Mazda MX-5
MODELTESTED: Mazda MX-5 Sport Tech
PRICE: £28,970 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl, 181bhp
Running costs
40.9 mpg (WLTP)
£62 fill-up/£155 or 36% tax
Practicality
Boot volume
130 litres
Performance
0-62mph/top speed
6.5 seconds/136mph
THE world’s best-selling sports car faces off against one of the purest, but can the MX-5 hold its own against such a thrilling machine? Here it’s tested in Sport Tech trim which, once the cost of the striking Soul Red paint is added (an £800 option), weighs in at £29,780.
Design & engineering
WHILE the Caterham’s design can be clearly traced back to a decades-old Lotus design, the Mazda’s lineage is merely inspired by an old Hethel classic instead. The Mk1 MX-5 of 1989 borrowed
