FiestaST
Honorary Master
ROAD TEST: Mazda MX-5 2,0 RF - CAR Magazine
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2017 Mazda MX-5 RF
- Thread starter FiestaST
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FiestaST
Honorary Master
DRIVEN: Mazda MX-5 2.0 RF is the last of the breed
At around the R600 000 mark we’re looking at the front-wheel-drive Mini Cooper S convertible as the closest open-top competitor (albeit a soft-top 2+2). At over R50 000 more with less standard equipment the Mini looks a little silly compared to the Mazda and emphasises the fact that the Mazda is without peers in this area of the market. With it’s open-air charm, grin-inducing rear-driven chassis balance, rich heritage and sensible performance it’s a car I’ve come adore and now fully understand the fuss. Unfortunately cannot forgive Mazda knowing that the roadster was lighter, had a limited-slip differential and was available with a manual. The MX-5 RF package is not ideal but it still deserves its place in the local sportscar world as we simply cannot find another fun-spirited rear-driven convertible for under R600 000. It is indeed the last of the breed and demonstrates that same vision that allowed Mazda to rise from the ashes in Hiroshima. Even the most revered automotive legends need to adapt to survive.
IN A NUTSHELL: Mazda MX-5 2.0 RF
HIGHS
Generous standard kit, the rear-driven chassis balance and that ultra-low seating position
LOWS
Excessive body-roll, large rear blindspots and the auto transmission dulls what could be an otherwise sensational drive
Engine
1 998 cc, 4-cylinder, petrol
Power
118 kW @ 6 000 rpm, 200 Nm @ 4 600 rpm
Performance
0-100 km/h in 8.6 sec (claimed)
Top speed
194 km/h
www.carmag.co.za
At around the R600 000 mark we’re looking at the front-wheel-drive Mini Cooper S convertible as the closest open-top competitor (albeit a soft-top 2+2). At over R50 000 more with less standard equipment the Mini looks a little silly compared to the Mazda and emphasises the fact that the Mazda is without peers in this area of the market. With it’s open-air charm, grin-inducing rear-driven chassis balance, rich heritage and sensible performance it’s a car I’ve come adore and now fully understand the fuss. Unfortunately cannot forgive Mazda knowing that the roadster was lighter, had a limited-slip differential and was available with a manual. The MX-5 RF package is not ideal but it still deserves its place in the local sportscar world as we simply cannot find another fun-spirited rear-driven convertible for under R600 000. It is indeed the last of the breed and demonstrates that same vision that allowed Mazda to rise from the ashes in Hiroshima. Even the most revered automotive legends need to adapt to survive.
IN A NUTSHELL: Mazda MX-5 2.0 RF
HIGHS
Generous standard kit, the rear-driven chassis balance and that ultra-low seating position
LOWS
Excessive body-roll, large rear blindspots and the auto transmission dulls what could be an otherwise sensational drive
Engine
1 998 cc, 4-cylinder, petrol
Power
118 kW @ 6 000 rpm, 200 Nm @ 4 600 rpm
Performance
0-100 km/h in 8.6 sec (claimed)
Top speed
194 km/h
DRIVEN: Mazda MX-5 2.0 RF is the last of the breed - CAR Magazine
By: Damian Adams Built today in Mazda’s Hiroshima production facility the 2020 Mazda MX-5 is the real deal when it comes to having a rich […]
www.carmag.co.za
FiestaST
Honorary Master
MotorMatters review of the MX-5 RF
FiestaST
Honorary Master
Everyone Should Drive A Miata At Least Once
If you already know, you know. If you don't, they're right.
I don’t love long drives. I tell myself I do because I believe I should. After all, if you enjoy driving, shouldn’t you should have a high stamina for it? A four-hour trip — like the one I recently took to and from Detroit’s Wayne County Airport up to near Traverse City, Michigan for the Empire Hill Climb — is right on that line of being unbearably long to me, where my lower back starts to hurt and I wish I was anywhere but in between two places.
There was one uplifting element to this journey, though: I had a new Miata for it, and I’d never driven a Miata before. Actually there were two positives, because the weather in Michigan happened to be sublime throughout this particular weekend. Temperature consistently in the low 70s, sun beaming. If I were in any other car, there’d be almost no point to mention any of that, but these things suddenly become important when you’re sitting in a Miata.
I’ve never been one for power — I don’t have use for it. I also haven’t driven anything with all that much to give, which is how I keep myself from pining over cars I can’t afford. The Miata, I quickly learned, was made for me.
My particular Miata was an RF — Retractable Fastback is what that apparently means. It’s the one that looks a little weird, but in exchange for that weirdness, the roof is mechanically operated and goes up and down with the extended hold of a switch.
