Short on practical features even by roadster standards
Smaller boot and cabin than previous generation
Lack of storage space could prove frustrating
How much space is there?
With only two seats, no traditional glovebox or door pockets, and a boot that’s 20 litres smaller than the previous generation, practicality isn’t one of the Mazda MX-5’s primary selling points.
The cabin is also more compact than ever before and you feel it – if it wasn’t for the high transmission tunnel dividing you, you might even feel rather too close to your passenger. Certainly a careless grasp for the handbrake will see you rubbing knuckles against their knee.
Boot space and storage
Although that boot is smaller than before, it’s been re-shaped to make it more useful. Whether you can really slot in a pair of cases as Mazda engineers suggest entirely depends on what you expect to be able to carry in them.
The MX-5 isn’t a car you’ll be wanting to use for a car boot sale in, unless you only have paperclips to sell. At 130 litres the boot has a tiny capacity, but it’s actually surprisingly usable because of its shape and access.
You can shove quite a lot in if you’re clever with how you pack. But you will need to think about it, rather than simply chuck stuff in as you might with a bigger vehicle. It’s all part of the charm of living with an MX-5.
Literally, the only storage cubby inside the car is a locker located on the bulkhead between the seats – not the easiest of places to access while on the move, but surprisingly spacious. Other than a small cubby for keys and coins on the transmission tunnel behind the handbrake, you get a couple of cupholders mounted just ahead of the storage locker. The passenger one can be moved further forward towards the footwell, right beside the gearlever.
The roof, however, is a work of genius, and despite having no electric operation, the lightweight fabric structure can be lowered and raised in seconds, all from the comfort of the driver’s seat, with genuine ease. It also proves adept at keeping wind and road noise to a minimum when raised.
Is it easy to park?
The MX-5 is very small. Visibility out the front is good as you look down the length of the bonnet, but some might struggle when the roof is up as it not only feels dark and cramped, but visibility is restricted as well.
Thankfully, rear parking sensors are fitted to Sport models and above to assist, and a rear-view camera helpfully provides a view out on the top two models, making it’s easy to park and manoeuvre.
How big is it?
All Mazda MX-5 models
Length
3,915mm
Width (without mirrors)
1,735mm
Height
1,230mm
Safety
Four stars from Euro NCAP
Impressive rating for a lightweight convertible
Contemporary safety tech on board
When crash-tested by Euro NCAP in 2015, the Mazda MX-5 was rated as the roadster with the highest safety score observed by the expert body.
Despite being a lightweight sports car, Mazda is keen to reinforce its Proactive Safety philosophy with this car, with an aim to ensure both occupants and pedestrians involved in an accident with an MX-5 are protected as comprehensively as possible.
Front and side airbags are standard, and they are specially designed to protect the occupant’s heads even when the fabric roof is lowered, while the passenger seat comes with Isofix mountings for a child seat.
Pedestrians are just as well looked after thanks to sensors that raise the bonnet in a collision to provide more space between the sheet metal and engine’s harder points, lessening the chance of a serious injury.
There’s also quite a lot of active safety technology available, with Mazda also added front and – still somewhat unusually – rear autonomous emergency braking to the roster in late 2018.
A blindspot monitoring system ensures you don’t move from your lane into the side of an adjacent vehicle, while rear cross-traffic alert uses sensors to warn you when other vehicles are approaching from behind when reversing out of a blind parking space, for example. This is standard on the top two higher-spec models.
The lane-departure warning system fitted on Sport model and upwards keeps you on the straight and narrow on the motorway.
LED headlights are standard while Sport models come with an adaptive front-lighting system that changes the direction of the low beams to suit the curves and contours of the road, while higher-spec models come with a full adaptive system that automatically switches between high and low beam output depending on the positioning of traffic and other conditions.
Be warned, though, check that these systems are fitted on the spec that you choose.
WATCH: Mazda MX-5 Euro NCAP crash test video
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Mazda MX-5.
ABS
Alarm
Body coloured bumpers
CD
Driver`s airbag
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Heated mirrors
Isofix child seat anchor points
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Remote locking
Side airbags
Sports seats
Traction control
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
100th Anniversary Edition equipment
100th Anniversary Edition standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
100th Anniversary Edition optional equipment
Central locking
30th Anniversary equipment
30th Anniversary standard equipment
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
Sat Nav
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
30th Anniversary optional equipment
Alloy wheels
Leather seat trim
Arctic equipment
Arctic standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Arctic optional equipment
Cloth seat trim
GT Sport Nav+ equipment
GT Sport Nav+ standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
GT Sport Nav+ optional equipment
None available
GT Sport Tech equipment
GT Sport Tech standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
GT Sport Tech optional equipment
None available
Icon equipment
Icon standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Icon optional equipment
Cloth seat trim
R-Sport equipment
R-Sport standard equipment
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
R-Sport optional equipment
Alloy wheels
Height adjustable drivers seat
SE equipment
SE standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Cloth seat trim
Height adjustable drivers seat
SE optional equipment
None available
SE+ equipment
SE+ standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Cloth seat trim
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
SE+ optional equipment
None available
SE-L equipment
SE-L standard equipment
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
SE-L optional equipment
Alloy wheels
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
SE-L Nav equipment
SE-L Nav standard equipment
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Sat Nav
SE-L Nav optional equipment
Alloy wheels
SE-L Nav+ equipment
SE-L Nav+ standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Heated seats
Sat Nav
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
SE-L Nav+ optional equipment
None available
Sport equipment
Sport standard equipment
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sport optional equipment
Alloy wheels
Height adjustable drivers seat
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Sport Nav equipment
Sport Nav standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Sport Nav optional equipment
None available
Sport Nav+ equipment
Sport Nav+ standard equipment
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Sport Nav+ optional equipment
Alloy wheels
Sport Recaro equipment
Sport Recaro standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
Sat Nav
Sport Recaro optional equipment
Leather seat trim
Sport Tech equipment
Sport Tech standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Sport Tech optional equipment
None available
Z-Sport equipment
Z-Sport standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Central locking
Climate control
Cruise control
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
Z-Sport optional equipment
None available
Euro NCAP Rating – 4 stars
The Mazda MX-5 was tested by Euro NCAP in 2015 and was awarded a 4 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.