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Introduction
Mazda MX-5 Miata -- 2006 Review: Improving an icon is dicey business. Ask the Coca-Cola Company what happened with that new recipe they tried back in the 1980s, or Jeep how folks felt about square headlights on the 1987-1995 Wrangler. And don’t even get us started on Disney World’s Epcot Center. Facing the challenge of crafting something all-new, yet comfortably old, is daunting at best, but to a large degree Mazda has found success with the redesigned 2006 MX-5 Miata.
Loved and cherished by enthusiasts around the globe, the Mazda Miata jump started the modern roadster renaissance when it debuted for the 1990 model year. Its design principle was a simple one: jinba ittai, a Japanese phrase loosely translated to mean horse and rider as one. To its credit, the company has successfully managed to keep its elemental sports car light, lithe, and incredibly responsive during its 16-year run, despite increasingly stringent safety and emissions regulations.
Those attributes remain intact with the all-new Mazda MX-5 Miata, a car that represents a dynamic home-run yet breaks little new ground as a sum of its parts. In many ways, the new version is a big improvement over the old car, but in just as many ways, the old car is preferable to the new version. And with sexy new entries from Pontiac and Saturn arriving to steal market share from Mazda, the somewhat dowdy MX-5 has its work cut out for it.
Nevertheless, dynamics are what the Miata has always been about – not comfort, not aesthetics, not luxuries. This car is to a driving enthusiast what Chimay Ale is to a beer connoisseur or Tiffany and Co. is to a gold digger. It is aspirational, not as defined by price or prestige but by freedom. The Mazda MX-5 is your ticket to ride, a cheap thrill that lasts a lifetime, an escape clause in the daily grind. Even if the front end is homely, we still love this car.
Performance
Smooth, seamless, linear power is available throughout the Mazda MX-5 Miata’s powerband. This new motor is a gem, a big improvement over the previous-generation’s rather rough 1.8-liter engine. The two-liter loves to rev, is extremely refined, and seems to beg for abuse, yet returned an impressive 24.4 mpg during our week behind the wheel of a Sport model equipped with a six-speed manual transmission.
That six-speed featured a light clutch and a fluid shifter, and even the most ham-handed drivers never missed a shift. There’s also more room in the footwell for folks with large feet to perform heel-and-toe downshifts.
One test driver, when asked if the new MX-5 is fun to drive, replied: “Yeah! Crazy, stupid, @!&#-eating-grin fun. The MX-5 can be driven right at the limits because it remains forgiving, but it’s just as much fun at low speeds where it’s a drop-top, point-and-shoot traffic mauler.” He’s on Ritalin now, and much calmer.
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About Christian Wardlaw
Christian Wardlaw joined Autobytel's Automotive Information Center (AIC) in January 2003, and current serves as Manager of Content Development for Autobytel. Previously, Christian spent eight years as Editor-in-Chief and Director of Automotive Data for Edmunds.com. A writer, editor, and automobile aficionado, Christian is a different sort of car enthusiast. His passion lies in the vehicles that people most often buy, rather than with high-performance sports cars or ultra-luxury sedans. “Given the choice to spend an hour with a Dodge Viper or a Honda Accord, I’ll choose the Accord,” he claims. Unless, of course, the driving venue is a racetrack. Christian has been a car enthusiast all of his life, uttering “car” as his first word while growing up in Detroit. A graduate of Western Michigan University, he holds a bachelor’s degree in English. His daily drivers include a 1994 Mazda Miata, a 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata, and a 2005 Nissan Murano.
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