Saturday 18 May 2013

Mazda MX-5 Miyako

Here we are looking at the 2010 Miyako edition, it's a Japanese girl's name that roughly translates as beautiful child.  This model was inspired by the Japanese holiday island of Miyako-jima, one of the most picturesque tourist spots in Japan, ideal for a roof down cruise.

Miyako was based on the 1.8 SE soft top or 2.0 SE retractable hardtop coupe varieties, with 500 of each version produced.  Both versions were available in the new Aluminium Silver Metallic.  The 1.8 also had the unique colour option of Velocity Red Mica.  This colour was originally used on the 3rd Generation Limited model and is one of my favourites, it's nice to see it back again.

Miyako's equipment includes options that a normal SE wouldn't have such as leather seats, 17" alloys, front suspension tower brace (for improved steering response), and front foglights.  You also get a neat red on black signature badge in the usual spot on the front wings.  What it doesn't have however is the Sport Tech's 6-speed gearbox.  Miyako was priced at £18,385 for the 1.8, and £20.885 for the 2.0, a slight premium over a regular SE model. There were 500 of each available.

The leather seats in this version are probably the best addition. You get premium black perforated Medici (Italian) leather with a red underlay, so that you can see tiny red dots through the black leather. A nice effect that is probably a bit of a pain to clean.  The seats also have the Miyako branding embossed on the headrest, just in case you forget which car you drive.