$40,000 Mazda MX-5 vs $5,000 MX-5 // 30th Anniversary Meets NA Miata

you're looking at the throttle house I'm Thomas and I'm James and today's question is whether you buy a new Miata or an old Miata, we're going to have fun answering it, so here's celebrating 30 years of the best. -Downstairs, this one enjoys the new, higher-revving 181-horsepower engine and has all the fancy options checked, like Brembo brakes and Recaro seats. The orange you see here is the special

30th

anniversary

racing orange that Mazda says represents the dawn and anticipation that just rings. like a poetic version of Morning Glory, since it's a special that we reward with some fancy tidbits that Thomas and I will cover in a minute, for now all you need to know is that it's the most expensive RT to me you can buy with the hood soft that we have.

We're testing today and we're up to forty-four thousand two hundred Canadian and the RF is forty-seven thousand two hundred, that's a lot of one dollar bills for a car that fits in your pocket and yet all 3,000 have already been sold and the The reason we celebrate 30 years of the Miata is thanks to this first generation fondly known by its chassis code, and if you don't want to spend $40,000 on a new Miata, you can try getting one of these. from a few grand to about 13,000, this one came out of the Mazda Canada garage and into our hands for a week and it's a very clean example, it's a 1990 model and it's very basic, no airbags and a hundred pounds- foot weight. torque, but that doesn't matter because it's a beautiful five-speed transmission and a lot of open air, in fact, it's actually no more or less practical than the new one.

Okay, the soft top can be a little harder to close with one. On the other hand, it actually has more trunk space. However, today we're going to explore these two to see how far one of our favorite cars has come. If you're new to the throttle world, we do car reviews, track testing, and lots of tinkering. so subscribe and ring the bells, the first and original n/a Miata, is it fast? No, it has 160 horsepower from a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. Is it a race car with buttons? No, not even a little bit, it leans all over the place, but is it fun what we have in the

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and the D Miata?

Let's go now. This one has 76 more horsepower than Thomas'. So if I shift into second gear and put my foot down now it doesn't do that, but it does move. or pound-feet of torque and it hits seven and a half thousand rpm and it's a good thing that you can also rev at that level because if you want to experience the extra power that's where you feel it, you don't really feel the difference further down the rev range. I'm sure many of you know that nowadays we have electronic throttle bodies, which means the little butterfly flap that allows air into the engine is controlled by a cable.

This one has a cable that connects my right foot to that accelerator. body, so when I lift off the throttle to downshift like that, it's immediate, there's exactly zero throttle lag, so the original idea for the Mazda MX-5 was a front-wheel drive British-style roadster engine and rear top down, except it was going to be built in Japan, so it would actually work now, a guy named Bob Hall was the one who came up with the idea; He was actually an automotive journalist at the time and started working for Mazda building a pickup truck, but then his boss Konnichi Yamamoto approached him. and he said: why don't you make your idea a reality?

But you can only work on it before work, during lunch, and after work, which it did for years until it became an official project. It was meant to be as light and simple as possible, you know? Whatever recipe worked then and works just as brilliantly today. Most importantly, it's not just the manual gearbox, high revving and naturally aspirated that makes this car incredible, but how fun it is to corner and balance, and that joy and balance are not only Due to the fact that it has a 50/50 weight distribution, it is because the car is very light.

The masters have applied a great strategy, that is, wherever they could save weight, they did so instead of using materials like steel, they used more. the more expensive ones like aluminum and magnesium, even the bolts on the dynamic shock absorbers have been recast so they can be a little lighter, meaning that although the new Miata

meets

modern safety standards, it weighs only about 200 pounds more than 30 years ago and that lightness gives you confidence if you want to be a little naughty you can do it in a reasonably safe way the car communicates with you and you know that you limit its telepathy I want the car to like driving on curves it's curiata it's perfectly balanced it turns a little when entering the corner everything leans and dips and sinks over the bumps you feel small with the car you feel like you're a small object on the road the whole world around you every input you make You give each The movement you make as a driver has a reaction in the car that makes it very fun at any speed.

