Michael Satterfield
Somewhere between Luckenbach and Leakey, there’s a curve that’ll tell you everything you need to know about a car. You come into it hot, downshift with a flick of the wrist, and feel the weight transfer as the chassis settles in. There are no overactive driver controls to correct your line, no turbocharger to help you power out, just you, the road, and the machine. That’s where the 2025 Mazda MX-5 RF Club shines.
The RF, short for Retractable Fastback, has always been the Miata roadster’s slightly dressier cousin. You get the same lightweight DNA, the same 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder, but with a hard targa-style roof that folds itself away with the drama of a convertible and the profile of a coupe. In Club trim, things get serious: Brembo brakes, BBS wheels, Recaro sport seats, and most importantly, a real six-speed manual gearbox means you get the old-school thrill of rowing through the gears.
MX-5 RF: Built for the Backroads
Let’s not pretend this is a race car. It doesn’t pretend to be, and that’s its greatest strength. This is a car built for the kind of driving Texans do best: winding through backcountry two-lanes, top down, sun setting, nothing but horizon ahead. It weighs just north of 2,400 pounds, meaning it’s still one of the lightest production cars you can buy in 2025. That lack of bulk is why it feels so alive.
The 181-horsepower engine won’t blow your boots off, but it’ll rev clean to redline and makes just the right kind of noise when you ask it to hustle. Zero to sixty comes in about five and a half seconds, not fast by today’s standards, but in this car, you won’t care. The steering is light but direct, the clutch has that Goldilocks balance, and the shifter slots home with mechanical precision. It’s not just fun, it’s old-school soul in a new-school shell.
What makes the Club spec so special? Start with the Recaro buckets. These are real seats, form-fitting, bolstered, and ready to hold you in place when the road gets twisty. The Brembo front calipers give the featherweight MX-5 braking confidence miles above its pay grade. And the BBS wheels? Light enough to matter, strong enough to survive Texas highways, and good-looking enough to justify their spot on the window sticker.
The Luxury of Affordability
With the cost of vehicles these days, it is surprising that the MX-5 RF Club is priced at just over $42,000. That’s not inexpensive for a weekend toy, but let’s put it in perspective. A Porsche Boxster starts at around $75,000 before you even blink at the options list, which can add around $100,000 to that base price if you go all in. A BMW Z4 comes in around $55,000 with less character and no manual. Even the goofy three-wheeled Polaris Slingshot with the upgraded Brimbo brakes and a few accessories comes in at over $46,000. The MX-5 RF Club gives you nearly all the joy for a lot less money, and that’s before you realize it’ll probably run forever and return over 30 miles per gallon on the highway. The MX-5 RF Club is affordable enough to be your family’s third car, and if you don’t want to so spend over $40,000 on your weekend getaway, the MX-5 Roadster base model starts at under $30,000, meaning the answer is always Miata.
Sure, the interior’s a bit tight. The infotainment feels a bit dated. And yes, the ride can be firm on neglected roads (we have a few of those). But none of that matters once the car is in motion. You didn’t buy this car to scroll through menus, you bought it because your left foot was bored and your right hand missed the satisfying click of a well-tuned gearbox.
This is the kind of car you drive from Austin to Marfa for the weekend. It’s the kind of car that makes you look for the long way home. You’ll take the twisty route through the Devil’s Backbone, stop for tacos in Uvalde, and wind up at a back porch somewhere with the roof retracted and the engine ticking as it cools.
The 2025 MX-5 RF Club isn’t just a great sports car; it’s a spiritual experience for those who still believe driving should involve the driver. It’s a reminder that fun doesn’t have to come with carbon fiber wings or six-figure debt. Sometimes, you only need a good engine, three pedals, and an open stretch of Texas road. The MX-5 RF Club isn’t trying to be anything it’s not. It’s just trying to be fun, and in a world where that’s becoming increasingly rare, that might be the most valuable feature of all.
