2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Road Test and Review

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

It’s been more than a decade since the last all-new Mazda MX-5 Miata. This two-seat rear-wheel-drive roadster has barely changed since the fourth-generation Miata hit the market as a 2016 model.

For most cars, this age would be a liability. The competition would have moved on for design, technology, and engineering. But for the Miata, there is no competition. You can’t find any other small, light convertibles with available manual transmissions anywhere near this Mazda’s $30,730 starting price.

For this review, we just spent a week testing a luxuriously equipped 2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring with a sticker price of $37,560. Keep reading as we explore the Miata’s pros and cons to see if this little roadster is still worth buying.

So Small

The 2026 Miata is 154 inches long, 68 inches wide, and 49 inches tall, and it weighs as little as 2,300 pounds. For context, even a 2026 Honda Civic compact sedan is 2.5 feet longer, 3 inches wider, 7 inches taller, and more than 500 pounds heavier. And while a 2026 Mini Cooper Convertible is just 153 inches long, the stubby Brit is taller than the Civic.

The Miata’s size is key to how it drives. We’ll come to that later. But when you see it in person, it also doesn’t look like all the modern cars that have grown so much over the years.

Visually, the MX-5 Miata has seen only the tiniest design tweaks since 2016. That suits us just fine. We love the subtle menace to its headlights, the flowing arches on its body, and its crisply shaped taillights. Past Miata generations were merely cute. The current model looks fancier, more aggressive – and still cute.

Buyers can choose between a traditional manually folding soft top like our test vehicle or a partially retractable hardtop called the RF. We love the simplicity of undoing a latch and whipping the soft top up and down in a couple of seconds. But some people will prefer the extra protection of a solid roof, and the RF looks like a coupe when the roof is up.

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Screen-Light Dashboard

The MX-5 Miata hasn’t changed much inside since 2016, either. It gets away with that because mid-2010s Mazdas were ahead of the curve at perching infotainment screens atop the dashboard. This approach keeps the dash itself slim, rather than bulking it up to hold a screen. Plus, this approach made it easy for Mazda to make the screen a little bigger over the years without a major redesign.

Today, the screen measures 8.8 inches versus the original 7-inch display from a decade ago. To our eyes, it looks better, even if you don't love screens. The current screen is wider than the original but not any taller, so it looks less like it's sticking up from the dash. Plain graphics mean the screen doesn't say "look at me" when you're trying to focus on the road. The infotainment system supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration; the base Sport model needs to plug in, but other trim levels connect wirelessly.

Most importantly, the MX-5 Miata has a collection of physical controls. Three big knobs control the climate system. Two knobs and some buttons between the front seats handle the infotainment system (it's only a touchscreen when you use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto). It’s a breeze to operate without getting distracted by menus – just what we want in a car like this. The interior is attractive and nicely finished, too.

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Squeeze In

As we mentioned, the MX-5 Miata is a small two-seater. The driver and passenger sit low to the road in form-fitting bucket seats. Well, they fit some forms, anyway. Folks who are wider or taller might need to consider a Ford Mustang for their convertible needs. At 5 feet 11 inches, we needed to slide the front seat all the way back, and we’d have kept going a tad farther if the Miata allowed. The front seats are manually adjustable even on the top Grand Touring model, but they’re heated on all but the Sport model.

Storage space isn’t ample, either. A shallow bin in the console between the front seats might fit a wallet. Instead of a glovebox in the dashboard, a boxy storage compartment lives between the seatbacks. If you need to hold a drink, you can install a cupholder that ends up dangerously close to the driver's right elbow during gear changes. And the trunk holds just 4.6 cubic feet of cargo – about a third of a Honda Civic sedan’s volume. Still, some convertibles have historically held even less storage space. And the Miata’s folded roof doesn’t steal any trunk room.

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Keeping Its Weight Down

The point of the MX-5 Miata’s small size is its low weight. With the base model weighing 2,341 pounds and even a top-of-the-line RF Grand Touring hardtop staying down at 2,513 pounds, this is the lightest car on sale in the U.S. today. Between the low weight, the low center of gravity, and the weight balance from its rear-wheel-drive design, the Miata is one of the sharpest-handling cars out there.

You may be surprised that the steering isn’t as ultra-quick as some past Miatas’ or even a current-generation Mini Cooper. But while it’s relaxed off center, the steering never feels lazy or dull, and it's perfectly natural. It’s not a car you have to work hard to enjoy. Yet its high limits are still right there when you exploit them. And Miata enthusiasts have been modifying the car with a stiffer suspension for 36 years.

Besides, the MX-5 Miata’s handling isn’t about lap times and skidpad numbers. Some owners will race them, sure. But the overall experience is about an intimate connection to the road, not necessarily going the fastest. In an open-top roadster, where you’re hurtling along barely above the pavement, you don’t need the quickest possible steering to have a good time.

