New Mazda MX-5 Miata 2016 concept (FIRST DRIVE VIDEO) - New York Recorder
It’s close to being a miracle that the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata exists. Surely Mazda’s accountants and its “brand strategists” will weigh in and, for this fourth-generation, dilute the MX-5 with demands for practicality. If the second- and third-generation cars were iterations on that original Miata twenty-five years ago, this new model is a whole different beast entirely. Somehow, Mazda has managed to make the new MX-5 smaller and yet also more capacious inside. So, the new Miata has 45mm shorter overhangs and is 5mm wider in both the front and rear track. The engine has shuffled back 22mm and dropped 13mm, while the wheelbase is 15mm shorter. The driver sits 20mm lower and 15mm closer to the center of the car, while the hood height is reduced 28mm: that may not sound much, but it adds up to greater visibility out of the windshield both laterally and horizontally. Similarly, by reducing the steering wheel radius by 2mm, and giving it 10mm more upwards tilt, Mazda gives the driver 12mm more leg clearance. Mazda has junked the traditional foam and springs, opting for a high-tension cloth mesh. Source: www.heraldrecorder.org
