As you drive off, you immediately feel more secure than in the previous Mazda MX-5 because this is clearly a stronger and more substantial car. But existing owners will appreciate the similarities, too, such as the eagerness of the engine and steering and the precision of the gearbox.
As ever, the Mazda demands intimate interaction right from the off. Curiously, it sounds very much like the old car, too, with the same tuneless mechanical-sounding engine note – but at least the exhaust burble from the two chunky tailpipes is engagingly sporty.
The 2.0-litre is a 16-valve unit with 158bhp and it requires considerable stoking if you want to make rapid progress, even after the stronger bottom end that was included as part of the 2009 changes.
That’s no bad thing, but at times it feels flat lower down the rev range, and on hills and motorways it could use a little more torque.
At the top end, the engine feels nicely fluid, even on a test car with barely 3000 miles on the odometer. It’s here that you learn to work the motor hard, holding on to the lower gears and downshifting with purpose to stay in the power band, which is roughly the top 2000rpm.
