We drive the most powerful Miata Mazda has produced to date in both soft top and RF guise.
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 Hi, I'm Stefan Aukbeck with Motor Trend, and I'm driving the 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata.
00:19 The Miata's always been an enthusiast car.
00:21 For four generations now, it's been the darling of auto enthusiasts because of its balance,
00:28 the slick shifter, and it's never been the most powerful car, but for 2019, Mazda decided
00:34 to give it a nice boost of power, namely in the form of 26 extra horsepower, so the Miata
00:40 now makes 181 horsepower.
00:42 Torque didn't get neglected, too.
00:43 It got a slight boost, only a couple pound-feet to 151.
00:48 But the most important part here is that the Miata now has a redline of 7,500 RPM, so there's
00:53 a lot more room to play with, and you're not always wondering, like, "Is the car going
00:58 to start huffing and puffing the moment I get past 5,000 RPM?"
01:01 Nope, don't need to worry about that anymore.
01:04 And you get the power smoothly, as a Miata should.
01:08 The manual transmission still stays the same, snickety, easy to use, and very friendly.
01:14 And in general, this Miata is still the lovable roadster that everybody from amateur racers
01:21 to professionals can drive and enjoy.
01:24 The limits are approachable.
01:26 Other additions include a standard backup camera.
01:29 You can get the Recaro seats now on the Club RF, and you can get the GTS trim, so that
01:35 means you get limited slip differential, most important part, the Bilstein shocks, slightly
01:41 stiffer springs, and a strut tower brace, all for $750.
01:47 You can put your foot down in this car still, even with that extra 26 horsepower, and not
01:50 get in much trouble.
01:52 It's still fun in legal speeds.
01:54 That's the beauty of this car.
01:56 If you want to go extra legal speed, be my guest.
01:58 Just don't tell us.
01:59 From Road to Trend, I'm Stefan Augbeck.
02:01 See you soon.
02:01 [music]
02:08 (upbeat music)