Mazda MX-5 vs. Toyota GR Yaris vs. Ariel Nomad

A manual gearbox is hard to find in 2025 - these three prove it's still very much worth seeking out

By Matt Bird / Saturday, 19 April 2025 / Loading comments

Nobody needs another reminder, really, that the manual gearbox is now extremely difficult to get hold of in a fast car. We all know why the traditional six-speed has declined as well: automatics have improved a great deal - as well as scoring better on both performance and efficiency tests - and, put bluntly, manuals just aren’t as popular. They weren’t being bought, so now they aren’t being sold, and that's before we even get to the impact of looming electrification. It means that, beyond these three, the manual misfits is an exclusive group: there’s the BMW M2 and Z4, Porsche’s two-doors, the Civic Type R, the Lotus Emira, the Morgan Plus Four… and that must be about it.

We live in a world without manual Minis, where the Golf GTI is auto only, and the biggest area of growth for six speeds seems to be the crazy-money restomod scene. It means this lightweight trio deserves celebrating even more than ever; back when this MX-5 and first Nomad were launched a decade ago, the manual was undoubtedly part of the appeal but hardly novel. Things have changed pretty drastically even since the GR’s introduction, the 86 coupe having come and gone and an auto now part of the Yaris offering - it’ll be interesting to see how that fares. But for now, we have three brilliant six-speed performance cars that all weigh less than 1,300kg and could, in theory, all be bought for the price of a new GT3. If that’s not worth a feature for the long weekend on PH, nothing much is.

Of course, this isn’t a conventional group test; an MX-5 costs half of what a Nomad does without even thinking about Ariel’s Argos catalogue of options. Nobody eyeing up a GR Yaris is really thinking about the other two. The alternatives to an Ariel probably literally take off. But they’re all great manual success stories in their own right, and a hugely entertaining gaggle to be around: the most recent MX-5 is better sorted than it’s ever been in more than a third of a century, every single bit of the facelifted GR has improved on what came before, and the Nomad 2, driven here in production format for the first time, can make an original seem a bit slow. Seriously.

Whatever calibre of sports car we're discussing, an MX-5 is never a bad place to start. Even if it fits like a t-shirt washed too many times, the soft top version is as familiar as your childhood home. There’s not much to it, yet the driver wants for nothing - a step back in time in the very best way. The little meatball of a gearknob is embellished with nothing fancier than contrast stitching, the wheel is large but beautifully thin, and the rev counter proudly takes centre stage behind - not going red until almost 8,000rpm. A Soul Red beacon of hope in the doom and gloom, there’s still nothing to rival the glee of an MX-5.

That driving environment informs the driving experience before moving an inch: you’re going to need that gearbox, and a healthy obsession with revs. The 184hp 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G doesn’t exactly come on cam or anything quite so invigorating, but there’s a pleasing lack of inertia and an undeniable willingness to be around the 7,000rpm power peak. Those few extra revs to 7,600rpm mean a gear can be held and momentum absolutely maximised.

It’s an absorbing experience, keeping an MX-5 on the boil. This latest ND refresh feels more capable than ever, but the inherent experience hasn’t changed much: it’s about carrying speed rather than building it, scrubbing off the least amount for each bend, and using that manual gearbox to keep revs up and endorphins high. Fortunately, changing gear in an MX-5 remains an unmitigated pleasure, with a short throw, light yet connected feel, and great pedals.

Get lazy, and the Mazda feels a bit flat, but there’s really no excuse for that. It’s by far the easiest car to heel and toe consistently, and that's all the excuse you'll need for blipping down another cog and properly getting on with it. The steering is improved over any previous ND, the new asymmetric limited-slip diff makes cornering more decisive, and the Competition setting for the assists is smart. Because there’s more trust now, going it alone isn’t the leap of faith it could once be. We’ve said it before and will no doubt say it again before the car is put out to pasture: there really is nothing out there with proper doors fitted that better demonstrates the virtues of not much weight, modest power, and a six-speed manual like an MX-5.

Indeed, it’s hard not to feel like Mazda might be missing a trick here. The MX-5 is now an exclusively manual lineup; the auto once offered dropped presumably on account of limited demand. Somewhat ironic, given nobody else can shift manuals - if only they’d made them this good. But also imagine if Porsche only sold manual Boxsters and Caymans for its remaining time on sale; there’d be a frenzy to grab one. And this is an even more satisfying six-speed. Mazda suggested at the recent Tokyo show that a more focused offering could come from the factory; a powertrain of such quality deserves it.

