Spell "Targa" Using an "R" and an "F": The 2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF

It's often been told that the inspiration for the original Mazda MX-5 Miata, more than 35 years ago, was British sports cars of the 1950s and 60s, cars like the MG MGA, Triumph TR-3 and Sunbeam Alpine.

That's true, but the inspiration for the Mazda MX-5 Miata RF clearly comes from a German sports car:

In September of 1965, Porsche, hearing the rumblings in places like the United States about rollover safety standards that could end the sale of true convertibles, introduced the 911 Targa at the International Auto Show in Frankfurt.

The 911 Targa is still with us, though today, a new one will cost you $190,800 (before destination, license, taxes and any additional tariffs).

A car that can be either a coupe or a convertible is a decades-old idea. Mazda's first attempt, the 2020 MX-5 Miata PRHT, which lifted up the entire top and folded it into a space between the seats and the trunk, owed more to the 1957 Ford Skyliner than to anything else, though the Miata was infinitely more reliable and space-efficent.

When the fourth-generation Miata was introduced ten years ago this fall, the retractable, now called the RF, went to the Targa-style design. The overhead roof panel goes into the space between the seats and the trunk.

It's a very slick design that takes up little space with the top down, provides a fixed-roof coupe experience when it's up and look great no matter what position the roof is in.

No changes in the engine room...it's the 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated four cylinder with 181 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque found in every ND (fourth-generation) Miata. That doesn't sound like a lot, but the Miata weighs less than 2,400 pounds. Zero to 60 takes six seconds flat. And that maybe doesn't sound so quick, but in a car the size of a Miata, it's a blast.

A six-speed manual transmission is standard, an automatic is optional, but you'd be cheating yourself not just in extra cost but in driving experience. The EPA fuel economy average with the stick is 26 city/34 highway/29 combined.

While the roof panel doesn't go into the trunk, let's not kid ourselves---it's tiny. As in 4.9 cubic feet. There is no back seat, so you're pretty much confined to a couple of soft bags.

Cabin storage is minimal, too---that's the glovebox between the seats at the back.

Cupholders are removable rings that latch into slots provided in the center console---one front, one rear.

At 5'11, I'm comfortable, but the seat is all the way back, with a bit of recline. The seats are well-shaped and supportive. The Club Edition comes with Recaro sport seats (they're part of a Recaro BBS package on non-RF Miata Clubs).

The base price of the 2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Grand Touring (the top-of-the-line) is $37,350 ($38,535 with destination). I mentioned tariffs earlier when talking about the Porsche. The Miata is assembled in Japan and has 0% U.S. domestic content. Tariffs have been announced as of this writing, but the situation is unclear. The price at the dealer could be substantially higher by the time you read this.

Standard equipment includes a sport-tuned suspension with Bilstein shock absorbers, 17-inch alloy wheels, high-performance tires, front and rear stabilizer bars, an asymmetric limited-slip differential, front shock tower bracing, LED headlights and taillights, heated leather bucket seats, a leather-wrapped shift knob and parking brake handle, tilt/telescoping steering column, automatic air conditioning, navigation, a frameless auto-dimming interior rearview mirror with HomeLink, carpeted floor mats, a comprehensive suite of active safety features, kinematic posture control, heated power side mirrors (auto-dimming on the driver's side), rain-sensing wipers, a glass rear window with defogger, door sill trim plates, an 8.8-inch color touchscreen, Bose nine-speaker audio system, with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Wireless Android Auto, HD Radio, Alexa built-in and a 90-day trial subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio and Mazda Connected Services.

Our tester only had one extra-cost option---the Machine Gray Metallic paint, for $595---so the as-tested price lands at $39,130 (again, not counting any possible tariffs).

And that price represents a remarkable value---an increase of only $5,245 in the almost eight years since I drove the 2017 Miata RF Grand Touring. The RF makes the Miata a great year-round car, and I love it just as much as I did the first time.