Nice review, sure. But totally useless to me as it was detached from reality.
That's why I never miss Wing's day-to-day reviews because they show what each car is like to live with day in and day out.
Sure, for a fit under-30 flogging-other-peoples-cars-fun-seeking auto journalist, the choice is clear. And it's the right choice when you consider the contenders as pure "toys-for-boys"
If you start factoring in the multitude of other real-life conditions (driver size, ride quality, driving conditions, budget, etc...), the choice isn't as clear anymore.
The excessive noise of the Toyobaru and painful ingress-egress makes it an automatic no-go regardless of its other virtues. And so on...
I like the MX-5 on its own merit but for me it's not THE absolute answer.
I've logged nearly 1,000 kms on that ND; 1,200 on that FR-S and over 2,500 kms on 2015 Mustangs in various trims and engines. I've had the FRS and MX5 on the track and I've had all of them at home, parked in my garage, at out running daily errands.
I'm nearly 40, have a wife and kid and I'm far from fit these days and I treat press cars as if they were my own. So, what do you want to know?
I offered up the information I thought was helpful to someone shopping in this category. If luggage or rear seat space is your number one priority, none of these cars is a sensible choice. They're designed to be fun, stylish and make an owner feel good; qualities we aimed to reference and evaluate. Our driver / evaluator size varies from solid troll to bean pole to husky hockey player.
If it's to be the only car for a family, the buyer should check his or her priorities and reevaluate. But I could happily rock any of these as a second car and my year-round daily driver.