<\/p>\n
Our thirst for 1960s\u2019 nostalgia is bottomless, so automakers keep remaking the classics. Ford will birth a brand new Mustang this fall as it chases GM\u2019s own retro-rod, the Camaro.\u00a0Alfa Romeo\u2019s 4C<\/a>\u00a0is a dead ringer for the \u201967 Alfa 33 Sradale, and Jaguar has followed the elegant E-Type with the ferocious F-Type.<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0Mazda Mazda has been so successful in preserving the golden era of\u00a0Lotus Elans<\/a>, MG Midgets and Bugeye Sprites that the Miata has become an icon unto itself, now celebrating its 25th year of production. Along the way, the Miata picked up the MX-5 badge to recognize it as a permanent member of the Mazda family, not just a passing salute to \u201960s sports\u00a0cars Yet Mazda\u2019s little roller-skate has stayed true to its roots: affordable, fuel efficient, and more fun than Monty Python\u2019s Spamalot.<\/p>\n Compact and cramped, the MX-5 is even sized like a British crumpet. It is the tightest fit of any car that I\u2019ve driven. A Fiat 500\u2019s headroom is like the Sistine Chapel compared to this pillbox. Next to an MX-5, the compact Chevy Spark\u2019s driver seat feels like a Vegas pool chair.<\/p>\n The third generation MX-5 remains an homage to the playful Elan\u2019s looks with its smiling, gaping grille which seems to shout \u2014 \u201cAha, I caught ya!\u201d \u2014 in your rearview mirror. Early sketches of the all-new, fourth-gen MX-5 (due next year) suggest that the car will conform to the Mazda family\u2019s Kodo-design architecture, cementing its position of permanence in the Mazda lineup.<\/p>\n Wipe a sentimental tear because Mazda does Lotus so well. Indeed, with its open headlights, the MX-5 now echoes the original, legendary 26R, which launched the Elan legend by terrorizing the European GT circuit in the early \u201960s. The MX-5\u2019s haunches have also grown, giving the car the more fearsome, feline look of the 26R as opposed to the mousier production Elan (that the original Miata slavishly resembled). Our scrawny cutie has been working out.<\/p>\n Yet, under the bulging hood, the MX-5 remains modest in power.<\/p>\n Its 158 horsepower (with the automatic transmission, 167 ponies with stick) is not a far cry from the Elan original\u2019s 126. The MX-5\u2019s biceps may awaken the corner cop (my MX-5 got appreciative looks wherever I drove), but its 6.9-second 0-60 mph time won\u2019t. Turbocharged pocket rockets like the VW GTI and Ford Focus ST \u2014 even the MX-5\u2019s aging brother Mazdaspeed 3 \u2014 will eat the MX-5 for breakfast at a Woodward stoplight.<\/p>\n But the MX-5 doesn\u2019t mind. This sports car wants you to have fun, without tempting you to the limits. Maybe that\u2019s why it\u2019s a favorite of drivers\u2019 schools like Barber at Laguna Seca, Calif.<\/p>\n The MX-5 makes an interesting contrast to the howling, Tasmanian Devil-on-wheels Alfa 4C that I recently tested. Both share a short wheelbase. Both tip the scales at about 2,500 pounds. Both are halos for their respective performance brands. But where the 4C wants to set a benchmark for $65,000 luxury greyhounds, the MX-5 offers inspiration for more modest\u00a0bank Slip into the MX-5\u2019s nicely contoured seats and the whole car feels like it\u2019s at your fingertips. Stretch out your arm and you … can … almost … reach … the rear wheels. The little, three-spoke steering wheel fits compact surrounds. The gearshift is at your elbow. If they remake the Wizard of Oz, the Mayor of Munchkin City will drive up in an MX-5.<\/p>\n WARNING TO BEANSTALKS: THE MX-5 WILL CRAMP YOUR STYLE. Where mid-engine firecrackers like the Alfa 4C offer plenty of leg room, the MX-5\u2019s two-seat layout means the driver is wedged between a fore-mounted engine and a rear-stowed, removable top. The result is little room for maneuver compared to, say, a rear-seated, 2+2 Subaru BRZ. My knees straddled the steering wheel, my back slumped into the seat, my noggin crowded the hardtop ceiling.<\/p>\n Good thing the MX-5 is such a joy to drive topless.<\/p>\n Release the ceiling latch, press the dashboard button and the MX-5\u2019s metal helmet effortlessly retracts into the trunk in just 12 seconds, leaving an airplane luggage-sized trunk space roomy enough for a small suitcase and two Munchkins. At speed, the cabin is remarkably livable, accommodating easy conversation even as you gallop through the Michigan landscape at 70 mph-plus.<\/p>\n The Mazda doesn\u2019t fear the whip. Rollicking over the knobs and nooks of northern Michigan\u2019s Route 66, the MX-5 begs you to slip into manual shift mode.<\/p>\n A word here about Mazda\u2019s ingenious shift paddle design. Where most paddle shifters require two hands on the wheel \u2014 downshifts with the left hand, upshifts with the right \u2014 the MX-5 locates two pairs of up and down paddles on\u00a0either<\/i>\u00a0side of the wheel depending on your hand preference. Shifting with one hand \u2014 upshift with the fingertips, downshift with the thumb \u2014 frees the offhand to rotate the wheel. Or just cruise one-handed.<\/p>\n Throw this fun-box into a corner and its 51\/49 weight balance rotates easily under rear-drive power. The lightweight chassis rarely makes the tires scream, though the steering could use some firming. At full chat, the hydraulic rack feels floaty, rootless. At the end of a good squawk, you don\u2019t feel beat up by an over-stiff chassis, your knuckles aren\u2019t white, and your passenger isn\u2019t searching the glove compartment for a barf bag. Sure, that Alfa 4C you were chasing is in the next county, but you still have an appetite for dinner.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/images.intellitxt.com\/ast\/adTypes\/icon1.png\")
<\/a>\u00a0has cornered the market on wee English sports car nostalgia with the Miata.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0(and to make it sound more, ahem, macho). Indeed, the mass-produced cutie has far outlasted and outsold its Elan inspiration as the Lotus badge expired after nine years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTight fit<\/h3>\n
Modest in power<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0accounts.<\/p>\nAt your fingertips<\/h3>\n
Ingenious shift paddles<\/h3>\n