2018 Mazda MX-5 gains minor upgrade, price bump

The Mazda MX-5 has been updated for 2018 with a series of tweaks to improve ride, noise levels and safety for selected variants, resulting in a price bump across the range.

Most the changes are under the skin, and include retuning the rear suspension of the Roadster variants, based on knowledge gleaned from the MX-5 RF hardtop’s development program.

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This comprised lowering the rear suspension's upper link bushes, and lengthening the rear bump-stops so that they’ll be reached earlier.

The soft-top will also be a little quieter to drive via a series of NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) improvements. Mazda’s boffins applied extra sound insulation across the centre transmission tunnel, while noise-absorbing material was added to the soft-top top. Meanwhile holes and gaps around the tunnel reinforcements were reduced, and vibration-damping and noise-absorbing materials were added to the rear wheel housings.

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While the interior becomes quieter, Mazda has accentuated the engine’s throaty sound.

Safety enhancements are confined to the pricier GT variants, and include lane-departure warning and adaptive LED headlights. For some reason a reversing camera, which would be pretty handy with the roof up, continues to avoid the standard features list.

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The update doesn’t include any aesthetic design changes, however there are extra paint options including the candy-apple-like Soul Red Crystal Metallic, which has proven very popular on Mazda’s SUV models. The Roadster models also gain Machine Grey Metallic, while the 1.5-litre Roadster GT’s 16-inch alloys can come with bright aluminium finish.

The enhancements see the entry-level pricing go up by just $100, while the GT models, which benefit from the extra safety tech, jump by around $1350.

The updated Mazda MX-5 is on sale now.

2018 Mazda MX-5 pricing

• MX-5 1.5L Roadster, manual - $33,440
• MX-5 1.5L Roadster, auto - $35,440
• MX-5 1.5L Roadster GT, manual - $39,660
• MX-5 1.5L Roadster GT auto - $41,660
• MX-5 2.0L Roadster, manual - $34,950
• MX-5 2.0L Roadster, auto - $36,950
• MX-5 2.0L Roadster GT, manual - $41,210
• MX-5 2.0L Roadster GT, auto - $43,210
• MX-5 2.0L RF, manual - $38,650
• MX-5 2.0L RF, auto - $40,650
• MX-5 2.0L RF GT, manual - $45,210
• MX-5 2.0L RF GT, auto - $47,210
• MX-5 2.0L RF GT Black Roof, manual - $46,210
• MX-5 2.0L RF GT Black Roof, auto - $48,210
• MX-5 2.0L RF Limited Edition, manual - $52,210