After all, if Toyota can make a world-beating rally car from a Yaris, Mazda can surely give an MX-5 a little extra bite. With the extra power, chassis revisions, and the introduction of an automatic last year, the regular GR Yaris six-speed manual has probably been overlooked a tad. It isn’t new, so there isn’t anything to talk about - right?

Nope. The manual is one of the GR’s best traits, and that’s saying something given the much-discussed calibre of this car. If not quite as sweet a shift as the Mazda’s, the Yaris gear change couldn’t be anything but Japanese: tough, mechanical, unerringly accurate. It feels designed and built for hard driving (funny that) shifts deliberately and weightily, with each indent strongly defined. There’s absolutely no way you’re mis-shifting this (where the Nomad can be a touch indistinct, for example) without something catastrophic having happened before.

Just like the Mazda, Toyota’s manual is the perfect fit for the Yaris. As with the rest of the package, it has an indomitable quality to it. In the same way that the damping never runs out of ideas, whatever the roads of Exmoor National Park throw at it, so the six-speed will tolerate your most ham-fisted rally driver impersonation. It is an integral part of the car's resilient and gritty attitude, honed mostly on gravel during development, and armed with short, sharp ratios to keep its firecracker of a three-cylinder turbo spinning. The combination of six-speed alongside G16E-GTS remains a hugely rewarding one. It would be staggering to find the auto quite so likeable.

And if the gearbox hasn’t actually changed much, then your relationship with it has thanks to Toyota’s reprofiling of the interior and lowering of the seat. It’s much more of a reach across now rather than down, and your feet prod at the pedals more comfortably. So there’s even less excuse to fluff shifts. Point being that even with a car as brilliant as the first GR Yaris, Toyota saw room for improvement in finessing the small details. Given it’s still a small seller in the grand scheme of things, but a great halo product, that’s extremely heartening.

Wrestling yourself into a Nomad, it can feel like Ariel hasn’t paid much mind to the details at all. Much too busy making mischief. But then you clock how it isn’t quite the clamber the first car was, and it fits like a tailor-made go-kart. There isn’t much in front of you, save for everything that might be needed to make the most of a Nomad - see the whopper of an optional handbrake and (also optional) brake bias adjuster - is within easy reach. And a tactile joy, without unnecessary adornment - i.e. the very best kind of grown-up plaything.

The unadorned lozenge of a gearknob is the perfect example of that approach, as good to look at as it is to use. Which is jolly handy, because you’ll change gear a lot in an Ariel Nomad. With so much power (more than 300hp when cranked to the max) and torque (almost 400lb ft) moving so little mass, initially it feels like all you can do is throw another gear at the thing to calm the mayhem down. Until it becomes clear that the mayhem never ceases; there are levels between ‘complete’ and ‘utter’ to choose from, and best lean right into it.

Such is the powertrain din, all thrash and whine and blare, that you’ll change up for the briefest respite, only to realise that not a single shift light has illuminated. You wimp. That being said, such is the formidable mid-range of this new-for-Nomad Ford 2.3 Ecoboost - comfortably more than twice the torque of the Mazda - that huge speed is possible with not very many revs at all. And the sense of acceleration is wild, Nomad hunkering down on its all-terrain tyres, squatting on its formidably expensive trick suspension and charging forward apparently on the brink of a wheelie every corner exit. Still without shift lights on.

Let it rip and the Ariel honestly feels like it’s come from a theme park, where somebody needs to check your height before getting in. It’s an obscene, devastating and exhilarating sort of speed, the almighty accrual of bigger numbers never, ever abating. Until you crash into the rev limiter and remember hands must do more than hold on. Second to third and third to fourth are perfect (going to fifth feels quite far from the gear before, and close to your knee), Ariel apparently stripping all the flab from a Ford manual for a shift that flies through the gate. Ratios that might be a bit long in the other two are greedily gobbled up time after time.

With due respect to its manual brethren, adrenaline hits come no greater, especially when it becomes evident that the Nomad is more than capable of harnessing an engine of such muscle. The knobbly tyres are far grippier than they look, the brakes stupendous, and the variable traction control beautifully calibrated. Before you know it, a preposterous amount of power feels like just the right amount. And though we didn't spend more than a nanosecond off-road, you hardly need convincing that the Nomad is capable of taking you to places that no other car can reach.

