Mazda MX-5 long-term test review: final report

What’s more, fuel economy never dropped below 40mpg, no matter how hard it was driven on the road. I bet the same won’t be said of the 1.4-litre turbo that Fiat is putting in the MX-5’s sister car, the 124 Spider.

The engine came hooked up to a six-speed manual gearbox. The gearlever is nice and stubby, the knob sitting snugly in your hand, and the action through the gate is slick. But I did struggle a bit with coming off the clutch when changing from first to second, smoothness in this shift proving beyond the ability of my agricultural left foot.

There was nothing agricultural about the chassis, which was perhaps the sweetest part of all about life with the Mazda. All MX-5s with the 158bhp 2.0-litre engine have a limited-slip differential, strut tower bar and 17in alloy wheels. From there, you have a choice of mid-range SE-L trim with normal suspension or the range-topping Sport trim with sports suspension and Bilstein dampers. Having sacrificed purity with the engine, we went for the standard set-up, which proved to be a fine choice for everday use.

The MX-5 rides very well and steers and handles ever better. Although I have a fairly dull 25-mile commute on main roads in each direction every day, I found the MX-5 one of the most enjoyable things in which to do it because it was such an interactive and involving driving experience.

The MX-5 is the kind of car that tells you what it’s doing. The steering is precise, with nearperfect weighting for the level for performance. Every part of the car that you interact with feels tuned and set up by someone who knows what they’re doing and who likes driving. A true MX-5, then.

On circuit, where the Mazda frequently found itself, there was more roll and slightly less sharp handling than with a Sport version, but I found that altogether more endearing. You could still explore the car’s limits, and adjust it while it was there, but the car was as much fun to drive at seven-tenths as it was in all-out attack mode, such was the sweetness and delicacy of it all.

It was this track use that did for a lot of the tyres. Two fronts and two rears were seen off at different times due to extended circuit use, which prompted a switch to winter tyres all round at one point. This softened the drive even more and some testers even preferred the more buttery everyday usability. Admittedly, others hated it on winter rubber.

As good as it was on a circuit and on shorter trips, the MX-5 had its limitations on longer journeys. Although 100-milers were fine, 200-milers were less so. The cabin’s shrink-wrapped size began to grate on such journeys and it felt even more cramped with a passenger. The limited padding in the seat also led to, as the French say, a numb arse.