Throw in thick fog and my first encounter with the iconic sports car couldn't have got off to a more miserable start weather-wise.But within minutes of taking the world's best-selling two-seater sportscar on the roads towards Haworth and I remembered why it was I had set my alarm for stupid o' clock and sat in seemingly endless traffic jams on both the M1 and M62.You see whatever the Great British weather may throw at you, you cannot help but have a smile on your face while you drive the MX-5 – even with the roof most definitely on.If you've never had the pleasure of driving one then you may wonder what I'm on about, but if you have then I'm sure you will understand exactly what I mean.The lightest MX-5 since the iconic original, the all-new Mazda MX-5 is shorter, lower and wider than the outgoing car, with the smallest overhangs and lowest centre of gravity yet.For me the roadster that Mazda has made famous over the past 25 years represents everything that's fun about driving – I dare say I may even manage a grin in one even when sat in a queue.And while it may have all the buttons and gadgets that you would expect in 2015, they are laid out in an understated way to give that feeling of a classic car from yesteryear. Take the small and rapid windscreen wipers for instance, which I got plenty of use from on my time in in the MX-5. They reminded me of my sixth form days many years ago when a mate of mine used to give me a lift home in his dad's old MG.The short shift gearbox is great and only adds to the fun, and you get that instant kick of power when you press your foot on the accelerator. The sound of the engine is pretty spectacular and, thanks to its light weight, it handles and grips fantastically too.On the windy roads in Bronte Country I really got a feeling that I was at one with the road, and the steering was precise and responsive.The MX-5 comes with all the modern technology you would expect of a car these days, but they're laid out in a simple, classic way that I'm sure the original designers would still give a nod of approval to all these years later.The MX-5 is available in nine models across five trim levels with a choice of either a 1.5-litre or two-litre SKYACTIV-G ultra-efficient lightweight petrol engine. I drove the mid-range 1.5-litre SE-L Nav which, in addition to the entry level SE, came with climate control air-conditioning, DAB radio, LED daytime running lights an easy-to-use seven-inch touch screen display and Multimedia Commander,integrated Bluetooth and body colour coordinated interior upper door trim.SE-L models with the 2.0-litre 160ps engine are distinguished by 17-inch Gunmetal alloy wheels and piano black door mirrors, and benefit from a strut tower bar and limited slip differential.Step up to Sport trim and both the 1.5 and 2.0-litre cars feature rain sensing wipers, rear parking sensors, smart keyless entry, Premium Bose®Surround-Sound and heated leather seats.With the 1.5-litre engine, Sport trim MX-5's come with 16-inch Gunmetal alloy wheels and piano black door mirrors. Sport models with the 2.0-litre 160ps engine benefit from a dynamic set-up that includes Sports suspension featuring Bilstein dampers, a limited slip differential and strut tower bar, while visually, they are marked out by their 17-inch Bright alloy wheels and body coloured mirrors.The seven-inch sat nav and media system is taken from the other cars in the Mazda range, and is easy to use, and within seconds my smartphone was connected up to it with no problem whatsoever.Across the range the Mazda MX-5 features alloy wheels, LED headlights, a leather steering wheel, plus a lightweight and sleek fabric hood.So what's the downside of the MX-5? Well I can honestly say that the only thing I could think of was that it just could have done with that bit more oomph when overtaking, although I'm certain that you get that with the two-litre version. The boot isn't the biggest, but you can comfortably get a couple of overnight bags in it, and at the end of the day you don't buy a car like this if you're planning on making regular trips to a DIY store.Owning an MX-5 won't cost you the earth to run neither as CO2 emissions are a relatively low 139g/km and fuel consumption is 47.1mpg on the combined cycle.The MX-5 has been a classic for over a quarter of a century and, despite this being quite a dramatic change looks wise to some of its predecessors, I have to say that the update only adds to it for me, even if some of the little glitches that add to the charm have been ironed out.Prices for the new Mazda MX-5 start from just short of £18,500 OTR. The model I drove started at £19,845, but the addition of Soul Red metallic paint bumped that up to £20,505.
