Mazda MX-5 review – design
Classic sports car proportions, modern Japanese design. Perfect.
We’ve had a few years to absorb the current MX-5’s design. Conventional wisdom would suggest a refresh was due a few years ago but the ND’s design has stood the test of time, such that the biggest revisions since its introduction have appeared as late as 2024 and are only minor. The nose is tidier, with the separate DRLs now dispensed with in favour of new DRLs integrated into the headlights in a claw-like motif. There are new LED rear lights too, though the layout of them is unchanged.
Curvaceous yet dramatic corner cutaways, slim LED lighting units and simple, yet bold graphics – these are all highly distinctive elements that make the MX-5 look and feel special on the road, regardless of its price point and relative commonality. It’s not entirely flawless – the car sits a little high, especially on the smaller wheels, and it can look a little awkward from some angles – but overall, the MX-5 is an artful expression of modern Japanese design in a very Mazda way.
The RF’s targa-like roof, with those massive buttresses and body-coloured windscreen surround and roof, doesn’t look quite as resolved. The basic proportion set makes the one-piece look of the RF’s body seem tall and narrow, but we imagine a set of horizontal louvres on that rear deck might be an interesting addition; we’ll leave that to you to imagine.
Still, the RF's hard top does make the MX-5 more refined and you do feel less exposed to onlookers with the roof folded away, despite it offering a broadly similar (albeit more blustery at speed) open-top experience. In typical Mazda fashion, there have been numerous special edition MX-5's since launch, but these do little to change the car's overall design; save for making it pop with new colours and accents.
