Mazda MX-5 2.0 Litre Review | Roadster And Roadster GT – More Grunt For Mazda’s Pint-Sized Drop-Top
WHILE MAZDA'S HEADLINE ACT WITH THE NEW 2016 MX-5 MIGHT BE PRICE, VARIETY IS THE REAL STORY OF THE DAY. Joining the effervescent 1.5-litre model, with a starting price just $2500 more, is the more muscular 2.0-litre version.
It’s the first time Mazda has offered a choice of engines (discounting the limited-run turbo editions of the past), and it opens up a whole new appeal for buyers.
There’s the same nimble handling, and same wind-in-the-hair experience, but the bigger engine does things differently to the sparkling 1.5-litre.
Vehicle Style: Two-door roadster
Price: $34,490 - $41,550 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 118kW/200Nm, 2.0-litre petrol 4cyl | 6spd m anual or 6spd automatic
Fuel Economy claimed: 6.9 - 7.1 l/100km | tested: 7.2 l/100km
OVERVIEW
Externally, you’ll barely pick the difference between the 1.5-litre MX-5 and the new 2.0-litre version. A set of LED running lamps and 17-inch wheels are the outward signs, but, with the wheels sharing the same design, it’ll be trainspotters that pick the difference.
There are still two grades, a Roadster and Roadster GT, and, for the most part, feature specification mirrors the 1.5 except for the addition of MZD connect to the 2.0 Roadster, now optional on 1.5 Roadster.
So, with bigger muscles to flex, has the MX-5 been radically altered?