Mazda’s evergreen MX-5 has gotten a mild refresh after six years on the market. Visually, the pint-sized open-top sports car remains unchanged since it was introduced back in 2015, but it has received an update under the skin to ensure that the driving experience is sharper than ever.
New for 2022 is Kinematic Posture Control (KPC), essentially a modified version of Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control Plus technology (Mazda held out on adding the system on the MX-5), although it functions a little differently. Instead of braking the outside front wheel coming out of a corner, KPC lightly brakes the inside rear wheel heading into a bend.
This pushes the suspension down on that corner, reducing body roll and increasing cornering stability – crucially, without resorting to the fitment of stiffer springs and dampers that compromise ride comfort. Mazda says that the system increases the weight of the car by less than a gram.
Beyond this, the only other change is the availability of Platinum Quartz Metallic paint, first introduced on the Mazda 2 in Japan earlier this year. In its home market, where the car is known simply as the Roadster, the MX-5 is also being offered in three new variants.
The first, the 990S (named after its kerb weight of only 990 kg), is based on the base S model but adds 16-inch RAYS ZE40 RS forged aluminium wheels that shave 3.2 kg. Despite this, the car is no lighter than stock because it also gets larger-diameter Brembo brakes with black four-piston front callipers. The springs, dampers, steering and ECU have also been tuned specifically for this application. Other visual touches include a navy soft top and blue air-conditioning vent bezels, plus optional floor mats with blue stitching.
The blue theme is continued with the Navy Top variant, which as the name suggests gets the same blue roof (insulated this time), along with body-coloured door mirrors, silver 16-inch alloys and black leather upholstery. For even more plushness there’s the Terracotta Selection, based on the RF folding targa top model and coming with Terracotta Nappa leather upholstery.
No changes to the rest of the car, so the MX-5 is still powered by 132 PS/152 Nm 1.5 litre and 184 PS/205 Nm 2.0 litre naturally-aspirated Skyactiv-G four-cylinder engines. Drive is sent to the rear wheels via either a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic.
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