MX-5 gets even better

The Mazda MX-5

Mazda has at last revealed its new MX-5, to go on sale in New Zealand next spring. The outgoing car, hailed by experts for its fine handling, has barely changed in 16 years. How would Mazda improve the formula? Would the iconic sports car change unrecognisably and lose the strengths for which it is recognised?

One only has to think of the second generation Toyota MR2, a porker after the lightweight first, to know how wrong it's possible to get.

At first glance the new car appears little changed - but look a little longer. Those lines are simpler, more incisive, more masculine. The car is bigger. But the formula of lightweight sports car - a fine balance of engine and chassis at an affordable price - remains.

It's been a winning formula, with more than 700,000 MX-5s sold worldwide and an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling two-seat convertible sports car ever.

MX-5 programme manager Takao Kijima was aware of the pressure not to dilute the car's appeal. He says the responsibility of making a modern MX-5 while retaining the philosophy of lightweight driving fun was almost overwhelming.

He had first to focus on what made the car so special, and decided it was the ability for car and driver to work as one.

As with the outgoing car, pure acceleration wasn't the focus. Fun, a responsive machine and dynamic balance were keys, as was an ability to work well during everyday driving.

To achieve this Kijima needed a car that was light and compact, without sacrificing safety. The traditional front-midship engine mounting, with the powerplant in front of the driver but behind the front axle for the best possible weight balance, had to be retained, along with the rear-drive configuration.

The suspension needed to maximise road grip and dynamic stability; the key words for the chassis engineers were precise and nimble.

And though this MX-5 still needed to be compact, interior space had to rise to accommodate larger frames.

Close attention to materials and their distribution have ensured that although this new MX-5 is larger and more powerful than before, it's only 10kg heavier. That's allowed it to keep a smaller capacity engine without losing its useful power-to-weight equation.

New Zealand won't get the 1.8 litre engine available in some markets. We'll see only the new, aluminium 2 litre inline four, offering around 118kW of power at 6700rpm, and 188Nm of torque at 5000rpm. Exact output will vary as tuning alters from market to market.

Wherever it's sold there'll be that flat torque curve in an engine designed to rev enthusiastically all the way from the 5000rpm torque peak to the red line.

And it'll sound good during the trip. Kijima is an enthusiast, and he wanted a harmonic note that increases with rpm, a mid-range throatiness heading towards powerful resonance near the red line limit. Dancing close to that limit will be easier thanks to a newly developed six-speed manual transmission.

New Zealand may also get the six-speed auto, if not the five-speed available in some markets, says Mazda NZ's GM of sales and marketing, Andrew Clearwater.

"Adding the six-speed auto to the range is a big decision, as everyone thinks of a sports car as manual shift. But it's a very good system. It's got steering wheel-mounted paddle shift; the Activematic between three and six is just about making the manual redundant, and we have to look at the market. Everyone's going toward auto."

But before driving purists lose heart, take note - an auto is merely under consideration. The manual will be coming. And it will still feature the short-shift movement that's always made MX-5 gear changes a literal flick of the wrist.

None of that's much good, of course, if the body's lost the plot. But this car's flexural stiffness is 22 per cent better, torsional rigidity a staggering 47 per cent improved. And the powerplant's moved 134mm back, further enhancing weight distribution.

Kijima opted for double wishbone front suspenders and a newly-developed multi-link rear, with aluminium components used to reduce unsprung weight.

Body pitching during acceleration and braking is tightly controlled by the dampers and anti-dive, anti-squat geometry.

A wheelbase increased by 65mm and a wider track also aid stability. Kijima wanted a car that would change direction as fast as the driver's thoughts; a balance of seat to wheel, steering to road, engine to transmission to brain that all works as one.

Only Mazda staff have yet had a chance to put the result to the test. Clearwater drove it back-to-back with the old MX-5, and says the new model is "beautifully balanced" and the 2.0-litre engine "extremely torquey".

Its modern styling cues were hinted at in the Ibuki concept car. The wasp waist has gone in favour of a smooth transition from front to back, the emphasis instead on the flared wheel arches so reminiscent of its bigger RX-8 sibling - and so necessary to accommodate the larger wheels and their substantially wider track.

The benefit comes in terms of cabin space, the wider cockpit allowing not only side airbags, but larger passengers. The lanky MD of Mazda NZ, Peter Aitken, had his knees by his ears in the old car, but no longer.

Meanwhile the interior is still designed for ease of use - and comfort. Not only is the seating position more adjustable than before, new waist-level air vents direct warm air to extend the top-down driving season.

Air deflectors reduce cockpit turbulence. Clearwater could hold a normal conversation down the test circuit's back straight at 160kph with the top down.

Which is all well and good, but will all this development make for a higher price tag?

"We're sticking to the MX-5 concept of a lightweight affordable sports car," says Clearwater. "We don't intend to turn away from that. We've sold about 900 since 1989. There are 2498 on the roads, with used imports. We expect everyone to want one from day one, and we'll be on an allocation basis when it goes on sale.

The new MX-5 rolls out of showrooms in Europe and Japan in July - "and we won't be far behind".