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NEWS
Mazda to drop MX-5 soft-top
Fabric-roof version of Mazda's facelifted MX-5 could be discontinued from launch next weekMazda is almost certain to discontinue the soft-top version of its iconic MX-5 roadster when the facelifted version goes on sale from next week.
The upgraded version of the world’s top-selling two-seat sportscar was revealed in late August and made its Australian debut in Sydney last week, before its official release on October 30, when full pricing and specifications will be released.
However, motoring.com.au understands the original and best-known soft-top version will be axed due to slow sales. Mazda Australia will not comment on the facelifted MX-5’s local line-up before its official introduction, but spokesman Steve Maciver said up to 95 per cent of MX-5s bought were hard-top Roadster Coupe models.
The retractable hard-top variant was released Down Under in September 2006 – a year after the bigger, safer, stronger yet only 4kg-heavier new third-generation MX-5 soft-top arrived in September 2005. A facelifted NC Series II version of both models was released here in March 2009.
However, although it remains truer to the original MX-5 in terms of both weight and price, the soft-top no longer appears on Mazda’s price list due to slow sales. Last sold at $44,265, it is available here only as a special factory order.
“We didn’t know how popular the Roadster Coupe would be when we first released it,” said Mr Maciver. “But everyone immediately jumped on it and it’s been an outstanding success, which is understandable given it offers the convenience of being able to open or close the hard-top roof at the touch of a button and looks just as good as the soft-top.”
In the absence of the soft-top, MX-5 currently opens at $47,200 for the Roadster Coupe manual and closes at more than $50,000 for the Coupe Sports auto.
However, prices for the upgraded Roadster Coupe are likely to reduce if Mazda Australia chooses not to import the facelifted MX-5 soft-top, spelling the end of the cheapest MX-5 in the face of falling sales and a host of new rivals. MX-5 sales are down almost 63 per cent to September this year in Australia, with just 99 customers representing less than one per cent of the mainstream (under $80,000) sportscar market.
Meantime, sales in the segment have doubled in the same period, thanks largely to new entrants like Hyundai’s top-selling Veloster (from $23,990), which has found almost 3000 buyers and a 25 per cent share of the segment, and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe (from $58,570), which lies in second with 1784 sales and a 15 per cent share.
Australia’s third best selling sportscar is Toyota’s 86 coupe (from $29,990), which has found 1150 Australian homes and a 9.9 per cent slice of the segment – despite being short on supply and only launching here in June.
The 86 also matches the Mazda’s compact rear-wheel drive layout most closely, making it the 23-year-old MX-5’s most direct rival – for nearly $20,000 less.
As we’ve reported, the 2013 MX-5 will likely be the last upgrade of the seven-year-old MkIII MX-5, before an all-new model employing Mazda’s full suite of SKYACTIV body, chassis and engine technology emerges in 2014 – and forms the basis of Alfa Romeo’s next-generation Spider.
While the updated MX-5 Roadster Coupe continues to weigh about 40kg more than its soft-top stablemate, both models receive a longer new ‘Kodo’-look front bumper with new foglight bezels and chin spoiler, as well as glossy dark grey interior decoration panels (instead of matte dark silver).
Mazda says there’s also sharper throttle response in manual transmission models, a recalibrated braking system that’s more effective and easier to modulate and minor weight-savings in the wiring harness and front bumper.
A new body colour – Dolphin Grey Mica – replaces Metropolitan Grey Mica, but there are no changes to the MX-5’s 118kW/188Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which will remain matched to either six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.
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Written byMarton Pettendy
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