SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Call me Miata: 2017 Mazda MX-5 RF coupé

For bonding

Posted: 5 September 2017

The numbers
Price: R532 800
Engine:  1998 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, naturally aspirated four-cylinder
Power: 118 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 200 Nm at 4600 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8.6 seconds
Maximum speed: 194 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.1 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Luggage: 130 litres
Ground clearance; 135 – 150 mm
Turning circle: 10.4 metres
Warranty and service plan: 3 years / unlimited km with roadside assistance
Services every 15 000 km


Hunkered down and menacing in Machine Grey and Piano Black livery, Battle Pod MX-5 RF awaits its pilot. New to the fleet, it feels a warm glow of acceptance when called by its nick-name, Miata, or is referred to as “she.” Miata does not understand that appellation but knows it’s significant.

Its line-mate, MX-5 Roadster, has been around since 1989 and is now in its fourth generation.  RF, standing for Retractable Fastback, features a rigid roof and buttresses that give its silhouette a more coupé-like appearance than that of the soft-top. The roof’s centre panel folds away while the buttresses remain in place – rather like a Targa top.

Its interior is practically the same as Roadster’s with the same media screen, seats, steering wheel and switchgear. Both use the 2.0-litre SkyActiv-G, naturally aspirated, petrol motor.  Because the roadster weighs 59 kg less than RF and uses a manual gearbox rather than automatic, it runs noticeably quicker. It takes 7.3 seconds for the standard sprint rather than 8.6 and tops out at 204 km/h, 10 clicks faster than RF.

Although cloth top and stick shift appeal more to purists, RF’s special features ensure a niche of its own.  Both were bred for a dying breed; drivers who live to drive, love the exhilaration of a light and nimble sports car that obeys every command, revel in the sounds of a happily barking exhaust note and the feel of wind in their hair.

Pilot enters butt-first and swings long legs in. It’s easier that way. One touch of the start button and the engine throbs into life. It sounds more guttural than in Mazda3 because this is a different kind of car - more ‘rock ‘n roll’ than family classic. With the top in place, headroom for Pilot’s 6’1” frame is tight but not unmanageable.

Release the traditional hand brake, perfectly placed under the operator’s left hand, select reverse, then back up and turn. There are alarm sensors but you don’t really need them; the rear window is right behind your head and the boot is short. Shift into Drive, ease down on the gas and let the journey begin.

MX-5 RF is built for moving two persons quickly and safely from A to Z, via every letter in between, along twisty and interesting roads. The steering wheel looks more vertical than you may be used to, adjusts for elevation only and features a range of function buttons.

Three deeply set pods house a general display with fuel gauge and trip computer readouts, a dominant rev counter and the speedometer. There are no digital speed indicators and no heads-up display. Concessions to gadgetry are few.

Fairly minimalist it may be, but MX-5 RF has all the safety kit its makers could squeeze in. That’s four airbags (no room for more), ABS brakes with EBD and EBA, hill launch assist, dynamic stability control, traction management, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and LED headlamps with automatic dipping - possibly the most useful motoring gadget in years.  Fifty-fifty mass distribution keeps it balanced and there’s a limited slip differential – at the back, where it belongs.

Clear of the city limits, Pilot slips the shift lever across into manual override, because paddles work only briefly. For serious driving - that sinful symphony of accelerator, brakes, gears, hold the line, back on the gas and shift again, there’s really only one way.

Pilot stops briefly to fold the centre roof panel away. It takes 14 seconds.  Back on the freeway the pair reverts to fully automatic and genteel behaviour. Although wind noise interferes with hearing the nine-speaker, 203-Watt Bose sound system at speeds above 100 km/h, buffeting is minimal. Built-in wind deflectors behind the seats restrict turbulence.

As enjoyable as MX-5 is, there are a few awkwardnesses. With the top up, one hears some wind noise at cruising speeds and the 45-profile Bridgestone Potenza tyres tend to rumble on rough asphalt or concrete. Speaking of which: In order to offer a little more luggage space, the designers opted to skip a spare wheel and slip in a pump-and-sealant kit.  The boot accepts a few pieces of soft luggage but probably no golf clubs.

Other impracticalities include cup holders on the rear bulkhead where only the passenger can twist around to reach them, no glove box at all and no door bins.  Two little boxes, one above the cup holders and another behind the driver’s chair, alleviate the storage problem slightly.

The slot for the CD player is also on the bulkhead, so one has three choices – leave Co-pilot in charge of drive music, use USB or auxiliary storage, or turn the sound off. You’ll do that anyway if driving topless at anything beyond 100 km/h.

But practicality is not what MX-5 RF is about. It’s for breaking free and enjoying the open road; that driver-machine oneness called Jinba-Ittai; of enjoying life and each other’s company; of living private dreams. It’s for bonding.

Test unit: Mazda SA press fleet

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What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

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