Is This The World’s Best Roadster Under £40,000?

The Mazda MX-5 is the world’s best-selling roadster – affordable, brilliant to drive, and uncompromisingly fun. Jeremy Taylor and Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby discover why this modern MG proves you don’t need 500bhp and a six-figure price tag for motoring thrills.

Car Review: Mazda MX-5 Roadster

Jeremy: The Mazda MX-5 is the undisputed king of affordable open-top cars. Sure, Bentley, Aston Martin and Porsche offer expensive, high-performance convertibles but for smiles-per-mile, nothing beats a modest Mazda.

Why? Because even the popular Mini and Fiat 500 cabriolets can’t replicate the MX-5’s sensational handling and old-school, rear-wheel drive dynamics. The Japanese roadster was built as a sports car – not a supermini with the roof chopped off.

Ever since 1990, when the MX-5 first went on sale in the UK with funky pop-up headlights, the British public has taken this adorable two-seater to their hearts. Now in its fourth generation, Mazda’s brilliant convertible remains the benchmark roadster.

Affordable, cheap to run and easy to enjoy whatever your driving experience, the MX-5 is the equivalent of the thoroughly British MGB – a classic that has left oil-stains on most of my driveways.

Traditional, fabric-roof versions of the MX-5, like our test car, start at £28,600 but for town-dwellers there’s the retractable hard-top RF version at £30,000. The latter is best for containing noise levels on motorway and long-distance drives.

However, the standard soft-top model remains a purist’s dream. A lightweight driver’s car, the Roadster offers an exceptional blend of visual style and daily usability. It’s a modern version of the classic British sports car, striking a brilliant balance between everyday comfort and back-to-basics driving thrills.

Top-of-the-range is the 2.0-litre Homura, which means ‘flame’ in Japanese. Priced at £36,065, features include sporty BBS alloy wheels with red brake callipers, racy Recaro seats and lots, lots more. Heated seats might come in extra handy for a typical British summer.

And while the Mazda is not designed for neck-snapping acceleration, it will put a wide grin on your face. The magic lies in the lightweight chassis. Because the car carries so little mass, the steering feels razor-sharp and the nose darts exactly where you point it. The MX-5 is simply brilliant on a sweeping B-road.

The mechanical highlight is the six-speed manual gearbox – no automatic system here, so the driver is very much involved. A short, precise gearstick falls perfectly to hand and clicks into place with a rifle-bolt action. The only compromise is space. Taller drivers over 6ft 2in might find cabin space tight.

Storage is also at an absolute premium – there is no traditional dashboard glove box, and the removable cup holders are awkwardly located behind your left shoulder.

That aside, the 184PS MX-5 Homura is a triumph of engineering. It proves you don’t need 500bhp supercars to have fun, or a six-figure price tag. The hard-top RF is the year-round alternative.

Jessica: Apart from this current heatwave, living in the UK means rain is never far off. The Roadster’s fast-folding manual soft-top is easy to drop and raise – an electric mechanism would only add weight. If you simply must have a hard-top, the RF version is a genuinely practical, all-season machine – one that’s highly secure parked on city streets too.

It’s no wonder the baby Mazda is the world’s best-selling roadster, offering accessible driving thrills at a great price. The prohibitive expense of most sports cars can put drivers off – the MX-5 is the convertible that bucks the trend.

Discover more about the Mazda MX-5 at mazda.co.uk.

Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby is Director of Programmes at London College of Fashion, studying for a PhD in sustainable e-textile design.