FAMOUSLY successful as a rag-top, Mazda’s MX-5 is again on offer in hard-top guise, but with a twist.

Rather than mimicking the soft roof, the solid-topped RF – for Retractable Fastback – has a different and appealing profile that sets it further apart from the convertible.

There are still many similarities, as the RF has retained the simple but effective recipe of low weight, propelled by a peppy and flexible powerplant with road manners that are evenly and beautifully balanced between ride and handling.

The clever roof mechanism operates neatly without adding massively to the kerb weight or chewing into the already-limited boot space, but the absence of a rear camera and parking sensors to offset the reduced rear vision counts against it.

Tested in automatic form, the paddle shifters go some way to making up for the absence of a clutch pedal, but the well-sorted and enjoyable manual transmission would still win out for us in a purchase decision.

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