These magazine reviews are a waste of time. It doesn’t matter how much fun they say the MX5 is, it isn’t transforming into sales. Once the two expected low cost rwd rivals go on sale in the next 5 years, I reckon Mazda will be lucky to sell 10-15,000 MX5s a year, worldwide. I don’t think that is viable for a company like Mazda, if they are having to share space on the line with Mazda3s and Mazda6s. Mazda missed a trick by not building on a clear defined look for the MX5; almost as soon as Tom Matano left, there seemed this insane desire to make the MX5 look like a Mazda6. Briefly, the NC looked like it was asserting a distinct MX5 identity, all undone with the NC2 facelift, which pulled in other Mazda design motifs. Make a MX5 look like a Mazda would be all very well if Mazda was BMW or Mercedes, since those are aspirational brands, but Mazda isn’t. They should have made other Mazdas look like a MX5.
MINI has it sussed; common platform across the range (at Cowley), leading to commonality of tools, and lower manufacturing costs. Ford et al., who make relatively low volume CCs, farm it all out to specialist builders; they don’t build in house.
The RX9 is never going to happen, so the MX5 will be the only rwd vehicle Mazda builds that isn’t a truck.
Mazda abandoned the MZR last year, when they announced they weren’t going to be doing any more development on the engine, focusing on the Skyactiv instead. Ford will be continuing to develop their version, separate from Mazda. Crazy decision by Mazda, because the Skyactiv is not going to work by shoehorning it into a steel NCEC shell. Euro Six reggies will not hurt the MZR, as emission levels are not changing for petrol engines. By taking this decision, they can’t even copy the aftermarket, by fitting a 2.3/2.5 MZR as a stopgap (a FR 2.5 MZR would be a new development of the MZR), if the life of the NC has to be extended to 2016.
By all accounts, the new engine is struggling for power, hence talk of fitting turbos to get the power up to 150hp (versus 160 for the 2.0l MZR). If they fitted this engine into a facelifted NCEC, it will be horrible. All the reviews will focus how Mazda has gone back, and they will bang on about lag ruining the driving experience. The only way this engine should appear in a MX5 is in a clean sheet ND design, that employs more lightweight construction than present, in order to maintain the present performance level.
