Mazda MX-5 RF: Iconic roadster gets a folding hard-top

Extra weight could make a minor difference to performance but this MX-5 variant looks like having a character all of its own

Mazda have tried to combine a hard-top with a soft-top for the new RF version

Mazda have just revealed a new version of their evergreen MX-5 which they think will be their biggest seller in the UK. We like soft-tops but we buy hard-tops – they account for something like 80% of previous-model MX-5 sales. So Mazda have tried to combine the two with the new RF version.

Those initials stand for retractable fastback, and they mean that the fully automatic system can fold the front and middle roof sections, along with the window glass, behind the rear seats. When they’re up you have a rather good fastback line, but when they’re stowed they don’t impinge on the 130 litres of space that you find in the soft-top.

This RF version is 40kg heavier than previously, so there is probably some bracing in there. But Mazda have also tuned both suspension and steering specifically for this model, and also fitted more sound deadening.

An automatic system can fold the front and middle roof sections behind the rear seats

They’ve also added a six-speed auto transmission as an option alongside the six-speed manual. These will partner the same engines as in the soft-top, so the Skyactive-G 1.5 and the 2.0-litre petrol engines.

We’re guessing that extra weight will make a minor difference to performance and consumption figures but this MX-5 variant looks like having a character all of its own. The cost is expected to be about £21,000, roughly £2500 more for those RF initials and all they bring. We should see it in the UK next year.