2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata: Small in dimension, huge on driving enjoyable | Information, Sports activities, Jobs

We lately spent every week with the MX-5 Miata RF Club, completed in a stupendous Deep Crystal Blue Mica, and located ourselves smiling nearly each time we climbed behind the wheel. During our week collectively, the Miata dealt with all the conventional duties we ask of a automobile — journeys to work, working errands and the on a regular basis driving that makes up most of our time on the highway.

But it was after we pointed the little Mazda towards Provo Canyon for a leisurely Sunday Drive that we actually started to know what makes the Miata such a particular automotive.

The vacation spot was Heber, however getting there was actually solely a part of the enjoyable.

The MX-5 Miata has at all times been in regards to the expertise of driving somewhat than merely getting someplace. The RF, with its retractable hardtop design, provides one other dimension to that have whereas sustaining the light-weight, two-seat character that has made the Miata a favourite amongst driving fans for many years.

A Miata that appears the half

Mazda’s design philosophy is simple to see within the MX-5.

The firm calls its design language Kodo, a Japanese philosophy centered round creating a way of movement and life even when a automobile is standing nonetheless. That thought works significantly effectively on the Miata as a result of there isn’t a lot extra to cover behind.

The MX-5 is small, low and purposeful.

Our Deep Crystal Blue Mica check automotive regarded particularly good as the daylight modified throughout its sculpted physique. The lengthy hood, brief overhangs and compact cabin give the automotive basic sports-car proportions, whereas the trendy traces maintain it from wanting like a retro recreation.

The RF provides a particular look with its retractable hardtop. With the roof in place, the MX-5 has the appear and feel of a small coupe. Open it up, nevertheless, and the expertise modifications instantly.

That versatility is among the RF’s largest sights.

It offers the safety and look of a hardtop while you need it whereas nonetheless providing you with the open-air expertise that’s such a giant a part of the Miata components.

Small automotive, huge persona

Getting into the Miata after spending time in bigger SUVs and crossovers is nearly comical at first.

Everything is decrease. The cabin is cosy. The windshield appears a lot nearer. You sit low to the bottom. And there isn’t a variety of pointless house between the motive force, passenger and controls.

And that’s exactly the purpose.

Mazda has lengthy talked about its method to human-centric engineering. Rather than merely designing a automotive after which determining how individuals will work together with it, Mazda research how people naturally transfer and tries to make its automobiles really feel like an extension of the individual driving it.

The firm refers to this philosophy as Jinba-ittai, a Japanese time period describing the concord between horse and rider.

In the MX-5, that philosophy turns into rather more than a advertising phrase.

The steering wheel, pedals, shifter and driver’s seat all appear to work collectively to make the automotive really feel intuitive. You don’t have to consider what the automotive goes to do subsequent. You merely drive it.

That connection is among the causes the Miata continues to face aside in a world the place automobiles have gotten more and more massive, highly effective and technologically difficult.

The membership is in regards to the drive

The Club trim is especially effectively suited to somebody who desires the MX-5 for what it does on the highway.

There is nothing incorrect with luxurious, however the Miata doesn’t want an extended checklist of devices to make driving entertaining. Its biggest characteristic is the way in which it responds while you flip the steering wheel, press the accelerator or shift gears.

The light-weight nature of the automotive is instantly noticeable.

You don’t want monumental horsepower numbers to have enjoyable when there isn’t a variety of automobile to maneuver. Instead, the Miata encourages you to hold momentum, select your line and turn out to be concerned within the drive.

That turned particularly obvious as we headed up Provo Canyon.

A Sunday drive price taking

The highway from Provo to Heber is a kind of stretches of Utah freeway that makes it simple to know why we name our column “Sunday Drive.”

The surroundings is gorgeous, however the highway itself offers loads of alternative to see what a automobile can do.

We weren’t seeking to set any pace information. This was a leisurely Sunday drive, giving us the possibility to settle into the Miata and actually expertise the way it behaved on canyon roads. The MX-5 proved to deal with simply as marketed.

The steering felt direct, the chassis stayed composed via the curves, and the automotive appeared keen to vary path. Because the Miata is so compact, the highway doesn’t really feel as vast or distant as it might from behind the wheel of a bigger automobile. Instead, you are feeling linked to it.

Turn right into a nook and the MX-5 responds with out drama. The automotive feels balanced and predictable, encouraging you to benefit from the highway somewhat than always reminding you that you simply’re working a machine.

That is probably the most effective description of the Miata: It doesn’t really feel such as you’re working a automotive as a lot as you’re collaborating within the drive.

As we climbed towards Heber, the Miata appeared completely at residence winding via the canyon. The mixture of its small footprint, responsive dealing with and low seating place made each curve fascinating. And that’s what we loved most.

Everyday Miata

While the canyon drive was actually the spotlight of our week, most of our time with the MX-5 was spent doing precisely what most individuals do with their automobiles.

We went to work.

We ran errands.

We drove round city.

And that have reminded us that the Miata isn’t merely a weekend toy. It can be utilized as on a regular basis transportation, supplied you perceive what you’re shopping for.

The two-seat configuration clearly limits practicality. If it’s essential to haul a number of individuals, a load of groceries or a few grandchildren, the MX-5 most likely isn’t going to be the primary automobile we advocate.

But for one or two individuals, it may be surprisingly pleasing as a each day driver.

The small dimension makes it simple to maneuver and park, and the straightforward, driver-focused cabin means you don’t spend a lot time questioning the place you’re supposed to search out one thing.

Of course, getting out and in requires slightly extra effort than climbing right into a crossover. At our stage of life, that’s one thing we observed each time.

But when you’re seated, the low driving place is a part of the expertise.

At the top of the week

It is simple to take a look at the automotive world at this time and surprise the place a small sports activities automotive just like the MX-5 suits. We have SUVs, electrical automobiles, hybrid powertrains, three-row household haulers and pickup vehicles that may do nearly all the things.

The Miata doesn’t attempt to compete with any of them. Instead, it focuses on one thing more and more uncommon: making driving itself the explanation to get behind the wheel.

After every week with the 2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Club, we discovered ourselves on the lookout for excuses to drive it. That’s the magic of the Miata.

Base worth: $41,900

Destination cost: $1,235

Price as pushed: $43,135