2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The fourth-generation Miata, known to the faithful as the ND, debuted in 2016. A back-to-basics engineering exercise, Mazda focused on minimalism, paring every possible gram of weight from the car to ensure performance, balance, efficiency, and joyful driving.

Eight years later, the 2023 MX-5 Miata looks the same. There have been minor changes over the years, including revised wheels for the Base trim and updated paint, interior, and top colors. Still, it is nearly impossible to tell the 2016 Miata apart from the 2023 Miata. And there’s nothing wrong with that because the design is perfection. Even the retractable fastback (RF) version that went on sale in 2017 and initially looked mighty strange has timelessly aged.

Choosing between the soft top convertible and the hardtop RF isn’t easy. The former looks terrific with the top down, costs less money, and suffers less wind buffeting at speed. The latter looks fantastic with the top in place, is better to drive in foul weather, and protects better against theft. We recommend trying both before deciding which version to buy.

Trim levels include Sport (convertible only), Club, and Grand Touring. The Sport is basic, the Club improves handling, and the Grand Touring adds more features, including leather seats and shiny wheels. All three trim levels include a six-speed manual transmission. If you want an automatic, then you must get a Grand Touring.

Prices start at $28,050, plus a $1,165 destination charge. The most expensive RF carries a sticker price of $38,950, and with destination charges, it costs over 40 grand. But there is a good reason for it. The RF Club includes a standard package containing lightweight BBS forged aluminum alloy wheels, Brembo brakes, and Recaro sports seats. It is delightful to drive, and we reviewed this model last year.

Our 2023 MX-5 Miata Grand Touring convertible test vehicle arrived in extra-cost Soul Red paint and had standard black leather and a black fabric roof. An accessory roadside assistance kit was the only upgrade, bringing the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) to $34,810, including the destination charge.

For 2023, Mazda introduced a new Zircon Sand paint color that looks awful on this car. The decision to add it, especially following last year’s debut of the lighter but similar Platinum Quartz, while simultaneously canceling the gorgeous Polymetal Gray, is sketchy at best. Also, Mazda inexplicably reserves Deep Crystal Blue Mica for the Club model. It would look irresistible paired with the Grand Touring’s available Terracotta premium Nappa leather seats and dark silver wheels.

Oh well. It’s easy to find clean, low-mileage, lovingly cared-for Miatas in the CarGurus pre-owned listings. Just know that any Miata from any year is a snug fit for larger people, and taller drivers might not fit at all.

If you get a fourth-generation Miata, you’ll love the view of the peaked fenders and low, flat hood over a perfect set of analog gauges. The Miata is a simple car, with little more than large climate controls and air vents decorating the dashboard. But the standard Mazda Connect infotainment system’s center console controls and the cupholders are awkward to use.

Nevertheless, the 2023 MX-5 Miata looks good and feels terrific when driving it. This car is undeniably good for the soul.

One thing you need to remember about the Mazda MX-5 Miata is that it weighs very little. Our test car tipped the scales at 2,341 pounds in a 52:48 front-to-rear distribution. That’s 147 pounds more than a 76-horsepower Mitsubishi Mirage G4 and 344 pounds less than a 122-hp Nissan Kicks.

With that perspective, consider the Miata’s sewing-machine-smooth Skyactiv 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, mounted behind the front axle for superior balance. It generates 181 horsepower at 7,000 rpm, 500 rpm before reaching the engine’s redline. In addition, it supplies 151 pound feet of torque at 4,000 rpm, more than double the Mitsubishi’s figure and 37 lb-ft of torque more than the Nissan.

So, while the Miata isn’t powerful compared to other sports cars, the power-to-weight ratio guarantees a thrilling drive. Of course, the six-speed manual transmission and rear-wheel-drive layout contribute to the fun. And while rowing your own gears magnifies the Miata driving experience, if you can’t operate a clutch pedal, the six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters isn’t terrible. It just isn’t preferable.

The Mazda likes 91-octane fuel, pumped into its 11.89-gallon tank. Our test car’s official EPA fuel economy rating was 29 mpg in combined driving, and we exceeded that at 30.2 mpg over 410.7 miles of driving. Based on our average, you can expect to travel at least 300 miles between stops for gas.

In the Club and Grand Touring models, the power flows to the rear wheels through a torque-sensing limited-slip differential. These versions of the Miata also get a sport-tuned double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension featuring Bilstein shocks and a front shock tower brace. All MX-5 Miatas have dual-pinion electrically assisted steering that requires 2.7 turns to spin from lock to lock. In addition, all versions of Mazda’s sports car have 11-inch front ventilated and 11-inch rear solid disc brakes.

