Topic: 2023 Mazda MX-5 GS-P Sport package

[Blueprint]

This is my first non-SUV loaner for the calendar year, and the sun was out - sometimes, things are meant to be!

https://www.autohebdo.net/editorial/20230831/mazda-mx-5-gs-p-2023-essai-routier/

[Blueprint]

Ed gave me my pick between the RF and the Ragtop - having reviewed the RF two years ago, I booked the ragtop for my second drive ever of an MX-5. Mazda has a few of them in fleet this summer, and I was very pleased that they gave me the keys to oh-so-red mid-range GS-P with the Sport pkg. Said pkg includes Recaro seats, BBS wheels and Brembo brakes up front for a stiff $4,400.

Apart from some colour swaps for 2023, the MX-5 lost its blue fabric top option (they're all black now) and the base GS lost the automatic transmission option.

The automatic (heresy!!!) is a no-cost option on the GS-P and GT. It's no-cost because you lose the goodies that come with the 3 pedals: Bilstein shocks, strut tower bar, locking diff and sportier suspension tuning. You also get piped-to-cabin induction sounds, as if this thing wasn't loud enough already.

For Canadian pavement, a base GS is thus the only way to get a stick and less-stiff underpinings. Y'all still get the same tires, same size black alloys and the body-colour door tops that were added as std a few years ago.

First order of the day: get in there with the roof on. It gives you pause when you belt is at roof height.

[Blueprint]

The 4th gen Miata - sorry, MX-5 - went from cute to red barchetta. It's an Ariana Grande-like pkg, curvy, sexy and seductive, but that appears too small from certain angles. But that's the basic MX-5 recipe: just enough car, just enough engine and keep that roof folded - which I did nearly every time I drove the thing. The roof takes 5 seconds to operate, and then some. It's also pretty easy to reach in blindly before bending into the car to lower the thing. There's nothing that beats a 15 degrees, roof-down 120 km/h commute with Metallica blasting through the Bose headrest speakers at 50% of power. The air attacks your skull from all sides - forget wearing a cap at speed - and with the windows up and heater on you can fight off the late summer chill. The fenders up front curve up to clear the tires as in a vintage race car, while you grip the small wheel rim and downshift your way around the commuting masses. It's a religious experience.

[OliverD]

Such a great looking car, especially the side profile with those BBS wheels.

[Blueprint]

181 hp is all you really need here. Mazda's 2 litre four looks the part, and delivers a raspy, sporty tune that suits the vibe of the MX-5 to a T. With 2,500 rpms at 100 km/h and 3,000 at 119 km/h, it's a loud little , thanks to the delightfully short gearing. Despite the high revs and spirited driving that this car entices, i was at 5.7 l/100 km on Day 1 and my final tally was 7.3 l/100 km. Add lightness, Chapman said - I handily beat the NRCan ratings with no gizmos of any kind - just a small car, a small four and God's Own Transmission.

[Blueprint]

Such a great looking car, especially the side profile with those BBS wheels.

Extra BBS porn, just for you 

[Blueprint]

The Recaros are excellent. The driver's has extra seat adjustments to tilt/squeeze your legs, but at an even 6' of height I think I'm about at MX-5 limits. This is not a car for corn-fed bubbas. I put the seat a bit more forward than I'd like for proper clutch operation and to allow some seatback rake. Once settled in, you're in business - the business of driving.

[Blueprint]

The ND's interior is just about perfect. The way the blacks, the contrasting piping, the textures, the chrome and the metal-like door edges blend in is sports-car heaven.

[Blueprint]

Reality sets in when you need the MX-5 to perform as a car. The trunk looks deeper than expected, and the Ragtop offers 3 litres more in there than the RF - but it's still pretty small, and soft luggage is de rigueur. Shown here is my laoptop backpack, camera case and lunch box.



Inside the cabin, the glove box is between the seatbacks - and impossible to reach while on the move. There's a shallow cubby on the console, but my office card is about all that it can store. Sunglasses case whent into one of the removable cupholders. There's a little spot for your phone under the HVAC. Pack lightly.

[JohnnyMac]

Such a nice car, in fact I'm trying to find one before the season is over to drive just to give it a chance.  I think my wife would disown me if I bought one.  In her mind only old gay men drive them.   

[Blueprint]

Funny enough, the MX-5 appears louder when the roof is up. The fabric, while nicely finished, has zero soundproofing and there's a pretty audible whistle around the rear solid glass backlight, aka a few inches behind your head. The difference of course is the removal of the wind's buffeting. It's also a bit claustrophobic when the roof is up, and watch those blind spots! But kudos to Mazda for that genius design - the roof is easy to raise or lower, and lays flat without requiring a 10 minute folding job as with my TR6. The glass has a defogger, and while the roof is up there's a bit of a package shelf back there - if you can reach it.

[Blueprint]

The MX-5 defines the whole "slow car fast" motto - if you really flog it you'll do the 0-60 in 5.7 s, but you have to wrench speed out of it by rowing the gears and planning ahead - making it all more fun as an experience. The shifter is a dream and the whole car feels so alive. I called it a 4-wheel antidepressant. I gave it a rare 10 for the driving experience.

Being objective, I also gave it a 4 for comfort and another 4 for roominess, netting an overall score of 6.9. Still, these were the hardest keys to give back in quite awhile...

[Blueprint]

Such a nice car, in fact I'm trying to find one before the season is over to drive just to give it a chance.  I think my wife would disown me if I bought one.  In her mind only old gay men drive them.   

Tell her she got her demographics wrong - that's the Beetle Cabriolet customer set 

[Layne]

Unfortunately I don’t fit in this car but could fit the first generation.  No doubt due to safety regulations over the years.  Lovely design but I wish it were 1.25x the size 😂

[Blueprint]

Unfortunately I don’t fit in this car but could fit the first generation.  No doubt due to safety regulations over the years.  Lovely design but I wish it were 1.25x the size 😂

In other words, more Taylor Swfit, and less Ariana Grande?

[JohnnyMac]

Unfortunately I don’t fit in this car but could fit the first generation.  No doubt due to safety regulations over the years.  Lovely design but I wish it were 1.25x the size 😂

In other words, more Taylor Swfit, and less Ariana Grande?

Both those bitches need to eat a sandwich.  LOL.  Give me Jennifer Lopez for the win.

[Layne]

Unfortunately I don’t fit in this car but could fit the first generation.  No doubt due to safety regulations over the years.  Lovely design but I wish it were 1.25x the size 😂

In other words, more Taylor Swfit, and less Ariana Grande?

😂🤣

[Jaeger]

Excellent review, as always. I would so love to own one of these one day, but hard fpr me to justify as a seasonal toy.

[WP v3.32]

I like how the red is brought inside the cockpit on the top trims of the doors.

[Blueprint]

I like how the red is brought inside the cockpit on the top trims of the doors.

That red on that car is so