MAZDA’S LATEST MX-5 feels just fine with 1.5 litres, but there will always be people who crave the conventional pointers to a ‘better’ car. So there’s a 2.0-litre version, with 160bhp and 148lb ft. Says Mazda UK’s MX-5 brand analyst Vicky Crabtree: ‘We want to get younger buyers, and more males, into the MX-5 without alienating existing customers.'
Of course, the previous Mk3 model also came with a 2.0-litre option, but this time it’s a new engine in a lighter car. Wheel size rises from the 1.5’s commendably modest 16in to a still-sensible 17in, and there’s a limited-slip differential. My old Eunos 1.6 had one of those, and used to push its nose wide in a tight, slow corner under gentle power and tucked it back in, hard, with the slightest…
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Octane (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 1, 2015