image: MazdaUSA.om
By Brian O’Neil, Courier Chief Photographer
You cannot hide from the inevitable, and when the inevitable confronts you in the form of a Miata connoisseur at your local car meet, asking the question “what do you think of Miatas?” with his undertone of self-assuredness, as if he knows you will say you adore them, you may not know how to reply.
Do not immediately conjure thoughts of the stereotypical, tiny, underpowered Miata of decades past; instead think of the latest, 2016 Miata. With time comes experience, and with the Miata platform, Mazda has had twenty-six years to perfect their art. Mazda’s latest installment of the Miata platform comes with all the basic essentials Miata enthusiasts have come to expect out of a Miata: rear wheel drive, manual gear box, and, of course, fifty-fifty weight distribution.
For those of us who do not know what fifty-fifty weight distribution is, essentially it is when the weight in the front of the vehicle is equal to the weight in the rear. To showcase this in their 2016 Miata, Mazda devised what is essentially a 700 pound, steel teeter-totter for the car to be pushed upon and then balanced upon. Amazingly the men and women at Mazda accomplished this feat, and to top it all off, they balanced the Miata while a driver was present in the cockpit.
Despite this accomplishment, Mazda still have not engineered an steering wheel which telescopes for those of us who prefer to be the recommended ten inches away from the steering column in the case of an accident. Other areas in which the 2016 Miata falls short include the self-operated soft top, that comes standard with every single Miata ever produced. Although, I suppose, to justify the weight of speakers in the headrests – that come standard with every trim level – Mazda had to compromise in some areas.
Those areas however do not include the performance.
When it come to performance, the 2016 Miata trumps all of its predecessors. Boasting a naturally aspirated 2.0 liter inline four, creating a liberating, yet, civil 155 HP (Horsepower). Combine that with a curb weight that is only 17 pounds over a Smart Car’s gross weight, and it leaves the power to weight ratio superb.
As Motor Trend magazine put it “Proof you don’t need a lot of power to make a great driver’s car.” The way I put it: Porsche-level fun, with the fuel economy of a Honda civic and a price starting around $26,000.
So the only other question you have to think about is “which color do you prefer?”