 2009 Mazda MX-5 GT PRHT. Click image to enlarge |
|
Related articles on CanadianDriver
Manufacturer’s web site
|
Join CanadianDriver’s Facebook group
Follow CanadianDriver on TwitterReview and photos by Peter Bleakney
Find this vehicle in CanadianDriver’s Classified Ads
Photo Gallery:
2009 Mazda MX-5
Toronto, Ontario – Mazda would like us to believe its diminutive iconic two-seat roadster is called the MX-5. It’s not. It’s the Miata. Always has been; always will be.
Allow me to illustrate:
“Pete, what car are you testing this week?”
“A Mazda MX-5.”
Awkward silence. Blank stare. Chirping crickets.
“You know, a Miata.”
“Oh yeah! Cute car. Don’t they come with a big bottle of perfume?”
Legendary chick-car status notwithstanding, friend Gary Craig and I, being reasonably secure in our manhood, took a look-at-me Competition Yellow 2009 Miata… er, MX-5 GT deep into Niagara wine country in search of some new vintages.
This third generation car (launched in 2006 with the MX-5 handle) sees a number of tweaks for 2009. Externally, it gets more muscular side-sills, reshaped rear bumper and a revised visage with sharper headlights and a (thankfully) subtler version of Mazda’s leering grill.
 2009 Mazda MX-5 GT PRHT. Click image to enlarge |
The interior is spruced up with recontoured sport seats, trim upgrades, sharper gauge graphics, a new centre console with additional storage, a padded armrest and door panels reshaped for increased leg room.
MX-5 pricing starts at $28,995 for the five-speed manual soft-top GX. Our fully loaded six-speed manual GT specimen checked in at a healthy $39,995. That price included the power retractable hardtop, which is a $2,295 option on the $33,495 six-speed GS model.
The GT gets such niceties as keyless entry, Bluetooth, heated leather seats, seven-speaker audio, Sirius satellite, 17-inch alloys, fog lights, strut tower brace, Xenon headlights and A/C with auto climate control.
| next >> View full article on one page
|
at 9:11 am
In Japan they are called ‘Roadster’ by the way. The name Miata sounds terrible to the Japanese ear, and was a silly name as far as I am concerned. I had an ‘89 and I drove it for 5 years. It was the most fun that I have ever had in a car. Such a joy on the winding roads.
I took it on a road trip to Shizuoka once and ended up
with a back ache! The seats were terrible. I would love
to drive one again….
at 10:18 am
God might forgive you for the slushbox, but I can’t forgive Mazda for the paddle shifters being wrong, wrong, WRONG.
Above the spoke downshifts, below upshifts? Symmetrically left and right? Rotating with the wheel?
Heresy!
Left downshifts. Right upshifts. Fixed to the column, and pull-only. The way God (in the form of a Ferrari) intended.
at 1:04 pm
Hey, when asking “So who’s left?”, let’s not forget the VW Eos (wifey has one; it’s also a blast)
at 2:15 pm
The Eos has four seats and is a wrong wheel drive touring convertible, not a sports roaster. Nice car (although way more of a girl car than a Miata ever was)but it’s no where near the same league as the MX-5
at 2:16 pm
@Dave: true about the Eos, but I believe Peter was concentrating on two-seat roadsters, but the Eos could be mentioned along with the New Beetle convert, so I’ll add it there. Thanks for your comments, as always…
at 3:53 pm
HOLEY! $39k for a miata… err… mx5? That’s nutty! I bought a 94 back in 95 for $16K and I still have it, and I think I’ll keep it for… ever.
at 5:24 pm
The MX-5 PRHT or Roadster does not have a METAL Folding roof, it is made from composite PLASTICS.
BTW. it is a FACT that more MEN purchase the MX-5 then Women…so you are wrong yet again.
Miata as a name was ONLY used in North America, so AGAIN you are wrong, MX-5 is known in more countries than Miata..
at 6:10 pm
The official car, of the Gay Pride Parade!
at 8:28 pm
Carter, the official queen of the Gay Pride Parade!
If you drive one, you won’t feel that way believe me. It’s a shame that auto journalists still, after 20 yrs, cannot resist mentioning the ‘chick car’ status this car has acquired. No wonder auto journalism is an oxymoron. I mean seriously guys. Can’t you write anything original? Since when was a rear wheel drive car with razor sharp handling, an amazing shifter and a near 50/50 weight distribution considered a chick car? By that logic I guess that means a front wheel drive Buick is a mans car right?
at 10:11 pm
Gotta agree with Sean – lay off the chick car, Gay car nonsense! I expect it from trailer park knuckleheads like Carter, but not from a “legitimate” journalist, come on! One of the reasons Mazda changed the name was to try to get rid of the negative stigma but thanks to the media, old stereotypes continue.
There is a higher ratio of male to female miata drivers (2:1) than just about any other car on the road (including almost every sedan, SUV,minivan, etc.) excepting trucks for the knuckle-dragging crowd.
Carter, get into your truck, go home to the trailer park, and shut up!
at 11:12 pm
The MX-5 is still one of the best true roadsters out there. Why do you think it’s been around so long. My dad, in his late 50’s, loves old MG’s, Triumphs, and Jags. The chance to pick up a ‘94 Miata 2 years ago for a song was a chance he jumped on instantly. 40K km, British Racing Green, saddle tan interior, 5 spd, and the factory Pioneer 9 spkr sound system and both the tan vinyl top and BRG hardtop included. Sweet ride!
at 10:00 am
39k eh… ouch. That is a lot of money for this car, and puts it in some difficult company.. I know the Evo and STI are completely different cars, but they play in the price range, and by many benchmarks would smoke the Miata. That’s why the only one I’d ever buy would be used. I love those cars, and have wanted one for a very long time, but have been constantly turned off by the MSRP. Brilliant cars though, and who really cares about a ‘chick’ car when you can slap some small wide wheels, a turbo kit and stiffer suspension, and have a complete blast?? Have at ‘er..
at 11:11 am
actually.. just priced one out.. and after taxes we’re looking at nearly $42,000. I’m not sure how anyone affords a new car on an average salary, with any sort of housing or family obligations.
at 12:04 am
the Miata was a chick car for me back in the early 90s, as in “chick-magnate”. babes would regularly ask me to take them for a ride. i married one of em and then later, sigh, had to trade it (the car) in for a mini-van when the kids came. geez i miss those miata days
at 10:22 am
I imported an ‘06 GT from the States last year, and installed a MagnaFlow exhaust and a cold air intake that, combined, add about 10% more horsepower. I installed performance springs that lowered the car about 2″, and put in a set of drilled aluminum pedals and a chrome fuel filler door…
The car is Copper Mica Red with a tan leather interior, and it gets mucho attention. Women absolutely love it, through I get far more comments about the car from guys who wish they could look as stylish as I do. Everytime I get a “chick car” comment I ask the commenter what they drive. Then comes sheepish silence, before they admit that they drive a Sunfire or a Corolla or a minivan…
Souir grapes, lads! It’s a great car, with all the real-world power you need!
at 9:33 pm
“The official car, of the Gay Pride Parade!”
ROTFLMAO!!!!!
IT’S SIMPLY FAAAAABUUUULOUUUUSSS!!!!
at 2:56 pm
dope
at 2:41 pm
Oh, it’s a chick car alright–zoom-zoom along the winding lake road, top down, summer day. The opposite sex of all ages, shapes and sizes throw admiring glances and waves. Want to talk to you about the car when you’re stopped somewhere.
Yeah, this almost-seventy chick loves her 04 red Miata.