make their official South African debut before the end of the year, with November the most likely timing.

Mazda SA managing director David Hughes confirmed the launch timing in Japan last week, where SA media got to drive examples of both newcomers, as well as taking a closer look at how the cars are built in Mazda’s Hiroshima production plant.

The latest MX-5 continues the nameplate’s tradition of linking low mass and nimble handling to sporty two-seater roadster design. Credited with reviving the lightweight roadster segment when the first iteration was launched in 1989, the MX-5 has since become the benchmark for compact roadster design.

New Mazda MX-5

New Mazda MX-5

The Generation 4 car looks sharper and edgier than its softer, more classically styled predecessor, and incorporates Mazda’s current Kodo design language. But the essence of the car – low weight, responsive chassis, lively engine – has remained intact. Indeed, at 1 042 kg, the new car is around 100 kg lighter than the previous version.

Some might feel that the shape has lost some of its purity, that prominent grille is out of proportion and that the detailing is fussy in places – but it is a thoroughly modern sports car, and one that expresses Mazda’s current design language with head-turning intent.

Best of all, it’s still looks compact and agile: at 3 915 mm long and 1 735 mm the new car is shorter but wider than its predecessor, with shorter overhangs and a slightly taller profile. The canvas hood is a lightweight manual design that’s easily raised and lowered, using only one hand.

Mazda MX-5 Interior

New Mazda MX-5

The cabin is strictly for two only, but with plenty of stowage binnacles and seats that, if anything, seem a little too bulky, but offer plenty of comfort and support. A strong emphasis on tactile quality ensures attractive finishes and surfaces.,

The fascia and switchgear reflect Mazda’s interior design approach, already seen in the current Mazda2 and Mazda3: a central instrument binnacle with analogue dials directly ahead of the driver, an uncluttered dashboard, and a colour touchscreen that centralises key infotainment functions.

An all-new SkyActiv-G direct-injection petrol unit provides the MX-5’s urge. The 2,0-litre unit is good for 118 kW and 200 Nm, and delivers its urge to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. Wheels are 17-inch alloys.

New Mazda MX-5

New Mazda MX-5

We drove the new roadster at Mazda’s Miyoshi proving ground, located some 90 km north-east of Hiroshima, and while time behind the wheel was limited, it was enough to get an initial sense of the car’s essential properties.

The engine feels lively, if not quite as free-revving as the previous model, but with improved low-down punch, while the short-throw manual gearbox is a beaut. The electrically assisted steering delivers plenty of feedback and an almost analogue feel that allows precise, engaging piloting of the car through the twisty stuff.

The rear-end feels looser than expected, and with stability control switched off, progressive oversteer is always in the frame if desired, while contributing to the overall agility and driving fun of the car. Mazda talks about jinba ittai – being at one with the car – and that really describes the intuitive interface between the MX-5 and its driver really well.

We’ll be reporting on the new MX-5 in greater detail in the months to come, but for now, all indications are that this fourth-generation model will be every bit as good as the original – and perhaps the best ever.

New Mazda MX-5

New Mazda MX-5

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