The last time we saw the MX-5 PRHT was on a turntable, the centerpiece of Mazda’s corporate display at the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) last March.  It was a beautiful thing indeed, outshining even Mazda’s host, MTV VJ Sarah Meier.  But being locked-up and merely on static display, it was the petrol head’s equivalent of looking at a beautiful pole dancer with a “no touch” policy.  You simply can’t help but imagine how this car would feel like from the seat of your pants.  And so, we turned kapal mukha and asked the folks at Mazda Philippines for a drive.  The shocking thing is, they obliged.

Out of MIAS’s glitzy hall and onto public roads, the MX-5 looked every inch the stunner.  Some may complain that the design isn’t too daring—looking too much like the previous-generation MX-5.  They don’t know any better.  Everywhere we went, mobile phones started shooting away.  At first, we thought it was our movie star looks, then it became obvious: it was the car.  Besides growing a couple of centimeters in all dimensions, this car retains the compact proportions that made it the best-selling sports car ever.  The shape is Coke: bulging upfront, slim in the middle and bulging again at the rear.  It’s imbued with a classic 1960’s roadster look but with high-tech twists such as the sleek headlamps, complex jewel tail lamps and pronounced twin exhaust pipes.  It’s also a subject of restraint and subtleness with absence of unnecessary tacked on aero parts.  By all means, the MX-5 is closer in spirit to a European roadster than what the Europeans churn out nowadays.  On that note though, those wanting luxury or comfort, won’t be satisfied with the MX-5.

Don’t get us wrong, the MX-5 is a great sports car by any measure; but technophiles and connoisseurs of luxury will definitely not like it.  Though there are some toys to fiddle around with, the features list isn’t as long as you’d expect.  The cabin’s cozy at best, getting cramped if you’re 6 feet in height or obese or both.  The seats adjust in every conceivable direction, but the steering wheel’s limited merely to height adjustment.  That said, the driving position’s still spot on, fulfilling an important sports car prerequisite.  Another prerequisite is easily readable gauges, and the MX-5 does well on that too.  Like the RX-8 and 3, the gauges rest vertically, but unlike the others, this one’s largely gimmick-free with the exception of the oil pressure gauge at the middle of the large tachometer and speedometer.  There’s little else to say about the Spartan cabin with the exception of the piece de resistance: the folding roof.

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