2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata 35th Anniversary And RF Hardtop Reviewed

Connie Peters is an automotive video creator and journalist covering all types of cars and trucks for the past 10 years in suburban Vancouver. You can watch all of her  videos on her YouTube channel or find here on social media: Instagram.com/xoconniepeters , TikTok.com/@xoconniepeters, Facebook.com/xoconniepeters, Threads.net/@xoconniepeters

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Transcript:

Yes, I’ve featured the Mazda Miata before, and I usually book it every summer, trying both the hard top and soft top. But this one’s special — it’s the 2025 35th Anniversary MX-5 Miata.

This edition is the only one that comes in Artisan Red Metallic with a light leather interior, embossed badging, and other limited-edition touches. It’s still officially the MX-5, though people in the U.S. still call it the Miata. Now in its 35th year, it’s an icon — a small, two-seat roadster that’s just fun to drive.

This version also gets a light-colored soft top to match the interior, and it’s incredibly easy to raise and lower by hand.

Under the hood, it has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with a six-speed manual transmission, sending 181 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. In a car this light, that’s more than enough power.

The 35th Anniversary edition is manual-only — no automatic option. Other MX-5 trims do offer an automatic, though.

I did a big grocery run with my daughter recently and forgot we were in the MX-5. To my surprise, we fit everything — about three days’ worth of groceries — into the trunk. It’s small, but usable for what it is. Of course, no one buys an MX-5 for cargo space.

On the exterior, the only special badge is the 35th Anniversary emblem, and each car is individually numbered. This one’s number 400. The anniversary model’s interior gets unique leather upholstery with embossed badging and matching floor mats. The seats are still manually adjustable.

Mazda continues to do a great job with interiors. I like how the exterior color carries onto the door panels, and that applies to all MX-5s, not just this edition. You get automatic climate control and air vents that direct warm air perfectly toward your hands when driving with the top down in cool weather.

The infotainment system now supports wireless Apple CarPlay and has a touchscreen interface. The gauge cluster combines analog and digital displays, and the steering wheel has beige contrast stitching to match the interior accents.

Storage is limited — there’s a small center compartment, two USB-C ports, heated seats, movable cup holders, and a small lockable glove box behind the seats.

Now, this is the MX-5 Miata RF — the hard-top version. It’s also a convertible but uses a targa-style roof, so it’s not as open as the soft top. The powertrain and driving dynamics are identical.

This RF is the base trim, which in the U.S. is called the Club. It has cloth seats instead of leather and uses wired CarPlay. For 2025, Mazda dropped the Zircon Sand Metallic color that was available last year, likely due to limited demand.

The 35th Anniversary model is, of course, a limited-run edition for 2025.

The MX-5 remains a fun, sporty roadster that works well even outside of summer. Many owners drive them year-round, especially in milder climates like Vancouver. With good all-season or winter tires, it’s perfectly manageable.

Pricing starts around $35,000 CAD (about $29,000 USD). The 35th Anniversary edition tested here is about $46,000 CAD ($37,000 USD).

If you want a roadster but don’t have BMW Z4 money, this is worth considering. At around $46,000 CAD, it’s not cheap but still relatively affordable for a true sports convertible. Comparable cars from BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus cost much more.

The hard-top RF starts at roughly $42,450 CAD ($37,550 USD).

So, which would you choose — the hard top or the soft top?

It’s an affordable, engaging car that continues to embody what a lightweight sports car should be. Let me know what you think in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe. You can find me everywhere as Exo Connie Peters.