Mazda MX-5, the roadster that always brings a smile to your face

There are cars for getting around in comfort, with a certain degree of luxury. And also sports cars with a high emotional charge, and then there is her: the Mazda MX-5 that makes history and a category apart: a car born for the pleasure of driving, to feel enveloped by the car, and one with it, following the Jinba Ittai philosophy that implies the intimate integration between horse and rider, between car and driver. Then you start the engine, a few metres and you smile, because driving an MX-5 seems to trigger endorphins at every metre and it has been like this for four generations, 35 years, 1,250,000 units sold. Mazda MX-5, a true icon, one of the last sports cars, two seats that couldn't be more dry, but affordable and, always, great fun to drive. The Miata, so called because of its name in some markets, from the first series, the one christened NA, has recently been updated in its fourth generation, the ND, unveiled in 2015/16 with a model year 2024 (ND3) that does not entail any major aesthetic changes (no sheet metal has been altered as well as the styling of the front end, which however receives full LED light clusters with a brand new light signature that also applies to the turn indicators). Gone are the DLR daytime running lights (a pity!) and the legal Adas such as automatic emergency braking and lane assist are introduced; mechanically there are improvements on steering, set-up and the self-locking differential with controlled slip.

The infotainment system has also finally been upgraded from 7 to 8.8 inches. The small Japanese roadster offers a technology upgrade that enhances the driving experience, thanks to solutions such as the new Asymmetric LSD limited slip differential and a DSC-Track driving mode optimised for track use. The LSD differential improves cornering stability by varying the slip-limiting force in response to the car's acceleration and deceleration. The roadster, which we remind you is offered with a canvas soft top or with a folding hard top (RF version), is thus updated with some small but important novelties for the 'miatisti' public.

But there is also a disappointment: Mazda, due to the costs of Euro6e compliance, has decided that the two-litre 184bhp petrol engine will no longer be offered in Europe (while stocks last) and there will only be the famous, and popular, 132bhp 1.5. The problem is that at the moment the Asymmetric LSD differential is only on the two-litre and it remains to be seen whether the 1.5-litre will be adapted.

The Japanese car's large fan community is in fact wondering, even on social media, whether there will be a fifth generation and how electrified it will be. With the Iconic Sp concept, Mazda gave a glimpse of a future electric model with an extended rotary range.

It certainly seems unlikely that a possible next series will be as small and light as the current one: space is needed for batteries, cost-cutting requires platform sharing with Toyota's allies, themselves partners of BMW, and furthermore Mazda has embarked with the latest CX-70 and CX-80 suvs on a path towards the premium area. And this could also perhaps lead to a change of name. What if the future sports car from Hiroshima was called MX-50, following the naming syntax of the latest models with an added zero? We will only find out by living as Lucio Battisti used to say. In the meantime, let us enjoy the MX-5, perhaps the last in a lineage, perhaps smiling curve after curve, humming 'Yes, travel', to stay on the same notes.