Nobody buys a Mazda MX-5 (“Miata”) because it’s reliable. Not anymore anyway. But when the Miata debuted just over 24 years ago, it was hailed as a reliable alternative to the British roadsters of the ’70s and ’80s.
The British formula was simple: lightweight, rear-wheel drive, and an open top. The Miata, however, added something the MG’s and Triumph’s could not: they stayed on the road. And that’s still the formula for today’s third-generation MX-5, even as it nears the end of its production cycle.
In this installment of Motor Trend‘s “Ignition,” host Carlos Lago casually explains the roadster’s lasting appeal amidst smokey, drifty, tire-squealey video: “It’s sooo delightful!” What he means to say is that the MX-5 is controllable, simple, and fun, and it executes that formula better than any car on the road.
Money quote from Lago: “The world would be a better place if everyone drove one of these cars… a happier place… I think if we put politicians in a Miata, the world would change…
“It’s impossible not to smile.”
Source: Motor Trend via YouTube
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