WHY YOU WANT ONE
In North American it's the Miata. In Japan it's the Eunos Roadster. In Britain we know it simply as the MX-5. When it arrived in 1989, this nifty Mazda sports car proved to the other big car manufacturers of the world that small, relatively cheap sports cars could be built in large numbers again profitably.
Five or six years after its introduction, MG, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, BMW Porsche and even Mercedes were back in the running with small, reasonably priced roadsters, inspired by the success of the little Mazda.
Its designers looked to the Lotus Elan and other classic '60s sportscars for inspiration when creating the 1989 MX-5, although it was always intended to be a much more durable machine that the fragile Lotus.
This was a sports car for people who were used to modern saloons. It featured a proper heater, impeccable weather protection and a comfortable ride, yet it retained all the desirable aspects of sports car driving, like a raspy exhaust note and truly excellent, responsive handling that hasn't been significantly bettered by the younger and often faster opposition. Now 15 years on, the car that tempted drivers out of their draughty, raw classic roadsters is itself a classic with a devoted following. It is also, officially, the world's biggest selling roadster.
Mazda first mooted the idea of a small inexpensive sports car in 1979 and the MX-5 was the first fruit of the company's American R&D centre, set up in 1983 to nurture the design of cars with more European appeal. Its designers identified what made the steering, gearshift and controls in cars like the Elan so appealing to drivers. They gave the new car an Elan-like central chassis spine to resist drive train wind-up. Although the new car was going to be relatively inexpensive no corners were cut when it came to the engine, drive train and suspension; the MX-5 featured classic double wishbones and coil-over shocks, rack steering and a sweet, eager twin-camshaft engine.
Even if the looks don't capture your heart (it's an ageless yet slightly bland shape somehow) and the interior seems unexciting in its relentless use of plastic mouldings, few who drive an MX-5 fail to be charmed by it on some level. The twin-cam engine is eager and lusty and responds instantly like all the other controls. The gearshift can be snicked around its tight little gate with just a flick of the wrists and you begin to feel you are wearing the car rather than merely sitting in it. It is not all that fast on paper in any of its forms yet there is a sense of urgency and fun about the MX-5 that makes it feel fast, which is all that matters, really.
Sharp steering, rear drive and neutral feeling to the way it noses obediently through corners gives the Mazda a sense of agility that's difficult to match 15 years on. What's more the practicalities of life with the MX-5 are just as impressive and one tends to make inevitable comparisons with classic British sports cars of an earlier generation. It has a proper heater and wipers and safety features like door bars and airbags. It rides well because its body is stiff - not its suspension - and raising the hood is the work of a moment (you don't even have to get out of your seat) rather than an exercise in tent making as it is on, say, an MG B.
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