SIMPLY THE BEST,2012 MAZDA MX-5 MIATA EDITION

SIMPLY THE BEST,2012 MAZDA MX-5 MIATA EDITION

dressed in black-wheels. roof, nose. end interior trim piecee Fun fact:'this is the first time a Miats has been offered from the fectory with any thing other than a body color hard top Also special is the Velocity Red Mica paint. which along with Crystal White Pearl are the only color options. All Special Editions start with a top·shelf Power Retractable Hard top buring modal with standar Premium Package  (keyless entry and such) and Suspension Package which adds Bilstein  shocks and a limited-slip differential, Unchanged for the Special Edition are the spech this car still returns 167 hp and 140 lb-ft of torque from a 2.0-liter four-cyllinder engine good for a 0-60- mph sprint in 6.5 seconds and a standing quarter-mile run in 15 seconds hlat at -90.2 mph.

Accelerative performance improves slightly on 8Spcund-1ighter.non48pecsel Edition softtop model,which will hit 60 mph in 6.3 seconds and run the quarter in 14.8 seconds at 92.4 mph. also improved is lateral acceleration, where the soft top pulls 0.92 g to the Special Edition's.0.91g.Stopping the Special Edition from 60 mph takess 2 feet longer for a total of 110. Three things make the Miata truly  special first is how well it channels the original more than two dekades on it's barely larger than the original and not that much heavier,despite modern amenities  like heated seats and four times as many  airbags.

   it's still got a one-hand-operated roof ( solid or cloth ),a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine,an expensive fully independent suspension:and it still features near-perfect weight balance Which leads me to my second point: how well it drives. A first—gen Miata could be flung at any corner with any amount of anger and make a hero of the driver. The Special Edition is no diiferent. Pick your line, turn the wheel, and your right foot does the rest. The body leans more than you expect, making a concerted but futile effort to lift the inside rear tire, but nothing bad happens.

   The rear end rotates slightly just enough to point you at the exit, but it never tries to get away from you. The savvy driver never needs to adjust the steering wheel. There are fewer cars available today that can be steered with the throttle, and the Miata is still one of them. Match that grip and chassis control with one ofthe best manual transmissions in the business, a free-revving engine, a limited-slip differential, and open-air motoring, and you have the best smile-per-dollar car on the road today.

    The last point is what this car represents: that it's the last of its generation. In all likelihood, the Special Edition will be the last of NC—generation Miatas.We’ve reported extensively on the next-gen car, and it may well have broken cover by the time you read this. Expected to debut sometime in 2012, the next Miata will undo all that supposed bloat of the past 22 years and get back to want.

   It's not a long trip, mind you. Mazda wants its new car to weigh in under 2200 pound like the original and reduce fuel consumption by 30 percent. To do this, the cars exterior dimensions will shrink while maintaining the current interior dimensions, and it will employ all the latest Skyactiv technology Mazda can muster. We hear a new 2.0-liter motor will produce upwards of 145 horses and all t.he car's major mechanical components will reside between the axles to achieve an ideal 50/50 weight balance.

    The MX-5 Miata "must always be a lightweight sports cm. The cm got bigger and heavier over the last decade, but it's now time to reverse the process and get back to basics, and build a coupe that handles like no other," chief engineer Takao Kijima told Motor Trend in October 2010 when development of the new car was well underway With fresh competition from the low—price and low—weight Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S on the horizon, the next Miata will have to be good. if this car is any indication, Mazda is more than up to the challenge.

BMW ActiveHybrid 5

DESPITE there being 22 different hybrid cars on the American market, nearly 50 percent ofthe category‘s sales are captured by one car; the Toyota Prius. Why do you think that is? I think it's pretty simple.The Prius' pitch for your monthly payment is as clear as it can be.Want truly fabulous mileage at a moderate price premium? Here I am. On the other hand, cars like the Lexus LS 600h L, the Porsche Panamera 5 Hybrid, and this BMW ActiveHybrid 5 l've just driven in Lisbon, Portugal, are more complicated. Like its premium brethren, the ActiveHybrid 5 is an expensive proposition, At $62,740, it's more than nine grand more than a similarly equipped 535i that uses the same basic, turbocharged, direct-injection, Valvetronic engine.

      However, it also delivers 12-13 percent better mileage and 35 more hp (335 combined), and, being a “full” hybrid, can electrically propel itself for about 25 miles and up to 37 mph, assuming you don't get frisky with the throttle. In this scenario, it’s motivated by a 54-hp electric motor residing in the bell housing that's energized by a 135-kW-hr Iithium—ion battery. The battery, which is cooled by the air conditioner‘s refrigerant, consumes 28 percent of the trunk, and, BMW claims, will last the life of the car. Clomp your foot down. and the 302-hp six will awaken, clutch to the motor, and together they'lI twirl the needle to 60 mph in a claimed 5.9 seconds. A good number, but one that undersells the responsive edge the electric motor imparts.

      A release of the throttle decouples a second clutch between the electric motor and transmission, allowing "sailing" from up to 50 mph (100 mph in the fuel-saving/EV-oriented Eco Pro mode), Its auto starting and stopping is utterly seamless. And that’s what impressed me most: the software that so subtly glues all this Uber-technology together. I can’t remember how many times I muttered, ”I'd never knowthis is a hybrid 'That said, the navigation systems software is more remarkable. 

     Where available, topographical information is analyzed to allow such things as spending the eng ine’s trove of electricity liberally climbing a hill because the car knows it’ll soon be regening downhill. It thinks ahead better than most people. But. ultimately, you either comprehend this BMW's multi-column spreadsheet of advantages and disadvantages, or you j ust click delete. What isn't debatable at all is a driving experience that’s absolutely worthy of the marque's heritage, .Kim Reynolds