Why Buy Mazda's MX-5 Miata? The Sports Car Is Even Better for 2019

It doesn't look any different, save for its new optional metallic blue paint choice and available brown canvas soft top, but Mazda’s perennial favorite MX-5 Miata roadster is even better following a light update for 2019. Click through to revisit what makes the MX-5 Miata so good in the first place, and see how Mazda improved it with a few tweaks to the engine, interior, and features list.

The 2018 MX-5 Miata was the lightest car sold in America. Alas, changes for 2019 to the MX-5's engine, plus new safety-related features, a standard rearview camera, and a new telescoping steering column, all add mass. Don't worry; the sum of the changes moves the needle on the Miata's bathroom scale north by only seven pounds, according to Mazda. And we're happy to say that the MX-5 remains the lightest car for sale in the United States.

The MX-5 Miata is on its third full redesign since the original made its debut back in 1989, and each of the four generations of Miatas has been characterized by a long nose, a short trunk, and seating for two-classic sports-car stuff. Today's model is styled with a bit less whimsy than Miatas past, with an intense stare and a muscular little body.

Rear-wheel drive frees up a car's front wheels to steer without also having to deal with the task of putting the engine's power to the pavement. In less scientific terms, rear-wheel drive is a good basis on which to design a sports car because, frankly, it's a fun drive layout. The Miata combines rear-wheel drive with a nearly 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution and incredibly small dimensions. (The 2019 Miata is fractionally shorter in length than the 1989 original!) So it reacts energetically to steering inputs. As a bonus, the Mazda's supple suspension allows some body roll, dive, and squat, all of which amplify and clarify the effects of the driver's inputs, making the Miata feel faster than it is-and more fun than almost anything on the road.

Speaking of driver inputs, the Mazda is mighty satisfying in its responses to steering inputs, delivering honest-to-goodness feedback from the front tires to the driver's hands. Feeling the steering-wheel rim twitch in your hands makes piloting the Miata a joy, and discerning how much grip is left in the front tires is a snap.

The Miata cabin is snug-no surprise there-but, although Mazda offers classy touches such as body-color upper door panels and cut-and-sewn dash trim with contrast stitching, luxury really isn't the point. What matters in the Miata is its large, front-and-center tachometer; its snug sport seats; and its new tilting and telescoping steering column, which makes it much easier for longer-legged drivers to find a comfortable seating position.

With so little real estate to work with in the tight cabin, the cupholders are cast off to an inconvenient spot between the passengers' shoulders. Access is best accomplished by reaching across one's body with the opposite hand.

For 2019, Mazda has introduced a new Recaro-branded sport seat option. Although sweet, the well-bolstered chairs require buyers first step up to the mid-level Club model, then check the pricey option box for the BBS wheel and Brembo brake package.

The Miata's trunk is-surprise!-small. But it's not that small, even if its opening is an oddball trapezoid shape. So, unless you travel with Imelda Marcos, you and a companion could feasibly stuff a weekend's worth of luggage in the Miata's five-cubic-foot trunk.

For anyone concerned with a softtop roadster's security or insulation properties, the Miata RF (for Retractable Fastback) offers a hardtop solution. Literally, it has a hard roof, one that gives the Miata RF the appearance of a full-blown coupe. At the press of a button, the top and the flying-buttress panels flanking the trunk perform a mesmerizing mechanical dance to motor the roof panel just above the occupants' heads into a nacelle behind the seats. Our testing shows that the lighter softtop model is slightly sharper and quicker, but the RF is hardly a dull creature.

While early Miatas relied on brilliant handling to bring smiles to their drivers' faces, the new one backs up its snappy handling with speed. The 2019 Miata roadster with a manual transmission rips to 60 mph in only 5.7 seconds. It isn't too quick, though: Mazda believes that the Miata's magic lies in the fact that it allows drivers to dip into all of its power without risking upsetting the chassis or sending the rear wheels spinning wildly.

Mazda might have philosophical reasons for maintaining a balance between the Miata's power and its handling capability, but more power is always welcome. For 2019, every Miata's 2.0-liter engine gets just that, in the form of an additional 31 horsepower delivered between 6800 rpm-the '18 Miata's redline-and its new 7500-rpm redline. Regardless of engine speed, the new 2.0-liter is incredibly smooth, almost Honda-like, thanks to a thorough re-engineering of nearly every major and minor component, shaving reciprocating mass and smoothing out the breathing channels.

The Mazda MX-5 Miata has always been a great looking little roadster, but the fourth-generation ND model is the only one that made the leap to beautiful. Mazda's kodo design language dictates the Miata's squinty, smiley face and flowing, gently curving body surfaces and sculpted fenders. The line starting at each door handle and sweeps up around the cabin to the other side of the car is one of our favorite design details; it is subtle and gorgeous, like the rest of the Miata.