Might Be Time to “Man Up” for the New Miata

Hold it! Don’t revoke our man card. We all remember SNL veteran Chris Kattan’s orange Miata in Corky Romano. And, we seriously don’t wanna be that guy. But, equally as serious is how Mazda has taken the purest in British motoring and made it that much better. In fact, it may now be even safe for men to say they own one. Maybe.

Please, Lord. Don’t let us be that guy. Maybe just on the inside.

Although the marque may be pushing 30, the latest addition to the MX-5 family, the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF, successfully demonstrates the collective moxie of millennials. Charge too much for rent? I’ll just go buy in the crappiest part of town and invite all my friends to do the same. Charge me over $45k for convertible Camaro? Miata RF, muthaf**ka! Mazda has broken the bounds of conventional thinking to create something entirely new with the introduction of the MX-5 RF — making open-top driving for the masses that much more accessible.

Until Mustang and Camaro “pony-up” with their own retractable hardtop, the MX5 RF might be the best way to get your happy ass in a brand new, swanky convertible — one that won’t get its top shredded when you park it in the bad part of town overnight.

How to ‘Butch-Up’ Your Beast

Each MX-5 RF comes with a SKYACTIV-G 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 155 horsepower at 6,000 rpm
and 148 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm. Might sound kinda meek, but keep in mind it has a curb weight of 2,445 lbs. Pair it with the SKYACTIV-MT six-speed manual transmission and Mango won’t be stealing your whip.

Sumbitch. Guess you’re riding shotgun.

The next favor you can do for yourself is to be one of the first 1000 customers to request the MX-5 RF Launch Edition: A 1,000-unit trim level exclusively for the U.S. which includes multi-function Commander Control and bluetooth hands free phone and audio standard. Also be sure to get the BOSE® audio system with nine speakers. This includes 2 (count ’em) TWO headrest speakers — for those of you who missed this feature from your uncle’s old Fiero.

And, with 26 mpg city and 33 highway, you can save more pennies for your preferred method of boost! Due to the newness of this model, nothing concrete has come to the aftermarket yet in kit form. However, keep tabs on sites like FlyingMiata.com, JacksonRacing.com and Good-win-racing.com for upgrades later this year. Whether you mount a supercharger or a turbo, the bounteous boost will turn your MX-5 RF into a MX-5 MF… At $31K base and $36K nicely equipped, what are you waiting for? Miata has never been more manly!