“Hello, I’d like a Miata with everything on it.”
“Ah, you’re here for the RF with the GT-S package.”
There’s been plenty of news surrounding the 2019 MX-5. First, more power. A total revamp to the 2.0-liter engine boosts output to 181 horsepower.
Then there’s the more fleshed-out model line. The new GT-S package adds the Club’s limited-slip diff, Bilstein …
Really, really happy to see Mazda continuing to invest in the MX-5. What a fantastic, compelling little car. And great photos, guys!
Is this a 2018 or 2019 model with that horsepower number? The headline says 2018.
If it's a GT-S, it's a 2019.
I'm seriously conflicted about this car. I like the ND, but not enough to buy one new. But I've really only been in a soft top car. And I don't like older Miatas because I've spent most of my time in soft top NBs. But then I bought a hardtop NA and it's freaking great. And the ND is supposed to be the most NA like car since the NA and the RF has a roof and I drive past 3-6 new RF cars every time I drop my son at high school. Crap.
It's such an obvious package, I wonder why it took them so long to bring it to the US. Basically, take the stuff that makes the Club special, and take the stuff that makes the GT special, and mash them together. And while this may not be the fastest variant due to the extra 93 lbs of the RF, it's worth noting that our 2019 GT-S RF was only 9 lbs heavier than our 2017 GT RF. Also, the GT only weighs 15 lbs more than the "sporty" Club. So you're not paying all that much in terms of performance for the luxe.
I still wish these came in real colors. An adequate red, plus blah washed out metallic blue, plus silver plus silver plus silver plus white plus gray. Blah. Gimme a mariner blue one. A yellow one. An orange one. A BRG one. Gimme SOMETHING that's non-metallic and not rock-toned.
They're metallic because that's what works well on the body shape. Mariner would wipe out all the surface detailing and make the car far less interesting, as would yellow. BRG just sucks on everything ;) This is a shape that rewards metallics, just like the NA was a shape that didn't work well with metallics.
Look to the Lotus Elise color range to see what would work, as they're similar cars from a surface detail standpoint. Non-metallic red looks bad, the Chili Red (metallic red with a gold highlight) is astounding. Magnetic Blue from that line might work. Lexus Ultrasonic Blue would be great.
That's awesome, that the GT only weighs 15lbs more than the club.
Aren't you guys supposed to have trees in front of the car when taking pics?
I'm seriously conflicted about this car. I like the ND, but not enough to buy one new. But I've really only been in a soft top car. And I don't like older Miatas because I've spent most of my time in soft top NBs. But then I bought a hardtop NA and it's freaking great. And the ND is supposed to be the most NA like car since the NA and the RF has a roof and I drive past 3-6 new RF cars every time I drop my son at high school. Crap.
I can pretty well relate to that. A hardtop NA with power is pretty much my ideal miata. Now Mazda sells the modern equivalent to that which seems awesome but is also new car money, for context roughly twice what you paid for a 911 that you fell in love with and will keep forever. I want to take it seriously too, but i've lived in buildings that cost less. New car math is hard, with value being a variable based on intangibles. In the end I don't like it enough to buy one new either, but my armchair estimate is that it will be a slam dunk when it gets down to 12k. 
In reply to Vigo :
The RF GT-S is within $1000 of what I paid for my house. 
But the other way to look at it is that you could probably drive something like this for $10 a day over driving an NA. Yes, that's $3650 a year, so not chump change when you add it all up, but $10 a day is barely more than a combo meal at a fast food restaurant, and for that you get a super sexy sports car. Is it $10 better than an NA every morning? Maybe?
If your standard of comparison is buildings that cost less than $30k, it's going to be hard to justify a lot of purchases! You have to look at the cost of the car relative to the rest of the marketplace, and the Miata does pretty well there.
I've got a hardtop NA with power as my own personal Miata. Not ridiculous power, but enough. Well, I have one with ridiculous power as well but that's not the point here. The point is that I've been grabbing the keys to FM's ND fleet as often as possible. There's a lot I could do to that NA for the price of a new ND, but then I'd still have to actually do it and it would be the bones of a 30 year old car. It's a really interesting comparison.
