So what did we think of this mighty little monster?
I'm an unabashed fan of the Miata. I owned a first-generation model and spent many happy days and nights with the top down, winding through the canyon roads around Los Angeles and flying down the Pacific Coast Highway with the wind whipping all around me, working the car's little motor for all it was worth.
The new MX-5 is my favorite Miata since the original roadster, a return to the svelte, lightweight design that made the first-gen car such a blast. Of course, not everybody wants a full-time soft-top, despite the general excellence of that version of the MX-5. For those buyers, the more versatile and burly RF fastback is a good option.
The retractable hardtop adds about 100 pounds of weight, but in actual driving, I didn't notice much difference from the regular Miata. If anything, the extra heft over the rear wheels (the MX-5 is a front-engine, RWD layout) made the back end feel more planted — Miata's have rears that can easily be made to wiggle — and when raised, the top cut down on wind and road noise.
Yes, you might ask yourself, "What's the point of that?"
But for some folks, a quieter Miata is a better Miata, and being able to push a button to drop the top, rather than having to do it yourself, will be appealing.
I'm so at-one with the way the Miata drives that I might not be the best person to ask what it's like behind the wheel because my answer is it is perfection, bliss, and joy all at the same time.
But the MX-5 is a brilliant driver's machine. It isn't blisteringly fast — the 0-60 mph time is about 6 seconds — but you shouldn't care because with the top down and the small motor surging toward its redline, you'll feel speed more than witness it. The thing is a feather in the wind, the most defiantly tossable car in the world, stylish and free-spirited, and unlike the British roadsters that inspired it, utterly reliable. Every time I slide back into the driver's seat, I think I should have one of these babies in my garage at all times.
Technically, the MX-5 RF is biased toward oversteer, and how much depends on how much you push it and how aggressive you get with the light but firm steering. Because the power isn't Titanic, it isn't necessary to have massive brakes to keep this all in check. A sub-7,000-rpm redline screams "Weak!" to proponents of beefier powerplants, but you can really wind the RF out and launch from shift to shift, creating a truly visceral driving experience.
With the folding Targa hardtop, you can have this pleasure on tap and still use the RF as an all-weather daily driver (you might want to stay out the snowstorms, obviously). The RF is the heaviest Miata, and probably the stiffest, but the main effect from behind the wheel is a sense that car is more planted, especially at the back end, which in turn invites bolder corner turn-ins and slightly less need to drop down a gear to find more torque or grip. Of all the Miatas available, all of which make a wonderful amateur racing platform, the RF is perhaps the most race-car-like.
In the end, the RF — which debuted on the 2016 auto show circuit — wasn't a Miata we were asking for. Mazda had done automated retractable tops before, but the Miataisti have always been devoted to the original soft-top concept, even as the actual soft top has gotten bulkier and more durable.
But the RF, even with its oddball elements, was still a freakin' Miata, every bit of it. We couldn't help but love it.