Mazda MX-5 track test and performance review
Category
š¤
TechTranscript
00:00Hey guys, Chris here, and we're back at Queensland Raceway, our car expert test track.
00:04Today, we've got the Mazda MX-5 GT Manual, which is a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine,
00:10real drive, and very lightweight. It's 1,087 kilos, so the lightest car we've had on the
00:16track so far. Not the most powerful, but hopefully that weight plays into its hands.
00:21We're going to go do our outlap, get a feeling for the car, go do some flying laps, see how
00:25fast it is, and then give you a rundown of what we thought. But first, let's see how it performs
00:300-100 and then braking as well.
00:49So, initial impressions of the MX-5. Seating position is really,
00:53really nice. Obviously, you're down low, the car's tiny. I can see pretty much the
00:58whole bonnet and the corners, so that's going to be great for positioning the car.
01:01Steering wheel feels big, but I actually like the grip and the positioning of that,
01:07it's nice and firm, and I've got a good grasp of it. Nice precise feeling, but a little bit
01:12of body movement there, so the car's obviously a little bit soft. Let's test the brake pedal
01:17out, see what that feels like. Yeah, I like that. Nice and firm, ABS didn't kick in too aggressively,
01:23so that's a good start. Manual gearbox, so we're going to have to heel-toe,
01:28if I can remember how to do that. Yeah, that seems nice. Nice position of the throttle,
01:33I can easily get to the heel side of my foot over to the throttle while keeping the pressure on the
01:38brake. It's hard if the brake's moving around and then you're trying to heel-toe, but if the brake
01:41can stay nice and solid, then it's easy. Alright, let's pick up the pace a little bit and see
01:47how it feels more dynamically.
01:52A lot of weight transfer, and engine, as you'd expect, naturally aspirated 2.0-litre,
01:59it's not going to blow you away power-wise, but revving out pretty good.
02:07I like the gear shift, they're really nice and crisp, easy to heel-toe and position that.
02:13Now, traction's probably not going to be an issue, but it does have an LSD, this variant, so
02:18should hold the rear wheels together nicely. Biggest thing I'd say is the movement, there's a
02:22lot of both roll and pitch, so hopefully that doesn't upset the car too much, and if we get
02:30too much weight unloading, it might cause some oversteer on entry. Traction-wise, then it will
02:36be an advantage, but basically entering the corner will be more difficult. Alright, let's go for a
02:41flying lap and see how quick the MX-5 can go.
03:41So there you go, 103.22, unfortunately it's not the fastest car around here, but I don't think
04:04that's a surprise to anyone, but it was a lot of fun and like a real raw driving experience,
04:10heel-toeing. First, the gearbox is awesome, I loved the gear shifters, were so easy to pick
04:16gears, like even when the car was loaded I could grab a gear, never missed a shift.
04:21Engine doesn't blow you away, as you'd expect, just 135 kilowatts, but it matches well to the
04:27car and you can still get some slight oversteer on exit with a little power slide, obviously in
04:33lower grip conditions you could have a lot of fun in this car. I'd have to say it's maybe one of the
04:38most progressive rear-wheel drive cars I've ever driven, it was so easy, I was sliding through
04:44turns one and two and the rear stepped out a couple of times and I could just catch it, no
04:48problems at all, so that was great. And for someone coming to the track for the first time
04:54or just want to explore their MX-5, there's nothing to be afraid of, I had traction control off and as
05:00long as you don't do anything drastic, then it's super easy to drive and you can really play with
05:06the car, even though it's soft, I didn't find that to be a huge negative, the way I could rotate the
05:11car was a little bit like a rally car, I could get the weight transfer, get the rear to slide a little
05:16bit on entry and then use that weight shift to get on the throttle and go on the exit, so
05:22for me it's a just a nice little package, not going to blow you away performance-wise, but just
05:28tied together nicely, rear-wheel drive, naturally aspirated engine, manual, it just ticks a lot of
05:33boxes and there's a lot of fun.
05:37Well, I don't mind being surprised and that's what the MX-5 did today, it blew my mind,
05:42it's the slowest car we've ever had here, yet one of the most fun, so enjoyable out on the track,
05:47the time wasn't special, doesn't have a huge power plant like all these modern cars, but just raw
05:53and fun, like the gear shifts were spot on, heel towing, nice and precise steering, so many good
05:58things to say about this car and if you're looking for just pure enjoyment and engagement, this might
06:03be the car for you, I really had fun out there on the track. My top three tips are, one, you've
06:08got to carry corner speed, you've got to be smooth and fast in and you can really be precise with
06:12this car, so really focus on that, traction is actually really good, it's nice and progressive
06:17in the rear as well, so don't be afraid to attack and have a bit of a go, you're not going to miss
06:21out there and finally, like I said, just have fun, it's an awesome little package, everything's put
06:25together well and I really had a ball driving it today. Thanks for watching the video guys,
06:30if you enjoyed it, hit the thumbs up button and don't forget to subscribe and push that bell icon
06:34so you get notified every time we publish a new video, I'd love to hear your feedback and also
06:38hear what else you'd like to see out on the test track and see what sort of times we can do.
06:42Thanks again for watching, hope you enjoyed the video.