Mazda MX-5

On the inside, the simplicity of the exterior profile of the Mazda MX-5 is continued with a rather subtle looking cabin, which comes with a leather finish to complement the premium appeal of a convertible car. You do get the options of a full black cabin with black leather seats or a dual tone black and beige cabin with Nappa leather seats for that additional special feel.

The overall layout of the dashboard looks a bit busy with a circular theme carried out on it, including vents and dials for the AC which is round-shaped. The 3-spoke steering wheel with a round central unit comes integrated with buttons mounted on it for audio, telephony and cruise controls, and has a nice silver finish to it, which looks premium. The instrument console with centrally mounted large tachometer might remind you of the Porsches of the world.

The round push button for ignition, round AC vents and round dials for automatic climate control look nice and theme-like. The centrally mounted pop-up tablet-like 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system feels nice and intuitive to use and is complemented with Single-CD, MP3, Aux-in, USB, 12V Power supply, DVD, Bluetooth Function and a nicely sounding 9-Speaker Sound System from Bose. The doors with the dual tone theme including the exterior color option in them in the metallic form are a nice touch too.

Overall, the purposely designed interior layout of the Mazda MX-5 feels nice and premium and makes up for the lack of flair which is otherwise ‘too-simple’ exterior of the car.

The Mazda MX-5 might lack the special feel and size of an Italian or German convertible sportscar, but then, it is still a compact convertible car, which means that second glances on the road are a sureshot thing. The Mazda MX-5 is being offered in a choice of a soft top or a fastback-style retractable hardtop, with the top hiding the interiors of the two-seater sportscar with much perfection.

At the front, the Mazda MX-5 looks plain and simple with eyebrow-shaped headlamps positioned above the upper corners of a rather low-positioned front grille, with a Mazda logo sitting proudly above the grille on the front bonnet. The headlamp units do incorporate LED projector units for best possible illumination ahead. The bonnet does lack character lines but does have a nice curvaceous design which extends till the front windshield.

The side profile of the Mazda MX-5 too lacks the flair as on the front, with a mild curve extending from the front fender to the rear glass area. The body colored door-mounted rear view mirror and pullback handle on the doors look nice, however, fender mounted turn signals look archaic in today’s day and age. However, the 17-inch multispoke alloy wheels do add some drama to the otherwise simply styled side profile of the car.

At the rear, the Mazda MX-5 again feels minimalist and ‘down-to-earth’, with the low slung styling complemented with simply styled nail-shaped tail lamp cluster with LED inserts, with a characteristic horizontal line joining the tail lamps and reverse lamps integrated separately in the rear bumper being unique design elements here.

So, overall, while the Mazda MX-5 does possess the ‘wow’ factor which all the convertibles come with by default, thanks to the retractable roof, it is styled rather simply and lacks the flair and number of design elements which a car of this cadre should get.

Under the hood, like the overall design of the car, the Mazda MX-5 comes powered by a rather subtle and less-dramatic 2.0-litre inline four petrol engine. The engine might not sound or makes the car fly off from the rest like Porsches and Lamborghinis do, but then, it is powerful and grunty enough to make the compact Mazda MX-5 feel fast and agile.

The engine is capable enough of producing a maximum power output of 160 bhp and a peak torque output of 200 Nm, which is decently powerful for a car that measures under four meters and weighs just 1133 kgs, thus giving the Mazda MX-5 a commendable power-to-weight ratio. The engine is further complemented with the choices of either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed torque converter. The manual variants of the car also get the limited speed differential offered as standard on them. Apart from these usual bits, the Mazda MX-5 features i-STOP engine idling start-stop function and i-ELOOP regenerative braking system, so that it doesn’t miss out on the economy front as well.

Given its rather mass-oriented appeal rather than restricted to the super elite club, the Mazda MX-5 misses out on most of the sophisticated electrical aids and safety features. However, it is still properly equipped with dual front airbags, four-wheel ABS with EBD, lane departure warning, dynamic stability control, reverse parking sensors and engine immobilizer, making it sufficiently safe.