This car has no traction control, no fancy assistants, no aids, just your four wheels and a manual transmission which, by the way, is as good as The last time I remember driving one of these absolute bolt-action rifles because the actual selector it goes directly to the transmission right here, the moment you hit the corners the whole car comes alive, you can play with the rear end, it's probably the rearmost. game I'll have this year feels like it wants to oversteer the way a real sports car should and I've got these six years and this amazing short shifter to play with, helped in part by the fact that you need to wring out every last little bit. engine revs to really get the power out of it, so you're going full speed all the time everywhere and you know that people pass by you in the opposite direction and they look at you and they know that this guy isn't going anywhere, he's just making a back, they might also think he's a hairdresser.

I mean, if you looked at me, you wouldn't think Thomas was probably waxing lyrical about the purity of an enemy otter, but I can tell you that I've now driven a lot of new cars this year and this one is right up there with an 86 and a 370, and It has a magic. You know, we were recently in an Audi a8 and we said that getting into that car reduces stress because of how luxurious it is. Is this because of how fun it is? It's a pure toy and the fact that this joy is accessible in a new car in 2019.

There is something to be very happy about. That's the beauty of owning, driving and living with a Miata. which genuinely just represents the concept of not caring what other people think it's a selfish activity driving a Miata just means you're happy you want to have fun you don't take things too seriously as an automotive journalist or someone who claims to be one I have to talk about myself car to pick up some of the coolest cars on the market and the fact that I can get back into my Miata after I've done it means I never get mad about getting out of those cars it's like hitting a reset button on fun okay , let's talk about style, best day ever, best, who's so good, okay, 30th anniversary, give me some things, what do we have?

Racing orange face, everything is racing, orange Brembo brakes. they are orange yes the missing ones break in the back in orange it looks amazing not the color I would personally choose yes but I still think it looks great we have the raised wheels which are designed to match the cup car and let's say 30th anniversary on them, they have a badge here for the 30th anniversary what number are we? we are number 816 one hundred and eighty-five thousand six hundred and eighty-five yes, I still think it's a little bit below what it needs to be there is a In a few months I would do it and I would have done it on my own.

This needs to go down an inch. The exhaust is not at all. You know, sports car. You just used your trump card. You even got yourself and got anything else right now. very good and this cabin and then it has the smiling face it has a very happy smiling face and this is I love this color this is sailor blue no, it is sailor blue yes, that's right, sailor marin blue I guess anyway it is very beautiful a roadster amazing proportion condition the condition of those cars is hilarious as it is, it might as well just roll off the production line, it doesn't have rollover protection like yours, it has it like instant, yes in an accident but that's okay because the Most people modify them and put a roll bar on them, the most important thing is to modify, if I were to modify one of these, this one in particular, I wouldn't do it because it's so clean, I'll keep it, but if I were, it would be The first thing you would do, move the rhythm of the ice. the wheels yes exactly because they are seen so far.

I don't think it's necessary to do this. People say yes, but I don't think it's that bad. I could be a little lower, but I definitely can't. Get over how cute birds like them, why didn't they? So this body style looks amazing as a high gloss, neo light metallic blue, I mean, yeah, I do that anyway. I should check the interiors because I want to compare where we are. We come and where we go, yes, I have an idea, okay, this is the simplest of the simple and for that reason it is perfect. I love it.

These HVAC controls are great. That's all. There are controls. It's a better radio, it's funny, it says anti-theft system on there, but where it should say is here, yeah, exactly anyway. I love how incredibly simple everything is here. You can also get the best aftermarket stuff for these awesome ones, like you can get all of these. The panels are shown as a company that does a very good job on the interior and wants to continue until the next day, it was like a complete steampunk. There's actually a company called rev limiter that makes really cool custom gauges like the Doge, like those revs, mod revs so fast.

