2021 Mazda MX5 Miata Grand Touring

MSRP: $31,770

Specs: 2.0 Liter 4 Cylinder : 181 HP / 151 TQ

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Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi

This 2021 Mazda Miata doesn’t need me to sing it’s virtues. In it’s over 30 years of production the Miata has remained steadfast to the golden rule of ‘Less is More’. Never really straying outside that box has kept the Miata pure to that purpose. As cars get heavier, automated and disconnected…the Miata stays well…the same. The horsepower needle does creep up with every few years but thankfully weight stays about the same. Which means that this 2021 vehicle with leather, heated seats, infotainment, Bose audio system and airbags weighs only 2300 pounds!

Yes, even after all of these years…the Miata is still ringing under 2500 pounds.

That lightweight saddled with the perfect amount of horsepower…gives you a driving sensation that is unmatched in today’s world. It is so good in fact this Miata needs to be one of the industry benchmarks by which all performance cars need to be measured.

The standard bearers of the 911 and M3 are great cars but they have suffered from the inevitable weight creep over their generations…which the Miata has been immuned. As those cars get bigger, heavier and more disconnected with each successive generation that benchmark moves with them. So, let’s move the benchmark back…let us use the Miata as a metric instead!

So in other words…Less is More. The Miata is one of the best driving cars in the world due to it’s lithe weight. Performance along with efficiency are directly proportional to weight. As cars get heavier, those factors get worst. As those factors gets worst, automakers pile on more horsepower and various automation methods to circumvent the ever increasing weight, which in turn makes the cars even heavier and around and around we go! It’s akin to a snake eating its own tail.

If you are an average consumer and think I have gone mad…I don’t blame you. We all have been brainwashed into thinking that pilling on more on top of more horsepower is better. It isn’t. Let me give you the following example:

The 2021 Ford Mustang GT. It makes 460 horsepower that is strapped to 3700 pounds. In an effort to combine power and efficiency…the 6 speed manual has super long gearing. So what does that mean? Well first gear gets you 51 mph! FIRST GEAR. Second gear gets you 80 mph!!! So driving the GT, around town and trying to hit that sweet redline requires a very good attorney on retainer.

The Miata does not have that problem since it’s geared short and has the perfect amount of power. First gear gets you 30 mph, second is 50 and third is 80. So you have a blast just scooting around town, blasting through the gears and not have the anxiety of getting arrested. It’s frankly rather liberating!

Now that my rant on heavy cars are hover…here are my overall thoughts on the 2021 Mazda MX5 Grand Touring.

It has and always will be the best sports car that money can buy. It has no equivalent. No equal. It is the MX5.

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