Autoblog invited Detroit-area Miata fans and owners to meet at Athens Coney Island on Woodward Ave for a sneak peak of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata. Driving impressions of the next-gen Miata were still under embargo, so Autoblog turned the cameras on our guests to hear what they had to say about the all new MX-5.
Transcript[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL AUSTIN: So we're here in Athens, Coney Island on Woodward Avenue. It's kind of an iconic Woodward dream cruise spot, and we have the new 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata for two days. So we decided what are we going to do with it? Let's take it out and get other Miata owners excited about it and show them the car, let them answer the questions.
We can't tell them anything about driving it yet, until the embargo on June 1. So it's a little bit frustrating because we're excited to talk about the car and there's not much we can say.
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- You always hear about the Miata's being that drivers car, right? I mean, it's always kind of been the hallmark for enthusiasts.
- I like the style of the new model. It's really sleek. It looks tougher.
- I love the fact that it's lighter weight. I love the design of the thing. It looks evolutionary without being revolutionary. It still looks like a Miata, which is cool.
- I think it's gorgeous. I really like that they've made it look a little smaller. The NC is nice, but it got kind of big and round and I liked the tauter dimensions of this one.
- Seeing that thing, it's amazing what they managed to do with that car. Just the shape, the design. I'm tall, but I sat inside one of those things and it's so comfortable.
- Well, I currently have a third gen, which I thoroughly enjoy. But was just hoping that this one would be a little bit bigger on the inside, and a little bit more comfortable. And I seem to fit in it OK. And the seats feel better than the one I'm in. I'm just very interested in getting behind the wheel and seeing how it drives.
- I think the biggest thing is the driving position that you're in. It just feels like it screams I want to be on the track.
- A nice evolution, you know? They kept the proportions right, which is really important, I think, for Miata. But I think it's fairly restrained actually. I think it's still in the Miata wheelhouse. It's got enough of the new Mazda language, I think, to really work. But it still looks and feels very Miata.
- Even the idea of the way that they're doing the rear end, which is they have a really tall [INAUDIBLE] ratio, I think. And when you look at it, it's really quite small, the rear differential. I was just under the car looking at it. And they're changing the ratio to the transmission, which are way different than I've ever heard on-- It's a different strategy than I've ever heard. And that got me thinking, boy, must really have given a whole lot of stuff [INAUDIBLE].
- Noticeably less legible. It's still on Miata's [INAUDIBLE]. That's sort of by design. Because we want to have some feedback, even when you're not driving that hard. You want to--
- Make a slow car faster.
- Yeah, exactly. And when you're driving at a more modest pace, you still want the feedback of the car responding to your input.
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MICHAEL AUSTIN: This our first time doing any kind of public event, but we're really excited that so many people showed up. So maybe we'll do it more, make it a regular thing like Cars and Coneys. We'll see.
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