2019 Mazda MX5 Review
2019 Mazda MX5 Club
MSRP: $36,000
Engine: 2.0 Liter 4 cylinder :: 181 Horsepower // 151 ft/lbs
Text: Yousef Alvi // Photography: Alexander Grant
Okay let’s get this out of the way first. I have been blessed and fortunate to drive some of the fastest cars on the road today. From 800 hp muscle cars to $200k plus supercars…and most everything in between. The large swath of performance available today is nothing short of staggering and it easy to get lost in all the numbers. The ironic part is…the cars that I will revisit in my mind are the affordable sporty ones.
The Type R, GT86 and this Miata offer performance you can actually use everyday. The McLarens, Hellcats and NSXs are unbelievable feats of brilliance but the brilliance can only really be taken advantage of at a track. On the street, a mere squeeze of your right foot and you are heading to jail as fast as you can you accelerate. The Type R, GT86 and the Miata are the other end of the spectrum. You can explore the limits of the vehicle on safely on the road and not get arrested.
Yes their stats look lowly and downright hilarious compared to the above cars but stats only say so much. The accessibility of fun is available a much lower threshold and speed. The grin you can get just by going through a corner in this Miata at 30 mph is what impresses me the most. The sheer joy of a happy little car that you can flog the crap out of at low speeds is what truly amazes me each time I get in one.
Happy is the operative word here. The Miata just puts a damn smile on your face. The way the chassis just pivots around your torso, the way shifter glides into gear and the way the wind just hits your face with the top down…the Miata is an experience just like a supercar. Yes you read that right. I am comparing a 180 hp, $30k Mazda to a McLaren and a NSX. I have almost the same amount of fun in either. That’s not to take anything away from the supercars listed but it’s to give nothing but a standing ovation to the Miata.
The Miata offers something almost intangible that most new cars don’t offer anymore as well. That intangibility is best described as a soul. The series of electronic buffers in newer vehicles isolates you from the experience of driving. It leaves one feeling cold and disconnected from the car and it’s hard to form an emotional bond with it. Whereas the Miata stirs something inside you each and every time you get in.
So what do I think of the 2019 Mazda Miata Club?
In a world of 300 horsepower Camrys…a 180 hp petite roadster still reigns supreme in the category that matters the most to all gearheads…fun.
