GTP Cool Wall: 2015+ Mazda MX-5 (ND)

[CSLACR]

If you ask me, a sports car is any car that has direct handling. I wouldn't immediately class most Zs as a sports car, I'd quicker place it as a GT car. I can only speak about the 300ZX and 370Z here, but the steering isn't sharp like you'd want from a sports car, like you'd get from 86/BRZ or Miata; it's a comfortable weight, but you can feel it in the corners, and it feels good; it just feels better to not do that. A sports car wants you to drive it, the Z wants to drive you, and they're both fine, they're just different cars for different purposes.

And for Christ's sake, sales numbers mean nothing.

Fair enough, couldn't agree more about sales.
But,
My Cavalier has more direct steering than most cars I've driven.(including sports cars) It sure as hell isn't a sports car.

True, but they're fascinating discussion.



They're relevant years because they're first year runs for both the NC and the BRZFRS96, which were released within just a few years of each other... and thus released into the same sort of market (though both being on opposite sides of the 2008 crash skews that a bit). Still, given the huge, pent-up demand, and the fact that the 86 was supposed to offer everything that customers felt the MX-5 lacked (extra space, extra power, a permanent roof), more was expected.

To put into perspective how bad that was, the Solstice/Sky twins sold nearly 20k in their first full year of production.

But then the duo got axed pretty quickly... so you really can't make any inferences from single year sales.

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In the end, it's probably more of a reflection of how soft the market is nowadays. We'll see how good or bad the ND MX-5 does in its first full year on the market (this year)... sales of the ND last year, even considering sales started only mid-year, were rather tepid. Then again, there is supposedly a supply issue, and customers here have a long wait-list for LHD units.

It's actually pretty amazing that these things get greenlit at all in this sales environment... considering the cost of investment versus sales... even more amazing when you consider Toyota is actually considering the S-FR, which has even less power and weight than the MX-5... That one is on my "Drive" list the moment it comes out.



You're not going to learn much from a passenger ride. The thrill of an MX-5 isn't in the high G-Forces it generates (it doesn't). It's in how well it engages your senses while you drive.

That said, again, the ND's helm is very light and not quite as satisfying as the one in the NC, which wasn't all that satisfying compared to the one in the NA/NB. But it's quite a gas, simply because it has a good amount of power in something that's not much heavier (and quite a bit cheaper) than an Elise*

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*which, yes, is fantastic to drive (and the unassisted steering is much better than the Miata), but costs a hellishly large amount for something with the interior quality of a Chinese car.

It's also stupidly difficult to climb into and out of one with the hard top on.

Like you said, 2006 and 2015 are not the same year, and economic changes can change everything. I think we can agree sales are irrelevant as well.
As for the BRZ line, it seems I need to reestablish my distaste for them. I would rather have a Miata.
It seems someone, somewhere, might have gotten the impression somehow, that this is Miata vs BRZ. It's not. I wouldn't dream of rating a BRZ as cool, which I'll remind everyone I gave the Miata.

 

[TexRex]

Due to its appearance, being a Miata just barely saves it from SU-dom.