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Joyful Acceleration

Another classic point of contention lies under the hood. Horsepower junkies can’t imagine buying a four-cylinder car with just 181 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque. Even accounting for the Miata’s light weight, this isn’t the quickest car you can buy. Some drivers have whipped it to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds, which is certainly not slow. But in a sports car, plenty of buyers want more gusto.

To us, though, accelerating the MX-5 Miata is a joyful experience. It’s not so fast that you run out of road before you’ve gotten a chance to rev the engine and work the gearbox. And with the top down and the wind roaring through the cabin, you can feel like a speed demon even if you’re just keeping pace with the crossover cocoon that's humming along peacefully in the next lane.

We’re big fans of the standard six-speed manual transmission. It shifts smoothly with short, precise throws. The clutch pedal is admittedly touchy, though. A six-speed automatic transmission is also available if you’re looking for Miata flavor while relaxing your left foot. It costs about $900 extra, and only on the luxury-focused Grand Touring trim level.

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Fuel-Sipping Fun

The MX-5 Miata is a handy sports car for high gas prices. With its small size and little 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, it doesn’t have the same high fuel bills as many performance vehicles. In EPA testing, the manual transmission returns 26 mpg in the city, 35 mpg on the highway, and 29 mpg combined. The automatic picks up 1 extra mile per gallon on the highway.

That’s not the most economical small car you can buy. And Mazda’s premium-fuel requirement stings. But we’ve consistently beaten EPA estimates when we test Miatas – including the 35 mpg we got out of our manual-transmission test car this time around.

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Priced From $30,730

As we mentioned, the 2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata starts at $30,730 for a base Sport model. That’s a fair bit of money for a small car. But it’s a great bargain for a genuine sports car. And the base price has risen by less than $6,000 since 2016 – only about half the pace of inflation – despite adding more tech features.

That money already buys the 8.8-inch infotainment touchscreen; push-button starting; leather trim on the steering wheel, gearshift, and parking brake; and a six-speaker stereo (a lot of speakers for such a little cabin).

To upgrade, you can choose between the sport-focused Club ($34,230) and luxury-focused Grand Touring ($36,030). The Club has a stiffer suspension and a limited-slip differential, plus available Brembo brakes and extra-bolstered sport seats. The Grand Touring – which is still quite a sporty car – has leather seats and the base suspension, but you can still get the Brembo brakes and sport seats as an option.

The RF costs about $3,500 more than an equivalent soft-top MX-5. It’s available as a Grand Touring ($38,750) and a fully optioned Club ($42,200). All 2026 MX-5 Miatas also incur a $1,235 destination charge.

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

MX-5 Miata vs. the Competition

The MX-5 Miata has no direct competitors. No one else sells a small two-seat roadster for less than $50,000. Heck, the only other one under $100,000, the BMW Z4, has only an automatic transmission and ended production a few months ago. However, we’ll highlight two competitors that offer some Miata flavor at similar prices: the Mini Cooper Convertible and a pair of fixed-roof twins – the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ, which were co-developed and have only subtle differences between them.

Like the Miata, the Mini is all about grins. It’s zippy, cheerful, and fun to drive. It also squeezes in a little backseat for a bit more functionality than the Mazda, and nearly anyone can fit in the front seat. It’s not as low to clamber in and out of, either. However, the front-wheel-drive Mini costs more, comes only with an automatic transmission, doesn't drive as gracefully, and has convoluted touchscreen-focused controls.

The GR86 and BRZ share the MX-5 Miata’s rear-wheel-drive architecture, available manual transmission, and performance focus. Here are some minor differences: The Toyota/Subaru engine sounds rougher than the Mazda’s, their chunky dashboard is less upscale, and they have more front legroom plus a small backseat. The bigger difference is that you can’t put their tops down.

2025 Mini Cooper S Convertible ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Like Nothing Else

Even 11 model years into its life, the 2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata is a standout. Nothing else offers this intimate connection to both the road and the outdoors. Nothing else feels this fast even when it’s not. Nothing else ensures so easily that every drive is a treat, whether you’re going to the racetrack or the supermarket. And when you leave the Miata in a crowded parking lot, you can be pretty sure it’s the happiest ride in the place.

Over the years, its design has remained remarkably current, both inside and out. And relative to other cars, it has actually gotten less expensive over the years.

This is a serious sports car. Buyers must come prepared for its tiny interior with limited storage space, its super-low seats, and its premium-fuel requirement. But it’s also an un-serious sports car, in that it’s about fun more than raw performance.

We were Miata fans in 2016. It continues to delight us in 2026. And Mazda just announced the 2027 MX-5 Miata – it will be exactly the same again, just with a new available Zinc Green Metallic paint option. That’s fine by us.

2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt