2015 Mazda MX-5 2.0 Sport Nav | PH Fleet

Ben rarely owns a car for longer than a year - what's the MX-5s secret?

I like to change my cars. A lot. Whether it’s the thrill of the chase, or finding a buyer in the PistonHeads classifieds, I struggle to keep a car for much longer than six months, let alone a year. Yet while there are plenty more cars I’d love to buy, I just can’t bring myself to even consider selling the MX-5. Out of the circa 40 or so cars I’ve owned, it’s my favourite by a country mile and I’ll cling onto it like a baby grips a parent at nursery drop off for as long as possible. And that includes a very long list of Renaultsports, a Caterham Seven and a Lotus Elise.

So what is it about the MX-5 that makes me love it so much? I’ve owned the previous two generations (NB and NC) and while they’ve been cars I’ve enjoyed, it was box ticked, and time to move on. The ND generation, however, is a completely different ballgame. It’s significantly lighter than the NC it replaced, a much nicer place to be inside, and in my opinion, so much better to drive.

Out of the box, GY65 GMO feels lighter on its toes compared to the 25^th Anniversary Edition MX-5 it replaced, which is no surprise really, given it’s 150kg trimmer. It turns in faster, feels more playful and, as importantly, more special as well. The way the front wings roll out in front of you are very Lotus Elise-esque compared to the flat nose of the NC. What has really made me fall for the ND, though, is how well it has responded to modifications.

They’re such an amazing blank canvas to work from, with so many options out there to fine tune the platform to your driving style and requirements. It wouldn’t be another update without more mods, and the latest round was really make or break for me. First up, even with the SPS exhaust manifold, there was very little gain in exhaust noise. So I phoned Cobra Sport to discuss my options and landed on their Race rear axle back silencer.

I worried it was going to be incredibly loud, but I needn’t have been. It turns out that whether you opt for just their Race rear silencer, retaining the OEM centre section, or their full cat-back exhaust, the noise levels are roughly the same from a decibel perspective. They just sound different. The Race exhaust makes a classic Jap trebly pitch, compared to the full system, which is more bassy. And boy oh boy, has the Race exhaust delivered. There’s no unwanted droning and it’s relatively quiet lower down the rev range. But as the engine spins faster, it starts to sing at 5,000rpm, and screams right up to the increased 7,300rpm redline thanks to the Performance Link remap. I absolutely adore it.

Next up was wheels. The problem with the MX-5 being so popular is that it’s hard to stand out in the crowd. I like my cars to look a little different, so I spent countless hours researching different wheels, and trying to understand how offset works. I ended up with a set of 17-inch Konig Hypergrams, an inch wider than the OEM wheels at 8J 45ET to fill the arches a little more. My Michelin Pilot Sport 5s are stretched to the limit at 205/45/17, so I’ll be changing to 215/45/17 when the time comes.

Last but certainly not least, it was time to sort the handling. I’ve previously had the factory suspension aligned to a fast road geometry set up, which made a world of difference. But the car still rolled a bit more than I liked; with such soft damping, and a rear anti-roll bar that you can genuinely bend with your hands, there was plenty of room for improvement. As I use my car predominantly on the road, I opted for Eibach lowering springs (rather than going down the coilover route) to retain some of that plush ride for the terrible roads where I live.

The springs have been complemented by a set of Whiteline front and rear anti-roll bars with adjustable droplinks, replacing the Twiglets fitted at the factory. The result is mesmerising; the car sits 30mm lower, but still rides so comfortably on the cracked, undulating roads that surround me. The body roll turning in has almost been eliminated, but there’s just enough to feel the weight transfer from side to side and front to back, so you always feel in touch with what the car is doing. The back end is eminently more controllable, as well as rather partial to a late turn in and stab on the throttle to get it rotating.

Having spent a life mostly with front-wheel drive hot hatches, the front-engined rear-wheel drive layout is a breath of fresh air. I’ll steal this analogy from Matt Bird – the MX-5 is a Caterham with CarPlay (even if mine doesn’t have it, just yet). It’s now exhilarating to drive, sounds amazing for a four-cylinder, handles beautifully and is a really nice place to be for any length of journey. Expect to see it around these pages for a while longer yet.

FACT SHEET

Car: 2015 Mazda MX-5 2.0 Sport Nav
Run by: Ben Lowden
On fleet since: July 2025
Mileage: 7,504
Modifications: Performance Link remap (185bhp), SPS exhaust manifold, Cobra Race rear exhaust silencer, Eibach lowering springs, Whiteline front and rear anti-roll bars, Konig Hypergram alloy wheels, EBC Yellow Stuff brake pads, HEL braided brake lines, Motul RBF660 brake fluid, IL Motorsport gearknob, Fyralip boot spoiler, Abarth 124 Spider speedometer