Mazda MX-5 Convertible Business & Personal Car Leasing Offers
The Mazda MX-5 convertible is an iconic sports car born from a Japanese love and admiration for British sports cars of the 1960’s. In 2019 it celebrated its 30th anniversary, but the MX-5 project started way before 1989.
Believe it or not, the story of the Mazda MX-5 Convertible all began following a conversation between an American motoring journalist and Mazda’s R&D project leaders back in 1976. During that conversation, Bob Hall, the journalist in question, commented that there were really no British sports cars anymore, and that somebody ought to build one. Not long afterwards, Mr Hall was offered a job with Mazda’s R&D department too, and his team began working on the car that would become the Mazda MX-5 convertible.
Here we are then in 2021, 32 years after the release of the first generation ‘NA’ Mazda MX-5 convertible. What’s changed? Well, it might surprise you to learn that not much really has.
Mazda has always stuck to the same philosophy when it comes to the MX-5 convertible. It’s a lightweight, front-engined, rear-wheel driven two seater convertible with a modest power output and exceptional weight distribution for neutral yet rear-biased handling. Mazda calls that last point “Jinba Ittai” a Japanese phrase that describes the oneness between horse and rider. When you drive one, you do get a sensation of oneness, so in its own way, Mazda has captured that feeling accurately.
The current Mazda MX-5 convertible is powered by a 1.5 or 2.0-litre Skyactiv naturally-aspirated petrol engine that many people prefer to see mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox for that optimised and involved driving experience but it is also available as an automatic. The smaller of the two engines produces 130bhp, while the larger churns out 182bhp. Both engines are great, it has to be said, it all comes down to just how much performance you want from your little Japanese roadster. At it’s quickest, a 0-62mph sprint in the 182mph 2.0-litre car takes 6.5-seconds or so.
Speed isn’t what the Mazda MX-5 convertible is really about though. It’s about feel, it’s about the joy of driving. In this regard, it’s one of the greatest cars ever made, and continues to be an affordable, cheerful little car that puts a smile on just about everyone who ever drives it.