āStrange handlingā of ND1 and ND2 ? Eh?
If they have made EPAS feel as he claims itās a world first .
I know. And thereās a few youtube vids where they do a back-to-back with an ND2 and struggle to see any differences.
Getting the transmission back to 2019-2021, where there almost no failures (indeed, any?) might be a welcomed improvement!
I cannot see any real improvement for the 1.5 from ND1 to ND2 ad ND3. The differences seem to be more intrusive āsafetyā features. 1 or 2 extra bhp at the very top end for the 1.5 ND3 seems pretty irrelevant for most owners
Iāve never driven the ND3 so I canāt argue about that, but his writing is so hyperbolic it could be satire. Borderline unreadable. LJK Setright he isnāt.
The ND1 was peak MX-5.
Goodness me. Another quality Motor1 piece of work I seeā¦ 
Not to mention lugging around an 11Kg. capacitor and its appurtenances including, apparently, a fault-prone DC-DC converter and a special āgeneratorā. Progress of the wrong kind, just to game the emissions legislation. Has anybody attributed better fuel economy to having it?
Ned Ludd.
"The rear axle joining the steering conversation with more global suggestions "
Worthy of Sniff Petrolās great Roy Lanchester , after a well fuelled free lunch.
No way, mine hasnāt got direct TMPS sensors; i-stop; i-eloop; intelligent speed assist; lane departure warning; lane keep assist. Man, I crave those every time I drive it!
Maybe AI on overdrive
Actually you could be right.
I had my 1.5 ND2 chipped yesterday by BBR. Apparently they canāt do the ND3. So if you want your car modded engine wise by BBR you need an ND2 (that goes for the turbo and supercharger too).
Main difference is electronics. NCAP results from ND2 were expiring soon and Mazda had to get it reverified. ADAS is specified to get a decent rating now so Mazda has to add active safety features to the car. They took this chance to upgrade ECU (hence why BBR cant tune them anymore) which also enables the infotainment upgrade.
1.5 version gets a new 1.5 way diff and both versions now have improved steering and throttle response. Whether it can be felt by an average driver or not Iām not sure.
Surely itās a matter of time before BBR can do this for the ND3? Unless BBR are saying they will never be able to map an ND3?
Like all new ECUs it just takes time for them to ābreakā into them
Chris
Yes perhaps that is what they mean. More they are not going to rather than canāt.
Looking at their website it sounds like the market is too small so they donāt want to spend the development time on the new platform. Other tuners are working on it though.
What, and thatās a bad thing 
ND3 owner here, no regrets paying a premium over a ND2, especially with it being a Humora.
The updates are minor but the infotainment is a big step up and the track setting for the traction control is nice to have. The frameless rear mirror and additional padding to the centre console help lift the cabin. Everything combined with the brembo brakes and recaroās makes for a great package.
A US company have already cracked the ECU so Iām sure it wonāt be long before remaps are readily available.
Flyinā Miata in the US have recently bought a new ND3 GT and are starting development on it
Brand NEW ND3! Car Tour & walk around - 4K -s Mike Usrey -FM Live 2-20-25
From the comments: VF Tuner recently cracked the ECU on the ND3. Hopefully that means tuning the new ECU should be possible in the near future.
So hopefully the ācrackā will reach other tuners in the UK