The Real Thing | History / Background
The MX-5 started off as an idea for a small, lightweight, two-seater roadster. Bob Hall, an American journalist, sketched the idea up on a blackboard, and, after a decade of concept work, engineering, and plenty of skepticism, that idea turned into reality with the MX-5 NA (I should quickly point out that "NA" doesn't really stand for anything, i.e. "Naturally-Aspirated"; rather, it's just the technical designation of the 1st gen car). The NA debuted at the Chicago Auto Show in February of 1989 with an astoundingly positive response from the public, and went into full production later that year. The wildly-popular NA sold over 40,000 units alone between 1989 and 1997. Since then, 2 more generations (the NB and NC) have been released to continue the legacy on the MX-5. However, sales began to decline with the release of the second generation Miata. In 2002, only 15,000 Miatas were sold in total, and they've only been going downhill since then: by the end of last year (2014), a mere 4,745 cars were sold. Some said that neither redesign fully embodied the spirit of the first car, while others argued that the first generation couldn't (and shouldn't) be replaced. Either way, the character of the original car seemed to disappear in the later generations. Mazda isn't willing to let the car go just yet, however, and they've decided to attempt at a comeback this year with the subject of this review: the 2016 MX-5 FD.
You may be asking, what's the difference between the new car and the old models? Quite a bit, actually. For starters, the curb weight has dropped to 2,332lbs from the NC's 2,619lb weight. This is only 122lbs heavier than the NA, which should improve driving characteristics of the new car overall. Also, Mazda has done a lot of nifty engineering work to make the weight distribution 50/50. Hell, they've even managed to make the center of gravity lower by mounting the engine further down. All this means that the handling characteristics should be further improved over the original car, and that's saying a lot, as the NA is renowned for its amazing handling. Sadly, horsepower has been lowered a bit from 167hp on the NC to 155 on the ND. However, this is still a huge boost from the NA's 113hp, and since the new car is 287lbs lighter than the outgoing model, performance should improve in spite of the horsepower drop. Hell, they've managed to get the torque up to 148lb/ft from the NC's 140lb/ft ratio. Oh, and to top everything off, the new model looks absolutely stunning. Since the engine is mounted lower, the hood line is much lower than the outgoing model's, which has given the ND a pretty aggressive stance while still keeping within the simplistic styling cues of the NA: most of the original proportions are kept (i.e. the headlight/taillight sizes) while adding a modern, more aggressive twist to the individual parts.
So the new MX-5 is shaping up to be quite a good car, yes? Well... there's a bit of a problem for me: the styling. Here, let me explain. As I mentioned before, the new car has gained a bit of aggressive styling cues, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; however, the original MX-5 wasn't supposed to be an aggressive car (far from it, actually). If you compare the two side-by-side, the original was more of a cheerful, perky-looking car, while the new one looks a bit mental (especially with the mad grin and light combo at the front). Now, don't get me wrong, I do like how the new car looks, but for an MX-5, it doesn't seem... right. I mean, the aggressive styling would be a fantastic fit for a new take on the RX-7 or RX-8, but for the Miata, it doesn't seem proper to me.
Anyway, it's time to get on with the review of the car in Forza Horizon 2. Since this review is in a different format than my previous reviews, I'll explain how this works. The new reviews from now on will have a similar intro and background setup to this one, and the in-game vehicle will be reviewed based these criteria:
- Speed (Acceleration, Top Speed, etc)
- Handling (Cornering at various speeds, braking, weight)
- Overall Rating (My opinions: fun factor, styling, sound)
Each category will be scored from 0-10 (0 being the worst and 10 being the best), and the overall rating will be the rating I feel the car deserves.
One last thing: to clarify, none of the cars I review are upgraded. Also, the difficulty settings I use in FH2 for these reviews are:
- Simulator handling
- TCS/ACS off
- ABS off
- Manual transmission with automatic clutch (I'm absolutely terrible at driving with manual clutch right now)
With all that being said, on with the review!
You may be asking, what's the difference between the new car and the old models? Quite a bit, actually. For starters, the curb weight has dropped to 2,332lbs from the NC's 2,619lb weight. This is only 122lbs heavier than the NA, which should improve driving characteristics of the new car overall. Also, Mazda has done a lot of nifty engineering work to make the weight distribution 50/50. Hell, they've even managed to make the center of gravity lower by mounting the engine further down. All this means that the handling characteristics should be further improved over the original car, and that's saying a lot, as the NA is renowned for its amazing handling. Sadly, horsepower has been lowered a bit from 167hp on the NC to 155 on the ND. However, this is still a huge boost from the NA's 113hp, and since the new car is 287lbs lighter than the outgoing model, performance should improve in spite of the horsepower drop. Hell, they've managed to get the torque up to 148lb/ft from the NC's 140lb/ft ratio. Oh, and to top everything off, the new model looks absolutely stunning. Since the engine is mounted lower, the hood line is much lower than the outgoing model's, which has given the ND a pretty aggressive stance while still keeping within the simplistic styling cues of the NA: most of the original proportions are kept (i.e. the headlight/taillight sizes) while adding a modern, more aggressive twist to the individual parts.