Kinematic Posture Control (KPC) is also standard. Mazda added this brake-based technology in 2022, and it helps to tame the MX-5 Miata’s rear end when entering, rounding, and powering out of corners and curves. It works transparently but has a tangible impact on how smooth and stable the sports car feels compared to 2021 and earlier ND Miatas.

When people ask us why we love the Miata so much, the answer is simple: it’s the closest thing to a street-legal go-kart you can buy. We’re talking K1 Speed karts, not the boring putt-putt-putt ones next to the mini-golf in whatever lake or ocean-side town you vacation in. If you’ve ever driven a kart at speed with the ever-present threat of sliding, spinning, or crashing, you understand the thrill level we’re referencing.

Driving a Miata makes you feel alive. It is a visceral experience for nearly every one of your senses, accompanied by heightened awareness and an increased sense of self-preservation. After all, you are exposed in this tiny little sports car, so you need to pay close attention to every detail of your surroundings while proactively planning for the inevitable idiocy of your fellow motorists.

With the top dropped, you see a panoramic view of the world whizzing past. You feel the subtle temperature changes, the sun on your skin as it breaks free of the clouds, and the wind whipping in your hair. You hear nature at lower speeds or when stopped: birds chirping, streams running, and thunder rumbling low and in the distance. And you can smell the great outdoors, wet foliage and earth after a storm, orange blossoms in a grove, pine in a forest, and the salty air on a coast.

This car is purpose-built for fun. While a tweaked and tuned Miata is brilliant on a racetrack, you can explore a factory stock version’s limits on public roads without getting too far out over your skis. Engine changes in 2019 made it possible to drive every great road in California’s Santa Monica Mountains using second and third gear. The addition of KPC in 2022 tames the car’s tail. The Miata’s small size makes it possible to make the best of tight, narrow roads, using more of the lane to conserve velocity than you can in larger, more powerful machines.

You need not muscle the steering in curves and corners. The effort level is a touch light, and the steering wheel is a bit thin, yet it thrums with feedback and allows for fine-tuned adjustments in direction. Similarly, the Miata feels more compliant than expected, so it won’t beat you up as the miles roll by. And Miata ownership encourages you to take long drives to far-flung places.

However, a Mazda MX-5 Miata is best bought as a second or third car. You can use one as a daily commuter, and it is a brilliant tool for threading through traffic, zipping around cities, and effortlessly fitting into parking spaces. Slap a set of snow tires on it, and we’re sure it’s great fun in the snow.

But in a world where so many other vehicles weigh twice as much as a Miata, drivers are constantly distracted by their devices, and there are so many reckless people on the road who apparently can’t tell the difference between reality and a video game, it gets tiring to run what seems like a gauntlet every day.

Oh, and when the top is down, you never want to pull up to the right of a full-size pickup truck equipped with a diesel engine, especially an older Ford Super Duty belching putrid fumes. Avoid this scenario at all costs.

A Mazda MX-5 Miata is a tool for driving fun. Comfort and practicality are not the car’s strong suits. It holds two people, has a 4.59 cubic-foot trunk that can carry a rollaboard suitcase and a couple of backpacks, and provides limited in-cabin storage. So, pack light.

With Sport and Club trim, the Miata has cloth seats. The Grand Touring features standard black leather in a stiff grade of quality that you won’t mind getting wet. Depending on the exterior paint color, you can upgrade to a lovely Terracotta premium Nappa leather for a few hundred bucks. You’ll want to put the top up to protect the softer hides from the elements.

The Club and Grand Touring have heated seats, extending the top-down driving season, and the GT includes an unnecessary automatic climate control system. All Miatas have a manual driver’s side cushion angle adjuster so that you can add more leg support.

Will you fit into a Miata? Your author is six feet even and tips the scales at about 260 pounds, and the car is a snug fit. Anyone larger or taller may find driving a Miata challenging. Plus, it isn’t the easiest car to enter and exit, so the more joint pain you suffer, the harder it will be.

With the top down, wind buffeting isn’t bad. The convertible has a small wind blocker between the head restraints, and the air flows cleanly past the cabin at speed. When it gets chilly, or you’re driving through a mist or light rain, you can power the windows up, turn on the heater, and continue without raising the top.

In the MX-5 Miata RF, with its fixed rear roof pillars, the wind blasts the side of your head, pushing your hair up and over, Flock of Seagulls style (kids can Google that one). Raising the RF’s side windows solves that but also detracts from the sense of oneness with your surroundings.