Wow yes. Exactly, it's cool what you can do with these cars. You know, the driving position is funny, like the steering wheel is on my knees. I can't do anything about it, but it doesn't matter, you just enjoy being like that. Also look at my mirrors, this is how I adjust them and you raise the window James, okay, okay, but let's see what this looks like thirty years later, okay, those dolls are heavier there, but yeah, okay, oh , this is so nice, yeah, so this is the 30th anniversary. things so we have standard Alcantara here we have orange stitching orange on the air vents orange lining the seats orange stitching here on the stitching orange stitching on the steering wheel it's like orange you're glad you brought this Alcantara like it goes all the way down It really makes the people in our market have converted theirs to this.

You can buy a rillette for this material and put it on. Obviously, it's better when it comes to things with telescoping wheels. Oh look, it took them how many years. 28 years, too many. years for that to happen, yes, but the rest is fine, we have revised this interior, yes, things are still missing like we don't have adaptive cruise control here, yes, the infotainment. I don't like it, I don't like it, you can. I don't use it as a touch screen, it has car play, now it has carpet, you can't retroactively put it on the other seats, that's great, yeah, I mean, otherwise in terms of interior space, it's not much different, no , it is not, there are more of these.

It's the Recaros that are actually quite nice, yes, and we have the beginning of the year, the phone calls come this way, yes, that's good, but honestly, they have kept me, Artemis, from this, you mean that no practicality, no glove box, yes, yes, awful passenger space, sorry. I'm beat up but you're 6 feet or taller you can't fit in it yeah I put it away yeah yeah otherwise everything falls into your hand basically in the exact same place it feels like a roadster and that It's good, Forester, if they hadn't done it, sir. They haven't tampered with anything, no, it's just still very good and you've obviously seen me drive this car before on the throttle so I'm no stranger to this, but I never got out of there. first generation and the most recent and guess what, these cars are not that different, yes obviously I have a more modern interior, but in terms of my connection with the road, in the inputs that I give to the car and the weight of the car reaction to. this new one 30 years later and it doesn't feel much different than any Miata, oh what a joy, a little kale shakes more than the second one, but then give this some credit, it's just a little older, but immediately They're the bones of they feel so similar that I have the pop-up lights off right now so I can be prepared to greet someone in a Miata if I have to, which is the most important part of this car.

I can feel the similarities in the wheelbase in the way the chassis reacts to steering inputs, this is as pure a Miata as ever. I have had an NC generation that is the generation before this and has a bad reputation for being the fat cousin and although it is not As bad as everyone says, it feels heavier than this,but I've never driven the NA and the second time in a row, this just feels, it feels exactly like I expect a modern version of that car that James is in, the power no. I honestly feel like it's at a disadvantage compared to the NVE, it might have 76 horsepower of damage, but they're still naturally aspirated.

The delivery gives you exactly the same feeling when turning the stirring fillers, okay, I'm surprised it's hydraulic or electric like the and no. I actually feel a lot better, but that balance and the way the car moves is all Miata. If I'm going to be picky about the differences, yes, this has more power, it obviously has a higher redline; it's a little more fun to bring it out and the brakes are a lot more beefed up but honestly this is as good a Miata as ever and I'm very happy about that. one of these would I buy, I don't know, I said I would, I'm more well a guy who buys the old car and keeps it running so he'll probably buy the NA but I mean in terms of modern safety standards and some comfort amenities and real infotainment it's not a radio it obviously has to yes you want the new one, buy the new one, you want the old next to the old, in conclusion this is still one of the most fun cars on the road, it's small it's light, the roof goes down and whether you buy this or the newer one , is one of the most fun vehicles and communities you can be a part of on the road today because it captures the heart and soul of this so impressively and brings more. comfort and most of the modern gadgets you would want in a car nowadays, the second would be my choice and for the first time in acceleration I can say I voted with my wallet because that is the car I currently have.

I actually asked you on Instagram at the accelerator house, follow us there which one would you choose between these two and you said the second one, but I implore you to get along because it doesn't matter what you have. NB, you all own one of the best. and the purest affordable sports cars ever made