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Mazda has dropped the cut-price soft-top version of its MX-5 convertible with the arrival of an updated model this week. It is now only available with the more expensive folding metal roof, previously a $3000 price premium.
The soft-top last sold for $44,265 but the new model now starts at $47,280.Contrary to expectations of a price cut, this now puts the MX-5 further from recent sports-car rivals from Hyundai, Toyota and Subaru, available for between $23,990 and $37,150.
Mazda Australia says that when both soft- and hard-top versions of the MX-5 were offered, 95 per cent of buyers opted for the folding metal roof, which adds just 35kg to the car’s feather weight.
“We decided to stop importing the soft-top because there was zero demand for it,” says Mazda Australia marketing manager Alastair Doak. “All through last year [demand] trickled down and it was a dealer-order only model – and dealers weren't stocking them either.
“Buyers were favouring the hard-top because of the extra security, the extra convenience.” However, the company hasn’t ruled out reviving the soft-top for the next generation MX-5 due in 2014.
“You would have to look at it with fresh eyes … look at what customers demand, and satisfy previous owners, so we wouldn’t rule [a return of the soft-top] out,” says Doak.
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