Need to take your bikes along with the legendary small sports Mazda MX-5? A bike carrier solution is now available.

Need to take your bikes along with the legendary small sports Mazda MX-5? A bike carrier solution is now available.

The MX-5 is now in its fourth generation named ND and has been slightly revised for 2022. It’s now an icon. Mazda sold its millionth MX-5 back in 2016, earning it a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records - plenty of sales since then too.  The Mazda MX-5 isn’t the world’s best-selling roadster by accident – its recipe of simple mechanicals and accessible fun mean it’s a car with cheap running costs and broad appeal.

Back in 1989, Mazda sought to replicate the impeccable steering feel, driving purity and lightweight build of the Lotus with a convertible format.  The Japanese carmaker has been churning them out to applause ever since. 

The original MX-5 experience is best felt with its one-hand manual folding soft top and a manual gearbox. 
Mazda has tweaked the MX-5 formula to address modern tastes and offers the MX-5 with an electric folding hardtop. 

The hard top is badged RF for ‘retracting fastback’.The extra 40kg slows the small engined acceleration by 0.4secs to 100kms/hr, while the 2.0 adds 0.3secs. Unique to the RF car is an automatic gearbox option, but that also adds a further 1.1secs to the 0–100kms/hr time.

The 2022 base MX-5 comes reasonably equipped – LED headlights, smartphone connectivity, climate control, native satnav and cruise control.

The 130-litre boot is rather tiny, but you can pack light for your weekend away.  We have been inundated with requests from cyclists as a roof rack is out of the question.  Many want to take their bikes on the weekend drive with their MX-5s.
We now have an invisible towbar available for both the soft top and RF to enable use with a ball-mounted carrier.  Obviously, you cannot tow with your MX-5 but our bike towbar solutions is rated for 60kgs on the ball, so enough to take 2 bikes along.

The latest Mk4 version – MX-5 ND – remains remarkably affordable and cheap to run, it’s also so easy and enjoyable to drive that it brings in a wide spectrum of buyers.

It could be your only car or a weekend toy. You could be looking at initiating the thrill of sports car ownership. Or you could be a serial MX-5 owner after the most recent model.

Whatever you want it for, it is unlikely to disappoint. After all, it’s no accident the MX-5 is the bestselling sports car of all time. Helped by the fact it’s one of the cheapest ways to get in the driver’s seat of an all-time classic sports car setup that’s increasingly uncommon: the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive convertible format.

The MX-5 is available with a choice of two four-cylinder SkyActive-G petrol engines. They make do without turbocharging and, combined with the sweet-shifting six-speed manual gearbox, are great fun to thrash yet refined and economical at a cruise.

The engine range was updated slightly in 2018, adding more power, while the 2022 MX-5 has seen the introduction of a new stability control system called Kinematic Posture Control that provides greater stability on corners.

Inside, it’s cosy, as all good roadsters should be. The fundamentals are spot on: the driving position is low, with legs stretched out far ahead and the steering wheel perfectly positioned. The interior is simple and neat, while the instruments are easy to read. And, aside from a well-positioned colour infotainment system, that’s it. No distractions, nothing unnecessary.

Entertainment comes from the drive. And what a drive it is. The Mazda MX-5 is light on its feet, packed with feel, and terrifically well balanced. It’s a car that handles like cars used to, flooding you with feedback and making even slow-speed pootles a pleasure. It can’t fail to put a smile on your face – particularly as it blends this tenacity through the corners with surprisingly supple and pliant ride quality.

Although it’s a two-seat sports car, the Mazda MX-5 still comes with a decent amount of safety equipment. Front and side airbags are standard, the cruise control has a speed limiter and the hazard warning lights flash automatically when you come to a sudden halt. A top-spec alarm and immobiliser is also fitted as standard.

Some models have blind-spot monitoring and traffic sign recognition, while autonomous emergency braking is beneficial. Advanced safety features available also include lane-departure warning and driver attention alert.

The MX-5 combines usability, driving fun and dependability to make it one of the most engaging convertibles on the road.  If you already own the ND chassis or are planning to buy one, rest assured you can now take your bikes along on the back of your MX-5.  We have just made the Mx-5 a bit more practical - order your MX-5 bike towbar today.

The MX-5 soft top and the RF towbars do differ slightly, so be sure to order the correct towbar for your MX-5.  We only have a bike towbar for the current ND chassis MY2015 onwards.  Older MX5s cannot be fitted with a towbar unfortunately, may be a reason to consider an upgrade.

Order your Mazda MX-5 Bike towbar today!