So the new MX-5 is shaping up to be quite a good car, yes? Well... there's a bit of a problem for me: the styling. Here, let me explain. As I mentioned before, the new car has gained a bit of aggressive styling cues, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; however, the original MX-5 wasn't supposed to be an aggressive car (far from it, actually). If you compare the two side-by-side, the original was more of a cheerful, perky-looking car, while the new one looks a bit mental (especially with the mad grin and light combo at the front). Now, don't get me wrong, I do like how the new car looks, but for an MX-5, it doesn't seem... right. I mean, the aggressive styling would be a fantastic fit for a new take on the RX-7 or RX-8, but for the Miata, it doesn't seem proper to me.
Anyway, it's time to get on with the review of the car in Forza Horizon 2. Since this review is in a different format than my previous reviews, I'll explain how this works. The new reviews from now on will have a similar intro and background setup to this one, and the in-game vehicle will be reviewed based these criteria:
- Speed (Acceleration, Top Speed, etc)
- Handling (Cornering at various speeds, braking, weight)
- Overall Rating (My opinions: fun factor, styling, sound)
Each category will be scored from 0-10 (0 being the worst and 10 being the best), and the overall rating will be the rating I feel the car deserves.
One last thing: to clarify, none of the cars I review are upgraded. Also, the difficulty settings I use in FH2 for these reviews are:
- Simulator handling
- TCS/ACS off
- ABS off
- Manual transmission with automatic clutch (I'm absolutely terrible at driving with manual clutch right now)
With all that being said, on with the review!
The FH2 Review
Speed (7/10)
Okay, I'll admit, I really hate giving such a wonderful little car this low of a score for anything, but... well, this car definitely wasn't built to go very fast. Considering the fact that this car only has a 2.0L I4 engine that puts out a measly 155hp, it accelerates pretty fast (0-60mph in just over 6 seconds), but you probably similar to more everyday cars i.e. Honda Civic SI, Golf GTI won't be zooming past BMW 1Ms or Audi S3s any time soon with this thing. The fastest I got this car to go in the hours I spent driving it around Horizon 2 was 133mph (on a mostly-flat road with a few shallow corners), and it took around 20 seconds to get there. Still, this isn't really a bad thing...
Handling (10/10)
...as this car has absurdly-good handling to compensate. The combination of the extremely light weight, low center of gravity, and 50/50 weight distribution make this thing a blast in the corners. This little roadster grips the road like no other, and the handling feels very controlled at most speeds, with almost no body roll and ultra-quick response times. Plus, it doesn't slide all over the place unlike some other RWD cars (albeit you can get it to drift if you really want to). As for the brakes, they're just about as responsive as the handling, but, gladly, they aren't too quick to lock with ABS off (although they do lock up if you brake too hard, which is to be expected).
Overall Rating: 9/10
There are two reasons I gave this thing a 9/10 : the somewhat mediocre speed (which isn't too bad) and the front fascia's styling, which I think is too aggressive for a Miata. Otherwise, it's pretty much perfect in every other way. The handling is spot-on. The engine has a bit of an aggressive purr at idle, and at higher RPMs, it has quite a pleasant, sporty sound, unlike some other cars with I4s. The rest of the styling is fantastic. The gear changes are pretty quick. I could go on for ages about why I love this car, but to sum it all up, it was a blast to drive. So, it may not be very fast, but holy hell, Mazda's done an epic job of making this car absolutely brilliant.
Okay, I'll admit, I really hate giving such a wonderful little car this low of a score for anything, but... well, this car definitely wasn't built to go very fast. Considering the fact that this car only has a 2.0L I4 engine that puts out a measly 155hp, it accelerates pretty fast (0-60mph in just over 6 seconds), but you probably similar to more everyday cars i.e. Honda Civic SI, Golf GTI won't be zooming past BMW 1Ms or Audi S3s any time soon with this thing. The fastest I got this car to go in the hours I spent driving it around Horizon 2 was 133mph (on a mostly-flat road with a few shallow corners), and it took around 20 seconds to get there. Still, this isn't really a bad thing...
Handling (10/10)
...as this car has absurdly-good handling to compensate. The combination of the extremely light weight, low center of gravity, and 50/50 weight distribution make this thing a blast in the corners. This little roadster grips the road like no other, and the handling feels very controlled at most speeds, with almost no body roll and ultra-quick response times. Plus, it doesn't slide all over the place unlike some other RWD cars (albeit you can get it to drift if you really want to). As for the brakes, they're just about as responsive as the handling, but, gladly, they aren't too quick to lock with ABS off (although they do lock up if you brake too hard, which is to be expected).
Overall Rating: 9/10
There are two reasons I gave this thing a 9/10 : the somewhat mediocre speed (which isn't too bad) and the front fascia's styling, which I think is too aggressive for a Miata. Otherwise, it's pretty much perfect in every other way. The handling is spot-on. The engine has a bit of an aggressive purr at idle, and at higher RPMs, it has quite a pleasant, sporty sound, unlike some other cars with I4s. The rest of the styling is fantastic. The gear changes are pretty quick. I could go on for ages about why I love this car, but to sum it all up, it was a blast to drive. So, it may not be very fast, but holy hell, Mazda's done an epic job of making this car absolutely brilliant.
Thanks for reading! First off, my writing is a little rusty, so if you have any comments, criticism or suggestions, please write them, as I need use all the feedback I can get.
I'll have a quick article up tomorrow about the new vehicles coming in World of Tanks's 0.9.7 update, so stay tuned for that.
I'll have a quick article up tomorrow about the new vehicles coming in World of Tanks's 0.9.7 update, so stay tuned for that.