2018 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Trims Comparison

Standard equipment on the Club includes LED headlights, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, keyless entry and push-button start, a 7-inch infotainment screen with a console-mounted rotary control knob, a nine-speaker Bose stereo with headrest speakers, and cloth upholstery.

Manual-equipped Club models are the sportiest, gaining a retuned suspension, Bilstein dampers, limited-slip differential and shock tower brace, making it our version of choice. Manual Club models can be optioned with upgraded Brembo front brakes, BBS wheels and heated Recaro sport seats.

Grand Touring models — equipped with heated leather seats, navigation, a cloth-lined top, automatic climate control, adaptive headlights and lane departure warning — skew toward the luxury end. These features are nice to have, but strike us as contradictory to the Miata's elemental nature. Then again, a power-folding top isn't exactly simple either. Still, at least there's a choice between sport-oriented and comfort-tuned versions rather than some middling compromise.