2009 Mazda MX5 GT Review

CNET reviews the 2009 Mazda MX5 GT and finds out how much fun it really is.

2009 Mazda MX5 GT Review The Mazda MX5, a classic in its own time. Not many cars can bear that mantel elegantly. Let's see why what's not in this car is such a key part of what it is and check the tech. I recall the first Miata I sat in. It was a first-year production car. A friend of mine got one and the first impression I had was, “Boy, this thing is small inside.” I didn't really fit. I kind of do now but it's still a very compact cabin especially floor to aft. This windshield header kind of comes back quite a bit. There's not a whole lot of room before you hit the rear bulk-head but it's functionally snug not painfully so. And I like how Mazda's kept the interior basically clean and classic. The history of cluster in particular is spot on. Look at that, you've got 5 classically type-faced analog gauges. That's what a car like this wants. That's the high end head unit and it's not that dramatic, is it? It's a Bose audio rig. You've got 6 disks in-dash right here partly because there's no room being taken up by a navigation system with an LCD screen so hence you get a little more diskage a little less nonage. And as you can see we have satellite radio, Sirius available, FM/AM, no HD radio and that's your entire universe. Now note this, the website at Mazda suggests that you will have both Bluetooth hands- free and A2DP stereo streaming, not the case, so don't be misled by that. It's just Bluetooth hands-free. And because we're Bose branded we've got a number of choices here in terms of our sound. Notice you have audio pilot technology. That's the built-in noise canceling which is kind of nice and kind of impressive to use in a convertible like this. Now our car properly enough has a 6-speed manual gearbox and that also is a GT thing. You can't get a 6 on the lesser trimmed Miatas. You get a 5 speed there, so think about that. The other option here is a 6-speed automatic also available on the GT and that would have paddles here on the wheel. Don't buy it. It's a Miata. You want the manual. Now Mazda's also done something very purest in the engine bay. They've resisted giving a Miata a hot engine option. This is the motor 2-liter dual overhead cam inline 4 doing a 167 horsepower on a rather unimpressive, 140 foot pounds of torque. It gets the car to about zero to 60 in about 7-1/2 seconds on a good day. Not blistering numbers but this car is a pure message. MPG is 21/28, very good. And by the way part of the reason the handling on this car is so good and almost intuitive is that the engine if you look, is almost entirely behind the front axle line. It's kind of a front mid engine car. You want to quickly forget what cabin tech the Miata doesn't offer, turn the key and pull away. This remains one of the handfuls of great driving experiences you can reasonably attain. That little motor doesn't look like much on paper but it pulls cleanly even though it's pretty low on torque. But some engines just like to run. They have that X factor. This is one of them. Just don't get caught in a woefully over-tall gear and you'll do fine. The feel of the clutch in the manual 6-speed gearbox are a delight. Almost every other car maker could learn what to do in that respect from this car. Our vehicle had the sport suspension option which firms things up all around, adds Bilstein shocks and a limited slip dif. It definitely adds sharpness but does give this short little car kind of a busy ride. The Miata's also available with a power retractable hard-top these days but I'd skip it. This car is all about simple. If there's something I really dislike about the car it's that goofy looking mouth up front. It looks okay in photos but in person these things like a casting reject from the movie Cars or a Chevron TV commercial. Let's price an MX5 Miata for 2009, this GT version starts about $27,000.00 with delivery. It does include the Bose audio system but you're going to want the Premium Package. For $1650.00 you get the keyless entry system, the Bluetooth hands-free though not streaming. You also get an alarm system, high intensity discharge headlights, some niceties like that. Again, no nav system available, no iPod adapter. This car is all about purity, $500.00 will get you a sport suspension that I think might be a pretty good choice depending on your leanings with this car. And the last one to consider is the automatic but please don't, but if you do its $1100.00.