That roof is the single most complicated thing about the Miata RF. The rest of it is very nice, very elegant — this was the Grand Touring trim after all, with the light-toned leather seats — but ultimately dead simple. There are no pockets to keep things in the cabin save for a tiny lockable compartment between the seats; the Miata just isn’t big enough for it. I had to be extra careful about where I stashed things in a way I never had to, only driving cars with fixed roofs my whole life.
jalopnik.com
If you already know, you know. If you don't, they're right.
I don’t love long drives. I tell myself I do because I believe I should. After all, if you enjoy driving, shouldn’t you should have a high stamina for it? A four-hour trip — like the one I recently took to and from Detroit’s Wayne County Airport up to near Traverse City, Michigan for the Empire Hill Climb — is right on that line of being unbearably long to me, where my lower back starts to hurt and I wish I was anywhere but in between two places.
There was one uplifting element to this journey, though: I had a new Miata for it, and I’d never driven a Miata before. Actually there were two positives, because the weather in Michigan happened to be sublime throughout this particular weekend. Temperature consistently in the low 70s, sun beaming. If I were in any other car, there’d be almost no point to mention any of that, but these things suddenly become important when you’re sitting in a Miata.
I’ve never been one for power — I don’t have use for it. I also haven’t driven anything with all that much to give, which is how I keep myself from pining over cars I can’t afford. The Miata, I quickly learned, was made for me.
My particular Miata was an RF — Retractable Fastback is what that apparently means. It’s the one that looks a little weird, but in exchange for that weirdness, the roof is mechanically operated and goes up and down with the extended hold of a switch.
That roof is the single most complicated thing about the Miata RF. The rest of it is very nice, very elegant — this was the Grand Touring trim after all, with the light-toned leather seats — but ultimately dead simple. There are no pockets to keep things in the cabin save for a tiny lockable compartment between the seats; the Miata just isn’t big enough for it. I had to be extra careful about where I stashed things in a way I never had to, only driving cars with fixed roofs my whole life.
Everyone Should Drive A Miata At Least Once - Jalopnik
I don’t love long drives. I tell myself I do because I believe I should. After all, if you enjoy driving, shouldn’t you should have a high stamina for it? A four-hour trip — like the one I recently took to and from Detroit’s Wayne County Airport up to near Traverse City, Michigan for the Empire...
jalopnik.com
FiestaST
Honorary Master
Kirk Kreifels review of the 2021 MX-5 RF Club
FiestaST
Honorary Master
At $19,700, Could This Baja-Located 2017 Mazda Miata RF Get You To Make A Run For The Border?
The low miles and its vacation location might make up for the automatic transmission.
Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Miata is located on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. That might make its purchase a ready opportunity for a one-way ticket vacation and a fun drive home. That is, if its price doesn’t spoil all the fun.
Good things may come in small packages, but when those things look a bit beat up and over-worn, that goodness can lose its luster. Last Friday’s twee little 1971 Honda Z600 was certainly a small package, but its somewhat tired shape matched against a $6,200 price tag just didn’t gel for most of you. That was especially the case after I showed you a far better example — in the same orange hue, mind you — for around four-grand more. Yeah, that probably wasn’t fair of me, and likely had a role to play in our candidate’s 62 percent No Dice loss. Hopefully, the seller won’t harbor any ill will towards me for having done so.
Baja California Sur is also home to today’s 2017 Mazda Miata RF, a low mileage hardtop convertible that the seller says has belonged to his 77-year-old father, but is now up for grabs owing to a lack of use. In fact, that use was so low that according to the ad the top was opened for the first time just for the Craigslist pics.
jalopnik.com
The low miles and its vacation location might make up for the automatic transmission.
Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Miata is located on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. That might make its purchase a ready opportunity for a one-way ticket vacation and a fun drive home. That is, if its price doesn’t spoil all the fun.
Good things may come in small packages, but when those things look a bit beat up and over-worn, that goodness can lose its luster. Last Friday’s twee little 1971 Honda Z600 was certainly a small package, but its somewhat tired shape matched against a $6,200 price tag just didn’t gel for most of you. That was especially the case after I showed you a far better example — in the same orange hue, mind you — for around four-grand more. Yeah, that probably wasn’t fair of me, and likely had a role to play in our candidate’s 62 percent No Dice loss. Hopefully, the seller won’t harbor any ill will towards me for having done so.
Baja California Sur is also home to today’s 2017 Mazda Miata RF, a low mileage hardtop convertible that the seller says has belonged to his 77-year-old father, but is now up for grabs owing to a lack of use. In fact, that use was so low that according to the ad the top was opened for the first time just for the Craigslist pics.
At $19,700, Could This Baja-Located 2017 Mazda Miata RF Get You To Make A Run For The Border? - Jalopnik
Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Miata is located on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. That might make its purchase a ready opportunity for a one-way ticket vacation and a fun drive home. That is, if its price doesn’t spoil all the fun.
jalopnik.com