Tested: 2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Club

Yahoo

13-03-2025

For 35 years, the MX-5 Miata has been the affordable flagship for the entire roadster category. As other mini two-seaters came and went, Mazda remained committed to a lightweight sports car with a soft top and a manual transmission. The RF arrived in 2016 as a deviation from that time-honored format, switching the roadster's fabric hood for a folding hard top. This brings extra weight and complexity, two things the Miata has always stood against, but the updated ND3-generation RF still has an abundance of charm for those in search of something a little different.
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The fourth-generation Miata is entering its second decade and its second revision. The latest update, referred to as ND3, is highlighted by new LED lights and a new two-way limited-slip differential. Other upgrades include adaptive cruise control, a Track dynamic stability-control setting that gives a looser intervention threshold, and steering changes meant to improve driver feedback.
The RF hardtop is only available with Club and Grand Touring specs. Add in the price of the more complicated roof, and the Miata MX-5 RF starts at a hefty $38,735, more than $4000 above the equivalent softtop Club variant. Both RF variants come with the limited-slip differential and stiffer "sport-tuned" suspension as standard, but Grand Touring buyers will lose both if they opt for the optional automatic transmission.
Vehicle Tested: 2025 Mazda MX-5 RF Miata
Base Price: $38,735
Price as tested: $42,285
Location: Tampa Bay, Florida
Engine: 1998cc inline-fourPower: 181 hp @ 7000 rpmTorque: 151 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm0-60 mph: 5.5-sec (Car and Driver testing)Transmission: six-speed manualWeight: 2469 poundsEPA MPG: 26 / 34 / 29 (City / Highway / Combined)
The Miata has evolved in a few ways over its long life, but the core appeal remains the same. This is still the lightest sports car that a major manufacturer could reasonably sell at an affordable price point, and the lack of mass is still what defines its appeal. The ND3-generation MX-5 remains nimble, responsive, and more thrilling at everyday speeds than the faster performance cars that typically spend their lives much further from their dynamic limits.
In practice, the biggest appeals of the Miata are those limitations. The hardtop does not turn the Miata into a do-it-all grand tourer, nor is the car an all-powerful track-day special to deliver exceptional lap times. Objectively, it is a tiny, compromised car. Yet one that can deliver joy at any speed, including ones that are actually legal on the country's best driving roads.
Pushing further and exploring the limits is the whole point of the Miata MX-5. As always, it remains friendly and responsive—communicating clearly as it gets close to its well-flagged boundaries. This car is a great teacher, one that feels at its best while being worked hard. It is no wonder that all generations of the Miata have always been such popular track-day companions.
The 2.0-liter inline-four engine is the only powertrain option for ND3 buyers in the U.S., and it is still a highlight. Raw power is not the car's strength, but the character and willingness of the free-revving engine are cornerstones of what makes the Miata MX-5 so satisfying to drive. Every run to that 7500-rpm redline is thrilling. The lack of low-down torque is a limitation, but it does also mean that owners have plenty of opportunity to reach the fun part of the rev band in everyday driving.
The engine pairs best with Mazda's solid six-speed manual. Yes, the Miata MX-5 RF can be had with an automatic transmission, although only on the most expensive Grand Touring trim. But both roadster and hardtop models are at their best with a stick and a third pedal.
Choosing the RF over the softtop brings a weight penalty of around 100 pounds. Even carrying that, the hardtop is still light and lithe compared to every other sports car on the market; the Subaru BRZ tS is more than 400 pounds heavier. But it does deny the RF the ultimate agility of its roadster sibling.
Everything great about a Miata is also responsible for everything terrible about a Miata. The tightness of the exterior dimensions means the small, cramped interior still does not have a conventional glovebox. Cupholders mounted to the back of the cabin struggle at just about every goal a cupholder is meant to accomplish. The roadster's already-small trunk is compromised even further by the need to house a folding hard top.
These frustrations make it a poor daily for anyone unwilling to sacrifice creature comforts for driving joy. While the Miata is not targeting those buyers, the RF does feel compromised by its attempt to broaden its appeal with the moving hard top.
The folding top looks great both up and down, but the visual upgrade it brings may be the biggest benefit of selecting the RF. The cabin is certainly quieter than that of the roadster with the hard top raised, but noise levels are still well above what a buyer would face in a more conventional car. A blind spot on the driver's left side becomes a permanent feature in the RF because the buttresses on the side of the targa-like rear roof structure are always present. Wind buffeting with the top down, a problem on the RF since it was introduced, is subjectively worse than the simpler roadster.
Worst of all, the closing hard-top mechanism lacks the simplicity of the soft top. The Miata roadster's roof is so light that, despite the lack of power assistance, an experienced driver can open or close it at speed with a single motion. The RF's three-part hard top is power-operated, but it is a much longer process to operate it.
Ultimately, the Miata MX-5 remains a very easy car to recommend in any format. It is a great sports car for anyone and particularly good as an introduction to the things that make driving so fun in the first place. The ND3 is another evolution of what had already become the best Miata ever with its last refresh. It is always the answer for a reason. If you think you might enjoy one, you should probably buy one.
Since the Miata is the last two-seat sports car standing below $50,000, its biggest competition is internal. Most Miata buyers, the ones who buy a two-seat convertible for all of the charms and are happy to live with the drawbacks, will be happier with the roadster. The RF model is a good fit for someone who will mostly be driving with the roof up, although buyers completely uninterested in top-down antics might be happier in the Toyota GR86 or near-identical Subaru BRZ.
Well-balanced handling, communicative steering, and well-flagged limits.
Lightness and agility has been (largely) preserved through the generations.
High-revving engine is deeply satisfying to work hard.
The hefty price jump from the roadster to the RF.
Extra complexity in a car that thrives on simplicity.
The roadster may make more sense as the Miata to buy, but the RF looks spectacular. Particularly with the roof up, the ND looks like it was designed to have the retractable-fastback top on it from the beginning.
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