2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata First Drive Review: They Fixed It

No, there isn’t more power. And there certainly isn’t more weight. What Mazda did to the 2024 MX-5 Miata was a bunch of thankless, non-flashy updates that most folks will dismiss on the ND’s 10th year of production. Hell, they didn’t even change the bumpers for this final facelift—just some new headlights and taillights.

Instead, Mazda went to town developing a new limited-slip differential with more-favorable locking and unlocking rates, and took an opportunity to re-engineer and recalibrate the electronic power steering system. Things that, to the casual driver, wouldn’t make a difference. But it made all of the difference. It’s the shit driving nerds stay up late at night thinking about, some of those nerds just happen to work at Mazda R&D.

I, Hardtop Sports Car Man, can put my hand up and say that the subtly updated and retuned 2024 Mazda MX-5 is the sports car I always dreamed the Miata should be. No more overly whimsical, rolly-polly, soft-suspension imprecision. With just the simple reengineering of several small parts, the ND3 is an entirely different car to drive.

Dave Coleman is tall. Much taller than the ND Miata could ever normally accommodate. But as a lifelong Miata enthusiast, he’s always made do with his taller-than-6-foot frame, wedging snugly into the ND for his development miles with the car. Formerly the technical editor of Sport Compact Car, a purveyor of countless shitbox adventures, a 987 Cayman S and Hayabusa-swapped NA Miata owner, and a true lover of driving, you really couldn’t pick anyone better for the title of Vehicle Dynamics Manager for all of Mazda’s cars.  

Though he will rarely take credit for anything relating to the handling brilliance of Mazda’s current lineup, there’s one thing I know about Coleman: He is a steering snob of the highest order. His benchmark for steering is the Lotus Elise. He knows good steering, possibly better than anyone in the business. He also understands it isn’t a simple matter of calibration, but of physical engineering in the steering rack, suspension, drivetrain—basically everything.

While running through the changes, he impressed the smallness of them upon me. A tweak here, an opportunity to optimize