Instant Alert: The Mazda Miata MX-5 RF wasn't a car we were asking for — but we loved it anyway

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   The Mazda Miata MX-5 RF wasn't a car we were asking for — but we loved it anyway by Matthew DeBord on Sep 29, 2017, 11:08 AM Advertisement PROS: It's still the same old Miata, but its hardtop makes for a more versatile ride. It's brilliant to drive and is less noisy than the soft-top. All in all, it's an incredible cost-to-joy ratio. CONS: It's still sort of underpowered and sort of noisy. It has an awkward infotainment system setup. The Mazda Miata is the platonic idea of a fun car to drive. The original MX-5 roadster, which arrived at the tail-end of the 1980s, brought back the classic, unadorned, open-air motoring experience, minus the iffy reliability of the British MGs and Triumphs from the 1960s and 1970s. Fans of the simple pleasures of driving loved those rides, so the Miata was welcomed with a passion almost never seen in the automotive world. And that enthusiasm has endured for decades. We're now up to the fourth generation of the MX-5, and the core DNA is unchanged, although Mazda dropped weight from the Miata and returned the design to its roots, making the new car look more like a roadster and less like a convertible sports car. After the fresh soft-top hit the market, Mazda pulled the cover off a retractable hardtop version, the RF, whose shape was less roadster than fastback coupé. Fans were excited. I was concerned: Would messing with a winning formula and adding extra weight to a car that's supposed to be light by design undermine what has always made the Miata magnificent? Mazda let us borrow a $34,310 MX-5 RF Grand Touring to find out: SEE ALSO: We drove 3 of the most popular minivans — and the winner was clear FOLLOW US: on Facebook for more car and transportation content! The MX-5 Miata RF arrived at our suburban New Jersey test center wearing an absolutely gorgeous "Soul Red Metallic" paint job. The interior for the Grand Touring trim level was "Tan Red," a succulent leather. Like the regular soft-top Miata, the RF has a sleeker design that harks back to the original Roadster from the early 1990s. I owned one of those, and the new MX-5 is my favorite Miata since those glory days. Read my review of the new Miata here and here. The big difference from the regular Miata is that the RF features a fastback coupé shape with an automated folding hardtop. See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network:    Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011