by Dan Lyons/autoMedia.com

Most of our test drives of the redesigned Mazda MX-5 Miata took place in Boston, MA. Because so many of the city's historic and recreation sites are readily accessible by foot, Boston has a well-deserved reputation as one of the country's great walking cities. A great driving city, however, it is not. Many of Boston's streets are codified cow trails, windy reminders of colonial days. There's little grid-logic available to help lost travelers regain their bearings. Then, too, consider Boston drivers, many of whom view traffic signals as mere suggestions rather than mandates. Here, as in many cities, honking horns are as much a part of the daily soundtrack as are crickets in the country.

Styling

As we pinballed our way through the downtown region in the 2006 MX-5 Miata, we were not surprised when a sonic serenade was pointed in our direction. What did make for a double take, though, was the accompanying digit. The finger being raised was actually an upraised thumb—and a smile went along with it. To our surprise, many Bostonians went out of their way to compliment the style of the new Miata. After 16 years, Miata, officially rebadged MX-5, has become the best selling sports car ever; a site so common on the automotive landscape that we see them without really noticing them. Despite that, the new Miata cuts through the collective consumer crush—it's a looker and it draws admiring glances.

Dimensionally, the third-generation car is a skosh bigger than the models that preceded it: 1.8 inches longer, 1.6 inches wider, 0.7 inches taller, with a 2.5-inch increase in wheelbase. The front view shows a familiar, wide oval mouth, framed by slanting, sweptback headlamps. But, the body behind the face trades the previously neutral lines in for something with a little more attitude. MX-5 sits with an aggressive stance; fenders flare over fatter tires with short sidewalls with the rims tugged closer to the corners. In all, still a friendly shape, but a bit more buffed this time around.

Interior

The top sits fashionably flat when fitted, and it passes the acid test for a true sports car—it encourages spontaneous sun worship. The roof can easily be razed within the time it takes for a stoplight to change from red to green. Twist the one-piece header latch (doable while seated in the car) and the lid can be lowered in seconds. It folds, z-style, into a tight stack behind the cabin for a finished look sans tonneau—and there's no loss of visibility, either. MX-5 is "sports car cozy" inside the cabin (perhaps a touch too cozy, if one is over six feet tall), but the new MX-5 does pick up almost a half-inch of legroom.

Newly standard is a tilt adjuster for fine-tuning the angle of the steering column. Elsewhere, certain staples of the original design resurface, like the near perfect placement of the shifter, and the heavily hooded instrument panel. They are of course mixed with some fresh design elements that, while adding utility, create a more upscale appearance, such as the pop-up "aero board" wind blocker between the seats, and a thin, piano-black trim line that bisects the dash. A pair of bottle holders built into the door pockets complements center console cup holders, and the locking rear center console is said to be sized to fit 10 CDs.

Miata perennially competes for the dubious honor of autodom's most modest trunk. However, this year it's trumped in tinyness by the new kid on the block, the Pontiac Solstice. The Mazda's 5.3 cubic feet of cargo space (up slightly from last year's 5.1) compares with the Pontiac's 3.8. Sports cars don't typically get drafted for family vacation duty, but their numbers do get dialed early and often for weekend getaways. The lessons learned from several trips taken over several years in several different Miatas with several different traveling partners are thus: pack light, of course, and whatever you do, pack soft bags; with some wardrobe restraint and a variety of soft luggage, a couple can get a surprising amount of stuff in back.

Performance

During the development process, Mazda put the new car on a strict diet. Aluminum is used for the hood, trunk lid, suspension, and braking components. An overall "take care of the ounces, and the pounds will take care of themselves" approach has allowed the car to grow slightly larger, while only gaining about 27 pounds. The unibody is now stiffer, the brakes, with standard ABS, are stronger. Mazda engineers, by pushing the engine back slightly and pulling the fuel tank forward a bit, attained the ideal, 50/50 weight balance in the 2,400-ish lb. MX-5. The double wishbone front, multi-link rear suspension is exceptionally surefooted while steering feel is direct though not twitchy. MX-5 Miata's tidy outside dimensions make it ideal to slice and dice your way through car choked city streets like Boston, and it will fit most anywhere you care to park it.

For all its city smarts, though, it's those roads less traveled that provide the heartiest fun factor for MX-5 drivers, the new MX-5 is as tossable as ever. It is ever so eager to cut corners; finding a more forgiving and predictable dancing partner is hard to imagine. Current automotive fashion dictates that the new Miata must roll on rims that are far taller, with sidewalls much shorter, than previous generations. Despite the lower profile tires, Gen 3 Miata manages to maintain comfortable ride quality. Even the optional sport tuned suspension takes it easy on the tailbone while ironing out the twisties. Wind noise and buffeting with top down never rise to objectionable levels. With the top up, the inside is snug feeling, with a heated, glass backlight. Blind spots in the rear quarters dictate a "trust (mirrors) but verify" approach to lane changes.

The engine in the new MX-5 is Mazda's 2.0-liter inline four. It makes 170 hp (@ 6,700 rpm), and 140 lb. ft. of torque (@ 5,000 rpm). Depending on model and options, the motor is matched to a five- or six-speed manual, or a six-speed automatic transmission (with wheel mounted paddle shifters). Our test car had the six/stick combination, a choice that's very hard to argue with. It snicks from gear to gear with reassuring ease; the extra cog helps stretch the power band evenly over the engine's rev range. Gears are closely matched to keep the engine on the boil and the shifter's positive throw is positively entertaining. Seat of the pants estimating pegs the 0-60 time in the comfortably quick, 7-second range. Even with six gears at one's disposal, the engine remains well wound up at highway speeds, pushing 3,500 rpm at 70 mph. EPA figures gas mileage for a six/stick MX-5 at 24 city/30 highway.

Six models are offered: the entry level Club Spec ($20,995), standard MX-5 ($21,995), Touring ($22,995), Sport ($23,495) and Grand Touring ($24,995) editions. The top shelf offering is a run of 750 Limited Edition cars ($27,260). Upscale models are enticing, but as with all previous Miatas, the base models are particularly charming. Lacking some of the creature comforts of the higher trim levels, they are truer to the original sports car concept that Mazda has been turning people on to for 16 years now. With change comes the opportunity for either improving or messing up an already good thing. The good news is, Mazda's nailed the former, not the latter, the benchmark's back, and it's better than ever. (www.mazdausa.com)

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