For this reason, we prefer driving the MX-5 Miata convertible, though we can appreciate the RF’s buttoned-up coupe feeling in cold or lousy weather and its added protection against theft. Fabric tops are easy to cut through. Ask us how we know.

Aside from its small 7-inch screen and dated graphics, the MX-5 Miata’s Mazda Connect infotainment system is preferable in some ways to what the automaker installs in its other models. This is a first-generation version of Mazda Connect, dating to the days when the screen was touch-sensing as long as the car wasn’t moving. In other modern Mazdas, it’s never touch-sensing, though newer models like the CX-50 and CX-90 SUVs have begun offering touch operation for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

In the 2023 Miata, Mazda Connect includes Bluetooth connectivity, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, HD Radio, integrated access to specific internet radio platforms, text-messaging support, and an E911 emergency notification system. With Club and Grand Touring trim, wireless Apple CarPlay is standard. Android Auto always requires a USB cable connection.

Club and GT models also have SiriusXM (SXM) satellite radio with a complimentary three-month subscription and a nine-speaker Bose Audiopilot audio system. You’ll need Grand Touring trim for a native navigation system and a three-year trial subscription to SXM Traffic and Travel Link services.

Due to ambient noise and the system’s basic functionality, using voice controls is almost always pointless. So, you’ll interact with Mazda Connect using the screen (when the car isn’t moving) or the physical controls on the center console. The controls are reasonably intuitive, but awkward placement forces you to slide your right elbow back along the top of the console to use them. Train yourself to adjust stereo volume and radio tuning using the steering wheel controls, and you’ll be happier.

We paired an iPhone 13 Pro to Mazda Connect without much effort aside from delays in the process. But, after making the Bluetooth link and choosing to use Apple CarPlay, the smartphone mirroring platform loaded each time we fired up the engine. It takes a while to load, but after that, the tech presented no issues except when we’d driven out of range of cell service. And that often happens when you’re exploring the kinds of roads for which Mazda makes this car.

Your author owns a 2004 Mazdaspeed MX-5, bought new and garage kept. When people find out, they ask if the 15-year-old in the household will drive it to school. Hell to the no! That car isn’t safe. And while a 2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata is a safer vehicle, the laws of physics and the sorry state of modern driving skills would dictate that she wouldn’t drive a new one, either. She needs a clean, used 2017 Mazda CX-5, which got a Top Safety Pick+ rating when it was new.

Mazda equips new Miatas with a basic version of its i-ActiveSense driving assistance systems. They include Smart City Brake Support, which operates at speeds from 2 mph to 18 mph and includes forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking. You also get a blind-spot monitoring system with a rear cross-traffic alert and a lane-departure warning system.

Grand Touring trim adds a traffic sign recognition system for speed limit, stop, and Do Not Enter signs. This top trim level also has an adaptive front lighting system to help the driver see around curves and corners, automatic high-beam headlights, rain-sensing wipers, and heated side mirrors.

Blind-spot monitoring is helpful when the top is up and the weather is rainy, as it was one evening as we headed north out of Los Angeles on the 101 freeway. The same goes for the rear cross-traffic alert because reversing with the top raised is challenging, especially when larger vehicles are in adjacent spaces.

The lane-departure warning system is not as effective. It issues a rumbling noise through the stereo speakers, but you might not notice it when the top is down, and the stereo is on. A visual warning appears within the gauges, but it’s hard to see when the sun is out. The lane-departure warning system works at speeds of 44 mph or higher, and a button on the dashboard turns it off when you’d prefer not to use it.

The traffic-sign recognition system is nonsense. If you need technology like this in a Miata, maybe you should be shopping for a different vehicle.

You’re not going to find crash-test ratings for the Miata. So, you’ll need to make a logical decision regarding this sports car’s safety. It weighs 2,341 pounds. Americans love SUVs and pickup trucks. The laws of physics apply. So, yeah, there is real risk in driving this car.

But we’ll let the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety explain why people primarily concerned about safety shouldn’t choose a Miata. You can find more information at the IIHS website.

We can’t think of a more cost-effective way to obtain the driving joy a Miata provides. With the base Sport trim priced under $30,000, which you’ll spend on a decently equipped Honda Civic, a Mazda MX-5 Miata represents a cheap thrill in the best possible meanings of both words.

The closest alternative to a Miata convertible is a BMW Z4, which stickers for nearly $54,000 before adding a single upgrade. The Miata RF faces other two-seaters like the Nissan Z (just over 42 grand to start) and Toyota Supra (over $45,000).

However, the Miata does have a couple of similarly priced rivals in the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86, each of which cost less than $30,000 in the base specification. But, as coupes, they don’t have tops that drop, do they?