The fourth MX-5 went smaller and lighter while rivals kept growing
Most new car generations put on weight. Mazda went the other way with the fourth MX-5, cutting 100 kg and 105 mm from its predecessor so the roadster weighed roughly a tonne again. The result won World Car of the Year in 2016 and quietly became the basis for a revived Fiat.
Mazda revealed the ND to American and Spanish audiences on 3 September 2014 and to Japan a day later, and began building it at its Hiroshima plant on 4 March 2015. American prices ranged from $24,915 to $30,065. At the New York show on 24 March 2016 it collected both World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year, only the second Mazda to take the main prize after the Mazda2 in 2008.
Two naturally aspirated Skyactiv petrol engines were offered: a 1.5-litre with 129 hp and a 2.0-litre that early North American cars rated at 155 hp. Hydraulic steering gave way to an electric system, and the fabric roof could still be flipped open by hand in a few seconds. In late 2018 the larger engine was reworked to 181 hp, with the redline raised to 7,500 rpm. Tighter emissions rules ended the 2.0-litre in Europe in 2024, though British buyers can get it until January 2027.
A folding hardtop version, the RF, arrived in late 2016. Its whole rear section, buttresses included, rises up and back so the roof panel can tuck behind the seats, giving a coupé profile when closed. Packaging the mechanism meant losing a storage cubby. A 500-car Launch Edition sold in Britain at £28,995.
The platform also had a second life. After a planned joint car with Alfa Romeo was dropped in 2014, Fiat Chrysler used the ND underpinnings for the Fiat 124 Spider and Abarth 124 Spider, fitted with a 170 hp turbocharged 1.4-litre. The Detroit News argued in 2016 that the tie-up probably saved the MX-5 itself, given soaring development costs and heavy regulation. For the 30th anniversary in 2019, Mazda built 3,000 Racing Orange cars.
Source: Mazda MX-5 (ND)
