Mazda MX-5: FAQs

If you love driving along a winding road then the Mazda MX-5 is not a good car – it’s a great car.

Through its four generations starting in 1989 – NA, NB, NC and ND – the MX-5 has stuck to light weight, a compact footprint, front-engine and rear-wheel drive.

In 2016, carsales even managed to get all four generations together and drive them on the same day.

While the Mazda MX-5 was a soft-top roadster for its first two generations, a powered retractable hard-top debuted during NC dubbed the Roadster Coupe. That model evolved into the RF (Retractable Fastback) as part of the ND line-up.

The Mazda MX-5 has never been a car to rely on outrageous horsepower to deliver thrills; instead it’s all about power-to-weight ratio and intense tactility. The manual gearshift in an MX-5 is as quick and direct as a Dustin Martin fend-off.

So if you’re looking for driving thrills then look no further. Top down on a sunny day, winding along a back road, there’s few more pleasurable motoring activities.

From a purely logical perspective, the current ND Mazda MX-5 is the best because it’s the beneficiary of the latest technology and the culmination – hopefully – of all that’s been learned through the years.

But owners of each of the four generations – NA, NB, NC and ND – will have arguments in favour of their vehicle, as will roadster and hard-top devotees.

In 2016 carsales even managed to get all four generations together and drive them on the same day.

Check it out. It might help you make a decision.

Federally, according to the rule for vehicle importation, a classic car is defined as one manufactured before January 1, 1989, so the Mazda MX-5 just misses out. But in NSW classic car registration is valid for vehicles 30 years or older. So the NA generation Mazda MX-5 qualifies.

But put the formal definitions aside and there’s no doubt the Mazda MX-5’s a classic in the sense of being a true great.

In fact the description iconic has been used for some time when it comes to MX-5.

The first Mazda MX-5 was launched in 1989 and it’s now into its fourth generation.

One way Mazda retains interest in the Mazda MX-5 is by recording milestones with special editions. Most recent was the 30th Anniversary Edition, celebrating 30 years in production.

When it comes to making the Mazda MX-5 go faster there’s been a hell of a lot of attention focused under the bonnet.

Many of these upgrades involve turbochargers and most of them are done without factory approval.

One that did get factory sign-off was the 2002 Mazda MX-5 SP, but the Aussie V8 Bullet and this US Chev-powered MX-5 (or Miata as they call it there) were unlikely to be approved by HQ.

Over the years other aspects of the car have been addressed such as the chassis and kerb weight.

But to get into the nitty gritty check out the carsales series dubbed Project Miata for the story of one man’s quest to extract more speed from his Mazda MX-5.

Only models in the current Mazda MX-5 ND range equipped with a manual transmission come with a limited-slip differential.