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Mazda's engineers worked overtime to keep the new MX5 Miata from gaining performance-dulling weight. Liberal and expanded use of lightweight and high tensile metals, along with fresh thinking in such basics as mounting accessories to the engine and even how much a rearview mirror weighs, held the 2006's weight gain to a mere 22 pounds over the 2005 model. Oh, yeah, dropping the spare tire no doubt helped. But the Miata's designated dieticians still faced added calories from the larger engine, the head-and-thorax side-impact airbags, more robust side-impact hardware, larger wheels, and those stylish seatback hoops.
Just as significant from the driver's seat is how the car's mass is distributed. More obvious is that the lower the mass is in the car's chassis, the lower the car's center of gravity and the more stable its ride and handling. But especially important for a sports car, the closer weight is clustered around what engineers call the vertical yaw axis the better. Imagine a broomstick with two five-pound weights attached. It weighs about 10 pounds regardless of where the weights are positioned. Put the weights at the ends of the broomstick, and try to spin it like a baton. It's not so easy to get started, and once started it's difficult to stop. But move the weights next to each other at the center of the broomstick, and starting it spinning and stopping it requires much less effort. This is a simplification because concentrating too much of the mass around the yaw axis can make a car unstable, but you get the point. And so did the MX5's engineers. The engine in the 2006 has been moved rearward more than five inches from its relative location in the 2005. The gas tank has been moved forward and lowered in the chassis. Relocating the battery from the trunk to under the hood positioned it closer to the yaw axis.
What all this has accomplished in pursuit of the ideal 50/50 front/rear weight balance is, well, if not perfection, then close, depending on how the MX5 is loaded. With two people buckled in, Mazda pegs the new Miata's weight distribution at 50/50. With their luggage, it tends to a rear bias; empty, with a full gas tank, it tends to a front bias.
So much for what gratifies the left brain. What's so cool about all this shifting around of mechanicals and components is, it works. The new MX5 Miata is a blast to drive. The added 28 horsepower and 15 pound-feet of torque give it a nice kick in the, well, back end. With the wider track and lower center of gravity, it corners flatter than should be possible. Balance is so close to perfect, with two people on board, of course, and with the sporty, asymmetrical-tread tires on the Sport and Grand Touring models, that it holds its line through corners like it was highway striping paint.
Quick, left-right-left transitions on a winding two-lane running along a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Big Island of Hawaii succumb to nearly perfect steering response: light but not twitchy, with good feel regardless of the speed. Crank in more steering to keep it off the rock wall on the outside of a tight switchback on that two-lane, and the rear tires step tentatively sideways. A touch of counter steer and a soft feathering of the gas and the tires stick again, and away you go. What a rush. This is with the stability control system deactivated. With it active, the new Miata's still fun, just not as much.
We didn't have the opportunity to drive any of the three models with the 16-inch wheels and standard tires and five-speed manual, but from experience with last year's Miata, we'd expect a similar experience, albeit at lower thresholds.
The new MX5 cruises well, too. Not that this is its forte, but when it must, it can crawl along with stop-and-go traffic, which we thoroughly tested on the Big Island, with no complaint. Ordering the sport suspension buys a firmer ride and increased feel of the road, but not to the point of discomfort. Brake feel is solid, thanks to improved brake system rigidity and strengthened brake hoses, making repetitive and smooth stops a breeze.
The clutch pedal is light and easy to depress. The six-speed manual is a new, in-house unit for 2006 and, sadly, doesn't shift with the same crispness as the 2005's; frankly, it's also overkill in traffic, as all that are really needed are three or four gears. The automatic transmission felt right at home in these circumstances. In Activematic mode, gears are selected either by tapping the shift lever forward or back or with steering-wheel mounted paddles. Shifts are smooth, but noticeable, in either mode. In Activematic, the automatic transmission works as it should, too, declining to shift up even with the engine zinging along at its electronically limited 7,000 rpm, or to shift down no matter how hard you stomp the gas pedal.
Playing with the gears in a sports car should entertain not only in how the car moves down the road and through curves, but also aurally, in what you hear as well as what you feel. The new Miata's exhaust was less than satisfying, sounding more buzzy than throaty, except under hard acceleration, when it finally generated sounds approaching entertaining. The exhaust note was something Mazda's engineers worked very hard at for the original Miata and we miss that classic sports car sound.
With the top up, there's a little flutter of the unlined fabric at extra-legal speeds, although admittedly, we didn't have much opportunity for this, given the almost police state-like presence of radar-equipped speed cops trolling the island's predominantly two-lane roads. Wind noise is well muted, although the rear window shivers just a bit. Cowl shake, which afflicts most convertibles, is virtually nonexistent, a benefit of bolting the tower struts' bar to the cowl instead of to each other across the engine bay. The re-jiggered top is an exemplar of simplicity and ease of use. Release a single latch at the center of the foremost bow and with one hand push the top back into its recess behind the seats. To reverse the process, reach back with one hand, grab the latch and pull, and the top rises out of its well and settles onto the top of the windshield. Tug down, engage the latch, and it's done. As for wind bluster with the top down, we'll take Mazda's word that the small quarter windows inboard of the outside rearview mirrors do in fact keep the interior calmer, but we could discern no difference with or without the mesh blocker panel in place between the seatback bars.
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