MAZDA MX-5

Roadster gets retuned steering, slippy diff, more lenient DSC mode, interior updates

- ILLYA VERPRAET

It's a war zone out there. Ford Fiesta ST, Hyundai i20 N, every Renaultsport model - all already KIA. Alpine A110, Toyota GR86 and combustion Porsche 718still soldiering on but soon to be taken out by various safety rules. Meanwhile, Mazda is cruising through the field of fallen affordable performance cars, whistling and with the top down. That's how it seems, at least, because it has just given the MX-5 roadster its biggest update since 2018, and there's no end-of-sale planned just yet.

The ND-generation MX-5 is now nine years old and feels as timeless as ever, yet Mazda has still seen fit to introduce a few tasty tweaks.

I can take or leave the visual updates to the front and rear lights and the bi-color wheels on the middle trim, but much more interesting are the chassis tweaks. Mazda has reduced the friction of the steering rack for "more fluid and natural response". Further, the 2.0-litre version gets a new limited-slip differential. Mazda calls it 'asymmetric' because it acts differently under deceleration from under acceleration. There's also a halfway-house Track mode for the dynamic stability control.