Mazda MX-5 vs Lotus Emira

What's the difference?

It's not often a car is elevated to 'icon' status, cars like the VW Beetle, Porsche 911, Toyota LandCruiser or Ford Mustang - but the Mazda MX-5 has quietly been the best choice for keen drivers who don't want to break the bank with a big sticker price or costly maintenance.

The ND MX-5 has been around since 2015, and while it’s been praised as a return to the original, simple formula of the NA MX-5 from the late 80s and early 90s, it’s getting close to a decade old.

So, a little refresh with some new tech and a mechanical tweak is here to make the roadster feel like a playful pup once more.

And what better place to test that out than a combination of the winding roads of the Adelaide Hills wine region, paired nicely with a main course of track driving at The Bend Motorsport Park?

Lotus - it’s one of the most iconic names in the history of automobiles and was once Great Britain’s answer to Ferrari - on the road and the Formula One circuit. 

But that was a long time ago, in the 1960s and ‘70s. Since then Lotus has been on a rollercoaster ride through various owners who put in various levels of investment, resulting in various degrees of success.

But through it all, Lotus has stayed true to the ethos of company founder, Colin Chapman - ‘simplify, then add lightness.’ It’s obviously a playful saying, but it spoke to the core elements of Lotus cars, agility and driving purity.

Lotus rarely worried about big, powerful engines and instead focused on creating the best-handling cars.

That was the past, though, because Lotus Cars is now owned by Geely, the Chinese automotive giant that also counts Volvo, Polestar, Zeekr and more under its control.

Geely’s vision for Lotus is very different to what has come before, with a future focused on building electric SUVs and sedans; such as the already released Eletre and Emeya.

All of which is a very long way to get us to the car we’re actually testing - the MY24 Lotus Emira.

This is the last petrol-powered sports car from Lotus, and while it has been available already with a V6 engine, it has recently arrived with a Mercedes-AMG four-cylinder turbo.

Given its place in the grand scheme of things, the Emira not only needs to live up to the legacy of the iconic models that came before it, but also needs to lay the foundations for the brand’s electric future. Which is a lot of pressure for one car to carry…