Hopefully these have dropped into the ~10-12k range by the time I'm ready to replace my 128i (quite a ways off, but you gotta have a plan).
If your standard of comparison is buildings that cost less than $30k, it's going to be hard to justify a lot of purchases!
There are a lot of things in this world that don't make sense if you're standing in Texas. Take that as you will!
There's a lot I could do to that NA for the price of a new ND, but then I'd still have to actually do it and it would be the bones of a 30 year old car. It's a really interesting comparison.
I don't think I'd rather have an equally fast NA at the end of the day, but it would certainly cost less! At least right now. What with the NA being so 'historically significant' to sports cars and nice ones becoming less common and going up in value, I have to wonder how long it could possibly take for a nice NA and a used ND to be worth about the same money on the used market. I think if one wanted to own a decent NA without spending used ND money, the clock is ticking! It might take 5-8 more years, but it's coming.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
There’s an ND that runs the Nola autocrosses regularly and it’s amazing how fast he/it are, especially in spite of all the body roll. I’m usually about 1.5-seconds behind him, but theoretically my STS Miata should be faster!
mazdeuce - Seth said:In reply to Vigo :
The RF GT-S is within $1000 of what I paid for my house.
But the other way to look at it is that you could probably drive something like this for $10 a day over driving an NA. Yes, that's $3650 a year, so not chump change when you add it all up, but $10 a day is barely more than a combo meal at a fast food restaurant, and for that you get a super sexy sports car. Is it $10 better than an NA every morning? Maybe?
Did you buy it in the 30s? :)
Oklahoma isn't known for being expensive, but even in my quite little "almost outside of city limits" 1800sq ft home sold at auction for $40k a few years ago after the insurance company totaled it for smoke damage.
Keith Tanner said:
Look to the Lotus Elise color range to see what would work, as they're similar cars from a surface detail standpoint. Non-metallic red looks bad, the Chili Red (metallic red with a gold highlight) is astounding. Magnetic Blue from that line might work. Lexus Ultrasonic Blue would be great.
But a BRG Elise (with a tan interior) is gorgeous. I used to see one during my commute a few times a month.
In reply to z31maniac :
Yes, mid 30's, but that was almost 20 years ago too. I probably bought well enough on my house that I can buy poorly on cars for a long time and I'm still doing ok.
Mrs. Deuce says we should go look at RF cars the next time she has a Friday off.
This is the least flattering picture I've ever seen of a Miata.
Lugnut said:I still wish these came in real colors. An adequate red, plus blah washed out metallic blue, plus silver plus silver plus silver plus white plus gray. Blah. Gimme a mariner blue one. A yellow one. An orange one. A BRG one. Gimme SOMETHING that's non-metallic and not rock-toned.
This has been my gripe since day one. The ND looks much better in bright colors, shame they refuse to offer it that way. Launch was a mediocre red and 6 shades of gray, has not gotten better since. I disagree with assertion that the body style looks bad in non-metal flake colors, because the ones I have seen that were wrapped looked great.
Color is an almost entirely subjective opinion. Mazda just decided not to offer them in what most would consider good sporty colors. I just hope they don't get into trouble making unfounded horsepower claims again.
mazdeuce - Seth said:In reply to z31maniac :
Yes, mid 30's, but that was almost 20 years ago too. I probably bought well enough on my house that I can buy poorly on cars for a long time and I'm still doing ok.
Mrs. Deuce says we should go look at RF cars the next time she has a Friday off.
I meant 1930s. :)
$36K is out of my price range, but I've been smitten by the RF since it was announced. Maybe when (if?) they drop to the low teens I'll be in a position to buy one.
I co-drove an ND at an autocross and it became my favorite Miata after the first run.
In reply to AnthonyGS :
It's pretty easy to sell a $5-10k special color on a $100k+ car, not so much on a $35k car.
I was just playing with the configurator and the Recaros aren't an option with this package. How big of a deal is that?
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