{"id":715710,"date":"2026-06-04T23:33:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/715710\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T23:33:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:33:13","slug":"2026-carexpert-choice-winner-best-affordable-sports-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/715710\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 CarExpert Choice winner: Best Affordable Sports Car"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mazda MX-5<\/a> has been named Australia\u2019s best affordable sports car in the 2026 CarExpert Choice Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It beat out the Subaru BRZ<\/a>\/Toyota GR86<\/a> twins, as well as the Hyundai i30 N<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The MX-5’s reputation precedes it. For four generations now, this small convertible has been the very definition of an excellent affordable sports car.<\/p>\n

Mazda has never lost sight of the simple formula that made the original 1989 NA MX-5 a bona fide hit: a lightweight and balanced chassis, rear-wheel drive, a four-cylinder engine, and an available manual transmission. It’s so simple, and yet precious few other brands have tried to tackle it over the years.<\/p>\n

Looking for your next car? We’ll help you\u00a0research\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0compare<\/a>\u00a0so you choose with confidence.<\/p>\n

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The current ND MX-5 is now over a decade old, but despite a serious lack of direct competition, Mazda has kept its affordable sports car fairly fresh. A 2024 update, for example, brought a new infotainment system.<\/p>\n

And honestly, even if it didn’t have a modern infotainment system or other gadgets and gizmos, we can’t say we’d be too mad. The whole point of the MX-5 is that it’s a simple, honest, fun-to-drive sports car, and an affordable one. To that end, the MX-5 lineup opens at $42,640 before on-road costs.<\/p>\n

You can opt for the pricier RF with its power-retractable targa roof, but we think the MX-5 works best in roadster form with its purer wind-in-your-hair thrills. Likewise, opt for the manual transmission over the auto, though that probably goes without saying.<\/p>\n

It’s testament to the MX-5’s brilliance that over 10 years into the run of its latest generation, it’s just as impressive as ever.<\/p>\n

\"\"2026 CarExpert Choice Best Affordable Sports CarWinner \u2013 Mazda MX-5Finalist \u2013 Subaru BRZ\/Toyota GR86Finalist \u2013 Hyundai i30 N<\/p>\n

To see all the CarExpert Choice winners, click\u00a0here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

MORE: Explore the Mazda MX-5 showroom<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Mazda MX-5 has been named Australia\u2019s best affordable sports car in the 2026 CarExpert Choice Awards. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":715711,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,105],"class_list":["post-715710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}