Pro driver Randy Pobst hot laps the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Club around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for Motor Trend's 2017 Best Driver's Car.
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MotorTranscript
00:00 (engine revving)
00:02 This year, the Miata is truly David amongst the Goliaths.
00:14 Not only in terms of stature,
00:15 it's the lightest car in the competition
00:17 by nearly 800 pounds, or price,
00:19 much, much less than the others.
00:21 But as far as power is concerned, too.
00:23 At 155 horsepower, it's nearly 200 ponies down
00:27 from the next weakest competitor,
00:29 the 350 horsepower Porsche 718.
00:32 And in this group, the Porsche's a relative wimp.
00:35 Of course, these facts have never held the Miata back,
00:38 nor stopped it from being the best selling
00:39 sports car in history.
00:41 Let's see what the new target-like RF can do on the track.
00:44 (upbeat music)
00:47 (engine revving)
00:53 (brakes squealing)
00:55 We want a little oversteer there, yeah.
01:07 That's called turning in this case.
01:09 We're trying to turn in third gear, and it worked.
01:13 Early power, Andy, early power.
01:18 (laughing)
01:22 (engine revving)
01:24 Up a gear everywhere, people.
01:32 Sept here, look at that little fella.
01:39 I took off one mile an hour too much.
01:44 Light, responsive, fun, friendly car.
01:51 (engine revving)
01:53 Definitely better in fourth gear.
01:55 Come on, dig up that hill.
02:00 (laughing)
02:12 That was more like it.
02:14 (engine revving)
02:17 Come on, baby.
02:25 I know that tail wants to come out.
02:29 I gotta hold it down.
02:31 (engine revving)
02:36 (brakes squealing)
02:39 This car goes through life
02:47 with a bounce and a giggle all its own.
02:49 Really very, very few cars on the market like it.
02:52 It's so light, such a pure sports car.
02:55 Even if it does have only 155 horsepower,
02:58 even if it does lean a lot when you turn for a corner,
03:01 even if it's not $248,000, that is a pure driver's car.
03:06 That's really what it's all about.
03:08 That's part of the beauty of the Mazda MX-5 Miata
03:10 is that's what they're building from the ground up.
03:14 The engine revs out better than I thought.
03:16 An MX-5 makes every trip to the grocery store
03:18 feel like a Grand Prix at 34 miles an hour.
03:22 It's light and responsive,
03:25 and it's amazingly fast through a corner.
03:28 Guess what?
03:29 That's kind of how most people drive naturally anyway.
03:32 It's a great match for any enthusiast
03:34 that wants a pure driver's car
03:37 that he can go around screaming at red line all day
03:40 and not end up in jail.
03:41 - So the Miata RF was the slowest car here
03:44 by nearly eight seconds.
03:46 We expected that.
03:46 What we didn't expect was how roly-poly the car would be.
03:50 For a vast variety of reasons,
03:52 the fourth gen ND Miata's have squishy soft rear ends.
03:55 The added weight, about 125 pounds of the folding hardtop,
03:59 falls right on top of the creamy rear bits,
04:01 exasperating the car's already floppy nature.
04:04 Also, while we do appreciate how light the Miata is,
04:07 a person in a helmet should be able to fit.
04:09 But as is the theme this year,
04:11 the Mazda's in 10th place
04:13 because nine cars are simply better.
04:15 (car engine roaring)
04:18 (car engine roaring)
04:21 (car engine roaring)
04:24 (car engine roaring)
04:28 (car engine roaring)
04:31 you