Mazda MX-5 Miata 2016

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata is "playful." My first 24-hour stint behind the wheel of the all-new fourth-generation roadster revealed that Mazda is less concerned with all-out performance and more focused on delivering a unique and engaging driving experience. Extended follow-up testing has cemented that sentiment. 
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Horsepower Skyactiv 2.0-liter is down about 12 ponies from last year and, on paper, this is disappointing. But the Miata doesn't live on paper and the roadster has never been a great powerhouse. On the road and in practice, the new chassis' lighter curb weight and meatier midrange torque curve conspire to make the new Miata feel as responsive as ever. At times, it even feels more torquey than before. The engine is eager to please and swings the tachometer needle like a happy puppy. Sure, there were one or two uphill blasts where I wished for just a bit more power, but for the most part I was pleased with the performance.
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Grand Touring model equipped with an automatic transmission and paddle shifters. Even without the third pedal, the Mazda was a blast to drive. The automatic transmission is not a terrible gearbox for a casual mountain cruise or slog through traffic. It's smooth and its shifts are reasonably quick when set in the Sport mode. Gear changes happen at logical points with rev-matched downshifts and programming that prevents upshifting midcorner. However, I found that when the road got really twisty, I preferred to choose my own ratios with the paddle shifters. And all the time I was thinking, "This would be so much better with a proper manual transmission.

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