Thursday 12th February 2009

MX-5 Prices and Specs

Popular roadster gets mild tweaks

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Mazda has released official prices and pics of the new MX-5. Prices will come up, with the base model up £925 to £16,345 and the top-spec model up over £1,000 to £21,695.

The Mazda MX-5 is to get the latest in an increasingly long line of facelifts and model changes over the past two decades.

From April of this year various tweaks to the range will see eight variants of the MX-5 available, two more than there are currently. As before 1.8 and 2.0-litre engines will be available, producing 124 and 158 bhp respectively, though engine tweaks have reduced CO2 output as well as fuel consumption across the range.

Aesthetically, the facelift brings styling more in-line with the new family look seen on its Mazda2, 3 and 6 siblings. The nose and tail of the car receive pleasant tweaks that lend a more tapered look to the '5, though not departing significantly from the pre-facelift Mk3. The biggest change is to the front bumper that has grown deeper, with more pronounced foglights and a bigger 'mouth'.

The 2.0-litre powerplant has also been tweaked to develop peak power at 7,000 rpm, a 300rpm increase from the previous version, with the red line raised by 500rpm to 7,500rpm - though with no figures released for performance we don't know whether this will make a significant difference. But hey, the MX-5 was never about grunt.

While 1.8-litre models gain some extra equipment including alloy wheels and an improved stereo, the 2.0-litre versions get DSC, traction control and a limited slip diff all as standard.

Top-spec Sport models benefit from a front strut brace as well as uprated Bilstein dampers, an option that dates back to the Mk1 Eunos Roadster in the early nineties, though which is now touted to provide the same handling benefits without as much cost to ride quality.

Mazda also claims to have put an eye to keeping insurance premiums low by fitting a cat 1 alarm and immobiliser and working towards 'modest' repair costs, though in practice much will depend on the actions and demographic of the people who buy it. But by making specific efforts in this area, Mazda do give the impression that they are going after a young market. But will the facelifted MX-5 be enough to drag them out of their hot hatches?

 

[infradig]

Looks more like a S2000 every year.
Drove my daughter's Mk1 in the snow the other day-haven't had so much fun for years,made me wonder what an MX5 with real power would be like,with the demise of the Honda surely Mazda are missing a trick here(RX7 lump must be light and compact)

[robert_raw]

Love these things

[TaylotS2K]

Looks like a Gibbs Aquada to me.

[threespires]

Many times I've waved at what I thought was an MX-5 only to see it was a Honda when I got close.

I like the new nose and side profile.

No hairdressers quips please fellow PHer's- they're wearing a bit thin.

[threespires]

TaylotS2K said:

Looks like a Gibbs Aquada to me.

LOL !

The price is quite close as well ??!!

[Wilburo]

Autocar suggests the prices have gone down.

"The upgraded roadster goes on sale in April with prices starting at £16,345, £205 cheaper than the outgoing model."

[T4R]

threespires said:

No hairdressers quips please fellow PHer's- they're wearing a bit thin.

On top ?

[ZesPak]

this starts to look like a peugeot nose (big mouth -> 407)... or is it just me?

Mazda have a very handsome lineup, but I think the MX5 is a bit of let-down in that area (looks wise).
What was once the prettiest en most (read: only) interessting mazda, is now one of the most boring looking .

[SS HSV]

Has this car been on steroids? It certainly looks like it's getting bigger. Personally I like the orinigal, smaller and less-fussy look than the 'let's see how much tech we can cram in' look.

Nice touch adding the socket for the heated rollers

[Tony*T3]

These list prices are a joke. Mate of mine got a 6k discount on list price on a new MX5 just weeks ago.

[Jgtv]

Tony*T3 said:

These list prices are a joke. Mate of mine got a 6k discount on list price on a new MX5 just weeks ago.

That will be because there is a face lift coming out.

[ZesPak]

Jgtv said:

Tony*T3 said:

These list prices are a joke. Mate of mine got a 6k discount on list price on a new MX5 just weeks ago.

That will be because there is a face lift coming out.

+1

[cheshire_cat]

A LSD and Bilstien dampers from the factory get the thumbs up from me. Should be a fun motor.

[pmanson]

infradig said:

Looks more like a S2000 every year.
Drove my daughter's Mk1 in the snow the other day-haven't had so much fun for years,made me wonder what an MX5 with real power would be like,with the demise of the Honda surely Mazda are missing a trick here(RX7 lump must be light and compact)

Yep our Mk1 was a lot of fun in the snow.... 182k miles and still going well.

[GTEYE]

Pretty minor changes really, but an improvement IMHO. As the owner of a pre facelift model - it already had the strut brace and Bilstein shockers on the 2.0i Sport.....so not really a reason to change!

[Mannginger]

Los Angeles said:

GTEYE, do the Bilsteins lower the ride height a little - get rid of that "on tip-toe" look? I don't have my notes here, but I recall the ride height is lower in the Japanese MX5, higher for us because of differing regulations. They did something similar on early MX5s - a brake light neatly incorporated in the boot lid for Japan, stuck off-centre and underneath for the UK.

I think they do LA - either way the standard approach seems to be something like buy car, take it down to Wheels-in-motion get ride height and balancing sorted for c£200 and then enjoy the MX5 as it should be enjoyed.

I prefer the looks of the facelift model, having said that...£6k off list is pretty compelling!

Phil

[mgbond]

Enough about this, when are they going to do a new RX7, years ago I herd they were thinking about doing it (In addition to the RX8).

Bondy

[MattjK]

All the changes seem like welcome ones to me. My biggest complaint with the existing mk3 is its traction control, though. It cuts in far too early - rather than switching it off altogether it would be good to have the TC let you play just a tiny bit with the back end before it chops your power. On the model I drove it cut in far too early, before you got anywhere near the limit of grip (and that's a qualified statement, because I own a mk1 Eunos and I test cars for a living). I saw the level of TC intrusion as quite offensive tbh.

[Mannginger]

MattjK said:

All the changes seem like welcome ones to me. My biggest complaint with the existing mk3 is its traction control, though. It cuts in far too early - rather than switching it off altogether it would be good to have the TC let you play just a tiny bit with the back end before it chops your power. On the model I drove it cut in far too early, before you got anywhere near the limit of grip (and that's a qualified statement, because I own a mk1 Eunos and I test cars for a living). I saw the level of TC intrusion as quite offensive tbh.

Again this seems to be a trait of non lowered (and balanced) UK cars from what I can tell from reading various fora

[Gizmo!]

What I very much hope is that the MX5 isn't a casualty of the recession.
In the early 90s it was a very cheap, basic car, now it's moved upmarket and up-cost a bit... perhaps they should bring in a base-model 1.4 with none of the toys for £10k?