2019 Mazda Mx-5 Miata Rf Grand Touring Review
| Automobile Reviews
Review: Etching Canyons in the Mazda MX-five Miata RF
Purists might scoff at the retractable hardtop Miata, but it'southward yet wonderful.
I was zipping forth Little Tujunga Canyon Road, a tightly wrinkled mountain two-lane that rises out of L.A. 'south San Fernando Valley up into the Angeles National Forest. Above me: clement blueish sky. All around me: scrub brush-covered ridges and peaks, an endlessly uncoiling ribbon of tarmac, and not another machine in sight. In my ears: the happy bark of a newly enhanced twin-cam, 2.0-liter four gunning for its 7,500-rpm redline. In my hands: the leather-wrapped steering wheel of the latest edition of Mazda's fabulous, now-classic Miata. Oh, and I was getting paid to do this.
Thirty years ago, I wrote the first-ever review of Mazda's then-new 2-seat convertible. I gushed about the groundbreaking roadster then, and I'thousand gushing near the about contempo update to the gen-iv model now. The Miata was and however is pure driving poetry: a lightweight, super-nimble, driver-focused open-air sports machine without a hint of pretense or flab. It's no wonder the little Mazda remains the chariot of choice for racers and autocrossers across the state. Information technology'south just that good. And in 2019 form, information technology'due south better than ever.
While the soft-top Club versions are preferred amid weekend rails warriors, the Miata RF (for "retractable fastback") is a compelling option for buyers who adopt the added security and sound isolation of a power-folding hardtop. My RF examination motorcar arrived in full-luxe Grand Touring trim, boasting such standard extras as a lane-difference and forward-obstacle warning systems, navigation, heated outside mirrors, automated climate control, and heated leather seats. The few options included the GT-Southward bundle ($750) with a limited-skid differential and Bilstein sport dampers; the Appearance bundle ($1,550) with a front air dam, side-sill extensions, and a rear spoiler; and the Interior parcel ($425), which adds aluminum pedals, stainless-steel door-sill plates, and a cherry engine-oil cap (I mean, how can anyone live without a red oil cap?). I was also very, very pleased to note that my auto was equipped with the six-speed manual shifter.
The purists who hurl their Miatas around racetracks and autocross cones might belittle at the notion of a folding-hardtop version—much less one equipped with leather seats, navigation, and other "cushy" extras—merely I'thousand here to tell yous: Unless you're measuring your driving pleasance with a stopwatch, the K Touring RF still delivers all the motoring goodness of its slightly leaner siblings. Partly that's due to the newly enhanced 4-banger nether the hood. Reworked to breathe better than before, and with a redline upped by 700 rpm to 7,500, the two.0-liter mill now makes 26 horsepower more than (now 181 hp at vii,000 rpm) and delivers its slightly increased torque top (151 lb-ft versus 148) at 4,000 rpm—600 rpm earlier than earlier. Remarkably, despite the 2019 being the most potent Miata always, EPA highway fuel efficiency with the manual shifter has besides increased, from 33 mpg to 34.
The result is even more behind-the-cycle elation. The Miata pulls hard, winds out willingly to its lofty redline, and sounds great doing it all. This is no wallflower: The exhaust note is loud. This is functioning you can actually apply, as well. Sure, there are tons of sports cars that, in a race, would leave the Miata in the dust. Just out on a public mount route, the Miata'south 181 horses are plenty. Hither, the focus is not on outright speed so equally much as it is on the joyfulness of the experience, the mechanized harmony of countless parts whirling and whizzing together to make moving beyond the tarmac as fluid and graceful as a trip the light fantastic toe. The manual six-speed has been improved for 2019, too, and it snicks up and down through the cogs brilliantly—aided by well-placed pedals that brand heel-and-toe shifting a breeze.
The GT-Southward package was previously bachelor only on Club models, merely has now been made available on the summit Grand Touring trim. At present yous can have your sport-tuned Bilsteins and leather-lined navigation, also. The aforementioned chassis DNA that makes the Miata Club an autocross champ is evident here: The Grand Touring is light on its feet, quick to answer to steering inputs, and nicely balanced—with a bear on of oversteer evident when you lot're actually hustling. The ride is well-controlled merely compliant, fifty-fifty a niggling soft. Highly tactile steering delivers all the route info yous could want directly to your fingertips. Your everyday concerns? Oh, those got left behind miles ago. Now it's nothing just grins.
Dropping the folding hardtop couldn't exist simpler: Press ane push button and the primal roof panel (forth with the rear glass window) unlatches and disappears under a deck between the rakish rear pillars in almost 12 seconds. It'southward a marvelous feat of engineering. Peak down, the cabin is well-isolated from wind, aided by a transparent deflector that remains backside the seats.
The cockpit is a beaut, outfitted with like shooting fish in a barrel-to-read analog gauges, simple climate-control knobs, and useful systems buttons on the steering wheel. The infotainment screen is on the small side, and the map brandish isn't as detailed as some rival designs, but the actually important stuff is all done well. The steering wheel at present tilts and telescopes—a large plus. The seats are great. The standard active rubber systems—blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warnings, and more—work helpfully without beingness intrusive. A rear-backup camera (at present required) is standard, as well, and traffic-sign recognition is new and available on the Thousand Touring model.
Whatever downsides? Not really. The sticker has climbed over the years—my loaded Grand Touring edition topped $37K—but that'southward all the same a steal compared with many less-charming sporting rides that price far more than. The aforementioned artfulness and passion that created the original Miata—a uncomplicated, 2-seat roadster that stirs the soul without leaving oil stains on the garage floor—is conspicuously on brandish in the updated 2019 edition.
At present, fourth dimension to brake and downshift for the tight left-hander coming up fast…
Looks good! More than details?| 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF One thousand Touring Specifications | |
| ON Sale | At present |
| Base of operations Toll | $34,255/$37,070 (base of operations/as-tested) |
| ENGINE | 2.0L DOHC 16-valve I-4; 181 hp @ seven,000 rpm, 151 lb-ft @ iv,000 rpm |
| TRANSMISSION | vi-speed transmission |
| LAYOUT | 2-door, two-rider, front-engine, RWD convertible |
| EPA MILEAGE | 26/34 mpg (city/hwy) |
| Fifty x West x H | 154.1 x 68.3 ten 48.6 in |
| WHEELBASE | 90.9 in |
| WEIGHT | ii,325 lb (est) |
| 0-sixty MPH | 5.7 sec (est) |
| TOP SPEED | 140 mph (est) |
Source: https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2019-mazda-mx-5-miata-rf-review-photos-specs/
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