Mazda just made the MX-5 a little better — and nobody else is making cars like this anymore
Twelve years in, the ND keeps getting sharper. Four extra horses, a new Yakudo trim, Zinc Green paint — Mazda still believes in the small roadster.
Mazda isn’t giving up. And clearly doesn’t plan to. For the 2027 model year, the MX-5 gets another round of updates — not cosmetic touch-ups, but the kind of fine-tuning you do to a car that’s already a legend.
The roadster debuted back in 1989, and the Japanese have honed every generation to obsessive precision. The current fourth-generation ND arrived in September 2014 — twelve years, an eternity for any modern car. But Mazda flat-out refuses to put it to rest. Instead of swapping generations, they hand it yearly tweaks that make the MX-5 better, season by season.
The big technical news lives under the hood. The naturally aspirated 1.5 Skyactiv-G has clawed back four more horses: 132 hp became 136. Torque climbed from 152 to 155 Nm. The numbers are modest — but that’s not the point. The point is that Mazda is still developing a naturally aspirated engine in an era when everyone around them is switching to turbos and electrons. Fuel consumption also dropped, from 6.3 to 6.1 l/100 km. Driver Attention Alert is now standard.
The Homura trim got a proper chassis upgrade — Bilstein dampers, a front strut brace, black 16-inch RAYS wheels. Recaro and Brembo carry over. On top of that, Mazda rolled out a new top-spec Yakudo edition — available only on the soft-top Roadster. Silver Brembo calipers, silver exterior accents, a light-grey fabric roof, Alcantara throughout the cabin, special fender badges, illuminated floor mats and a silver key. The Japanese know how to obsess over details.
Another novelty is the Zinc Green paint. Mazda revealed it back in May at the MX-5 fan meeting in Karuizawa. In sunlight it’s rich and layered; in shade it goes matte, almost industrial. No more of that loud ‘Miata green’ from years past — this is a completely different story.
In Europe, the Mazda MX-5 Roadster Prime-Line starts at 46,240 euros. The new Yakudo is priced at 54,140 euros. Between them sit Exclusive-Line, Kazari and Homura. The MX-5 RF with the folding hardtop opens at 48,740 euros. Among the sports cars of 2026, the MX-5 holds onto its core formula — light, compact, no turbo. And a manual. Remember that. Cars like this are almost gone.