Unlike the Yaris or MX-5, it isn't unreasonable to think that the option of a sequential 'box would meaningfully add to the maelstrom - but ultimately it still seems better suited to the much sharper Atom than what is essentially a grown-up R/C car. You’ll take friends out and show off fancy footwork, block shift to hear it gurgle, snort and sneeze under load, yank that handbrake and flash shifts through like every gravel track is a special stage. Even allowing for a slightly vaguer shift than the others here, the manual makes the Nomad. It’s as demanding, interactive and thrilling as four-wheeled experiences get; it would only be right to fully embrace that. And save some money to put towards the other options…

Nevertheless, the key takeaway from driving all three on a glorious spring day is a deep sense of lasting pleasure - of precisely the sort that seems in chronically short supply right now. We all know why automatics have their place, and this isn’t to deny a broader type of technical progress, but to be able to exert such control and influence over a fast car - especially one not overburdened with obviously troublesome mass - is a real privilege in 2025. The Mazda zings with such effervescence, and makes changing gear feel like the most natural thing your arms and legs have ever done; the Yaris rekindles the rally rep’s glory days with a close-ratio six-speed that thrives on a ruddy good thrash. And once your brain stops wobbling from the speed, the Nomad 2 reveals itself to be an absolutely lovely machine to operate at much more pedestrian velocities: gorgeous damping, perfect pedal weights, with a transmission to truly savour. Each car is a wonderful tribute to the people responsible, and a reminder of just how blissfully rewarding a stretch of open road can be when you have the means to exploit it. We heartily encourage you to buy one, or ideally all three, before it's finally too late.

SPECIFICATION | 2025 MAZDA MX-5 2.0 ROADSTER HOMURA

Engine: 1,998cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 184@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 151@4,000rpm
0-62mph: 6.5sec
Top speed: 136mph
Weight: 1,128kg (including 75kg driver)
MPG: 41.5mpg (WLTP combined)
CO2: 153g/km
Price: £35,515 (price as standard; price as tested £36,365 comprising Soul Red paint for £850)

SPECIFICATION | 2025 TOYOTA GR YARIS

Engine: 1,618cc three-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: 6-speed manual, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 280@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 288@3,250rpm - 4,000rpm
0-62mph: 5.2 seconds
Top speed: 143mph
Weight: 1,280kg
MPG: 34
CO2: 188g/km
Price: £45,405 (price as standard; price as tested £46,045 comprising Precious Black paint for £640)

SPECIFICATION | 2025 ARIEL NOMAD 2

Engine: 2,267cc, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 264@5,900rpm (309 with upgrade)
Torque (lb ft): 284@2,500rpm (382 with upgrade)
0-62mph: 3.4 seconds
Top speed: 134mph
Weight: 670kg
MPG: Decent-ish
CO2: Yep, got that
Price: from £69,115 (price as standard; price as tested £108,411.64 (!) comprising Nomad Sun Canopy - Black for £990, Passenger footrest for £450, Reversing camera for £396, 12v). Auxiliary feed with double USB for £82.50, High-level brake light for £294, Locking fuel cap for £49.20, Carbon rear fog light/reverse light, number plate tail tidy for £330, Carbon instrument panel for £270, Underbody protection (sump/engine bay) for £510, Underbody protection (Radiator to Engine bay) for £1,044, Rear nudge bar for £1,230, Front Nudge Bar with WARN Winch Assembly for £3,300, Painted bonnet and rear engine cover - Satin Green for £900, Alternative chassis colour - Khaki Grey with satin lacquer for £2,100, Two-inch seatbelt/harness with alloy chest adjusters for £204, LED Whip/Marker light (each side) for £900, Lazer LED Flood Lights x 4 for £1,200, Mud flap set for £330, 18-inch Gloss Black wheel with All-Terrain tyre for £624, Spare Wheel Carrier for £2,154, 18-inch Gloss Black wheel package with All-Terrain tyres for £240, Fire extinguisher - 1.75kg standalone for £252, Battery Master Cut-Off Switch for £594, Side Panels - Smoked Grey for £418.80, Quick-release wheel for £394.80, Bilstein four-way adjustable dampers for £6,300, Cockpit adjustable remote brake bias for £272.40, Vertical hydraulic handbrake system for £1,380, Black brake and clutch line with stainless fittings for £420, AP Racing 4-pot calipers/290mm one-piece brake discus for £3,900, Exhaust Guard - black for £159, Cat Bypass Pipe for £570, High-Performance Intercooler for £1,314, High-Performance Radiator and Aux water pump for £1,740, Adjustable traction control including launch control for £510, Performance air filter for £29.94, Stage 1 Organic Clutch kit for £450, LSD for £1,194, Performance engine map (309hp/382lb ft) for £1,800