Hello All from a potential Mazda newbie.

Having lived in several cities across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, I've owned and driven a lot of different cars....but never a Mazda. For the last eight years, it's been Porsches. Starting with my 2012 Cayman R, then a 2012 Cayenne (CPO), then a new Macan (for my wife) and a bit later, traded the Cayman in for a Cayenne....the roads around here being just too awful for a track monster (CF bucket seats, long tube street headers, GT exhaust....)....so here we are...with two Porsche SUV's in the garage and I'm thinking...this is crazy. So today, (after a few days of research) I threw out the idea to my wife that maybe we should trade in her Macan for something smaller and showed her pics of the MX-5 RF GT. I also showed her pictures of the ragtop, but with her shoulder issues, she'd never get the top up....so RF it is. The RF kind of reminds me a bit of the (and I admit this will all contrition) Pontiac Fiero GT I owned before I got married (replaced it with a Ford Taurus SHO). The whole flying buttress thing reminding me of the Maserati Merak.

Now when I bring up colours and options....she's saying "Well, this is going to be your car anyway...." so I think this is going to work out. Nevertheless, it's going to have to be (cough! cough!) and automatic otherwise this won't fly. Coming from Porsche, I'm not accustomed to not having 1,000 "Exclusive" options to select from....so this seems a pretty simple exercise. RF-GT in Machine Grey Metallic. Wish I could get the Brembos and the LSD....but not available with the auto box.

Why a Mazda MX-5? The thing I love about Porsches is that they are designed in the spirit espoused by the American architect, Louis Sullivan "....form ever follows function...". They are essential. I cannot speak for the other Mazda models, but the Miata/MX-5 has always struck me as a car also built in that spirit.

I go shopping on Friday...so if anyone has thoughts, advice on what I should consider in terms of options (however few they are), please let me know. Otherwise....I'm expecting to join the club....eventually.

 

Let's start with the obvious. Trading in her SUV for a Miata is not going to work out for you in the long run, however, it sounds like you have a great and supportive wife. We can make this work.

It sounds fairly clear that you want a Miata. I get it. I would drive one if I fit in it but it is a little too small for me. I will probably get one anyway eventually. They are great cars and I forget how small they are as soon as I start driving one each time.

I suggest you buy yourself a Miata, go for the convertible and get the manual. If you were in the US, I would tell you to get the Club with the Brembo/BBS/Recaro package based on the vehicles from your past, however, looking at the Mazda.ca website, it does not appear that there is a comparable trim level in Canada. Ask. Hopefully I am wrong.

You are going to be saving a lot of money trading in a Porsche SUV for a Mazda and the Miata may not be big enough for every day use, so you should also get a Mazda3 with All Wheel Drive. The Mazda3 will be a great car for Canada driving and big enough for everything you need except the occasional big load, when you will need to borrow the SUV. If you need an SUV more often that she will let you drive hers, the CX-5 will amaze you and would make a great pair with the Miata as well.

Good luck. She will thank both of us.

 

Appreciate the feedback....the deal is done and should have the car next week. Trade in is the Macan....for hauling, we still have a 2017 Cayenne, so we're covered both for big cargo and deep snow. As this is a car my wife must be able to drive (and she swore up and down she WOULD drive it....(she was terrified of the Cayman R and would not even get behind the wheel)....so it's an RF GT with an auto box. The ragtop was out given that she has shoulder issues and could not get the top up while seating the car (reaching back). I suspect I will be the one doing most of the RF driving nonetheless....

So I told the dealer, here is my trade-in and you'll sell a car today if you are ready to write me a check. They wrote me a check. Numbers worked out to within $200 of my own projections, so I'm happy. It also turns out the shop hourly rate is $105 and hour versus $195 at Porsche....I can certainly live with that if I need it.

The car is a 2019 MX-5 RF GT in Machine Grey Metallic, with the Exclusive Package (so we could get the brown Kodo seats) and they threw in CarPlay.

I drove one of course....how does it compare to the Cayman R? Well, there is clearly not a 330 hp flat six behind the driver's seat, and the engine note is quite different. The cockpit is and feels much smaller, but after the GT2 CF Sport Bucket seats with only fore/aft adjustment, the MX-5's seats are comfy. It's not a particularly quick car (0-60 for the auto is about twice what the Cayman could do) but the handling is very nimble with a tight turning radius. The steering wheel feels crazy thin after the Macan or the Cayenne (or the Cayman) but that's easily fixed (hello...Wheelskins). Big bonus, the suspension if far more forgiving on our crappy roads than with the track focused Cayman.

Overall, I have a sense this will be just as much fun to drive and I don't think I'm going to miss the ability to warp to extra-legal speeds in an instant. I don't plan to track the car....but then, I do still have that helmet...hell, I think I can even drive it on good winter days.