2006 (NC) Mazda MX-5 review
As good as the original? I drive one to find out.
The big news for 2006 in the Miata community was the anxiously awaited NC. The next generation of Mazda Miata to replace the aging NB platform.
It was rumored to have a 200 horsepower engine, incredible styling, and a curb weight of just 2100 pounds... Or at least these were the rumors that were being spouted off left and right.
The only certain facts about the car, was that it would have a power increase, and it would be rear wheel drive. Everything else was left open to interpretation and gossip.
Finally the car broke cover at the 2005 Geneva Auto show. And just like the NB premier before it, there was a large mix of divided opinions on the car's new style in both the Miata community and the general public.
Personally I rather like the car. It's design does away with most of the curvy and somewhat feminine lines that the NB posessed, and adopts a more masculine stance that recalls the styling cues from the original NA Miata.
It looks more grown up, more sophisticated, but distinctly Miata.
But how do you re-invent the wheel? How do you take something already so brilliant and fun to drive as a Miata and possibly improve upon it?
Mazda's answer was to rebuild the car from the ground up. Not a single part on the car is from any other Miata before it. Instead, they borrowed from something else.
The Chassis is taken from the RX-8 sports coupe, increasing it's wheelbase by 2.6 inches, followed by the width by 1.6 inches, and the length and height have been increased by 0.8 inches.
Despite the increase in size, the car's weight was reduced by 22 pounds and the chassis's torsional rigidity was increased by 47 percent and bending stiffness is up by 22 percent.
The suspension also carries over from the RX-8 using a Double A-arm setup in the front and a five-link setup in the rear, making this the first Miata not to use true double wishbones at all four corners.
The engine is the 2.0 DOHC borrowed from the Ford Duratec line of engines and re-tuned to meet the roadster's requirements.
It produces a healthy 170bhp at 6700 RPM and some 140lb/ft torque at 5000 RPM.
The 5 speed transmission carries over from the previous generation, while the 6 speed transmission is a brand new unit built in-house by Mazda instead of Aisin who supplied the NB's with their 6 speed transmissions.
I could go on for 2 or 3 web pages listing every little item they changed on the car, but those are not the reasons you're reading this, and it's not the main question on your mind now is it?
You want to know how it drives.
I wanted to know as well, so I grabbed my father who was an avid sports car driver back in the day, and headed down to my local Mazda dealer for a proper test drive.
We picked a brand new, fully loaded Grand Touring package MX-5 in Galaxy Grey with a black finished interior (same as the press photos on this page).
The first thing that struck me was the interior of the car.
You sit very low in the NC compared to either an NA or NB. So low in fact, it would look like you were performing a stretching exercise if you tried to rest your arm on the door while driving.
The interior layout and design has a more mature theme about it. It feels more like a BMW Z4 than a Miata. And this isn't a bad thing at all.
The pedals are nicely spaced for proper heel-toe downshifting action, and the steering wheel feels "oh so nice" in your hands... Even though the wheel spokes do feel a bit over-sized.
Push the clutch in and turn the key over and the engine comes to life in a rather un-inspiring and disappointing muted tone... Nothing a good aftermarket exhaust can't fix.
I slide the shifter into first gear and we are off. I drive easy the first few miles giving the engine and fluids time to reach proper operating temperature. Once we are away from the dealer's eyes and ears, I crack open the throttle and send us zoom-zooming down the feeder road towards one of my favorite 90 degree right hand turns.
The engine's low down grunt is at first a welcomed change of pace from the high strung characteristics of the outgoing 1.8 BP engine.
But where the BP lacked low end grunt and loved high RPM hooliganism, the new engine prefers to make it's power down low, and really doesn't care to see itself being revved beyond 4500 RPM. Once the tach needle sweeps past the 5200 RPM mark, the engine feels spent and out of breath.
You can keep your foot down on the gas until you bump the fuel cut-off mark if you wish, but at this point, the noise that the engine is making isn't exactly filling my ears with the pleasing sounds that would persuade me to do so.
The engine doesn't sound like something bad is about to happen mind you, but it is devoid of any real passion.
It lacks that certain sound and feel that gave the original Miata engines so much character, and made them so much fun to take to redline.
On the plus side, the shifter is a wonderful piece of work. It's still not up to the Honda S2000's level, but it does feel crisper, shorter, and more fun to shift then any previous Miata's transmission.
The engine is a bit of a letdown yes, but the good news is I'm still approaching that right-hand bend that I love so much, so perhaps the suspension will win me over and throw any reservations I have about the power plant to the wind...
The new suspension system is a comfort lover's dream come true. It absorbs bumps and road irregularities with the greatest of ease, and even shrugs off highway expansion joints as if they were nothing.
But with this new found comfort, comes a very hefty, and dark price.
To put it simply, The car is too softly sprung for any driving above 7/10ths.
The steering feels heavier then any previous Miata systems, but it's an artificial heaviness, plagued without any of the useful feed back from the tires or the suspension.
It will however, transmit when you hit a large mid-corner bump back through the wheel, but no real information makes it through.
It doesn't feel direct, and doesn't put fourth any effort to involve the driver in the driving process.
The suspension itself is very softly sprung, and at anything above 7/10ths, the suspension becomes "wallowy" at best.
Like a marshmellow, and coupled with the horrid steering, the car just fails to inspire any confidence at the limit.
We decided to take the MX-5 on the closest twisty road for miles around that features both high and low speed sweepers, s-curves, and even a hairpin turn.
The big problem with the MX-5's handling, is that the tail never feels planted at speed, it's like it's just waiting for a chance to slip on you.
Combined with the lack of feedback from the suspension, when the tail does start to slide, it happens without any warning, and you find yourself piling on opposite lock using instinct and self preservation as a timing device rather than any useful data that the car is sending back to you.
By now you're telling yourself "well that's it, he hates it".
But that would be jumping to a conclusion dear reader.
The MX-5 impressed me as a civil and refined daily driver convertible. The technological improvements made for the crash safety and increased interior comforts are welcomed, and the Z-folding softtop that doesn't require a boot simply can't be missed!
As a Car, it was indeed, impressive.
As a Miata however, it was an utterly, and heart breaking disappointment.
Gone are the handling traits that made the Miata so much fun to drive, gone is the personality and the spirit that made me fall in love with my Miata on that first test drive.
So you see, I like the NC, but not for the reasons I love sports cars, or the reason I would buy a Miata.
Mazda made it a point when the NC was being introduced to the public for the first time to say that they would be dropping "Miata" from the car's name and it would live on as a "MX-5" from that point forward.
Many people have rejected this idea, I for one am in favor of it. Because the little Miata I love so much lives on in the earlier cars.
The NA and NB are truer to what a Miata is and has come to be. From there high rpm indulgent power plants to their involving and rewarding suspension setups.
Bob Hall, the father of the Miata said at the introduction of the NB, and I quote:
"The NB is a better car, but the NA is a better Miata"
Now the NC is a better car, but the NA and NB are the better Miatas.