Mazda MX-5 vs Ram 1500

What's the difference?

Ultimately, the design and tech changes to the ND MX-5 will be the biggest day-to-day advantages of the updated model, because the mechanical changes don’t make themselves hugely obvious on the road.

If you’re into track days, it’s still a satisfying car to hustle as fast as you can, but it’s at its most accessible on winding roads for weekend drives, where the new differential and track DSC mode won’t come into play as much.

But in a world where accessible sports cars are becoming a rarity, there’s only one rear-drive convertible with a sticker price appropriate for financial mortals, and it’s a pretty damn good thing that it’s the ND MX-5.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

New engine or not, the facelifted Ram 1500 continues the theme of big US pick-ups by being capable of extreme towing feats as well as offering interior and cargo space that the mid-sized dual-cabs can only dream of.

That said, if you don’t need to tow 4.5 tonnes or seat five large adults, then maybe the 1500 and its ilk are overkill. Certainly, that’s the mood among many consumers who simply find them too much of a good thing.

Our pick would probably be the Laramie Sport for its superior ride quality, more sensible 20-inch tyres and reduced price. It can also tow a little more than the Limited, if that’s important to you.

On paper, of course, the Limited with its stonking engine tune should get our vote, but there’s absolutely no way the less powerful Laramie is anything but a powerhouse in its own right. But either version manages to carry off the feeling of being a high-end product, with refinement levels lacking in a lot of diesel-powered alternatives.

Yet, there are still compromises: The Ram is unlikely to be especially compatible with the average Aussie bush track (in width terms, anyway, on tracks formed by Toyota LandCrusiers and Nissan Patrols). And even though efficiency is up with the new engine, this will still not be a cheap vehicle to run day to day. Nor is the purchase price any less scary than its competitors’.

And of course, as with any of these full-sized trucks, buying them for the right reasons rather than a fashion statement is crucial to their viability once the new-car shine has worn off and car spaces begin to look smaller and driveways narrower than they ever have.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

Alright, we’ve all seen ND MX-5s, you don’t need me to tell you about its proportions or explain its design elements to you in too much detail, so I’ll give you the headline changes.

At the front and rear are new pairs of LED head- and tail-lights, respectively… obviously, fitting into the spaces the old ones took up.

The DRLS and reverse lights have come off the bumpers for both, and are now part of the main lights at each end - no more DRLs in the front bumper, and the reverse lights have been replaced by reflectors.

There are new 17-inch wheel designs for the base and GT trim levels, too, and there’s a new colour - Aero Grey.

Inside, it’s a shame that the tan Nappa leather interior of the RF Black Roof can’t be had in a manual roadster, because it’s gorgeous, even though the inside still looks refined enough for a simple sports car in its base cloth trim.

There’s not much point releasing a new model if your neighbours can’t pick the difference. So, Ram has revised the front and rear fascias of the pick-up with new grilles and a specific bonnet for the Limited. There are also new head and tail-light assemblies, a new front bumper and alloy wheel designs.

The Limited is a little sportier looking thanks to blacked-out door handles, grille, mirror covers, and the headlights that include an animated welcome when the vehicle is unlocked.

Ram calls this black-out stuff the Night Edition and it’s been made standard on all Australian Limiteds. The flagship version also gets a more sculpted bonnet for a more aggressive look. Strangely enough, though, all those black-outs somehow make the base grade look a little more high end to some eyes.

The rest of the deal remains the usual biscuits and gravy of big pick-ups, including the two-plus metre width and the requirement to often find two adjacent parking spaces before the grocery shopping can commence. What did you expect?

One thing Mazda has significantly changed for the ND is the multimedia screen, now a larger 8.8-inch touchscreen running Mazda’s updated software.

It brings the MX-5 up to date without sacrificing simplicity and makes it a little easier to use. The physical dial and buttons for controlling the screen also remain. The USB-C ports are also new.

Oh, and the MX-5 is the first Mazda model to get Connected Services, which is coming to other Mazda models eventually.

Connected Services allows owners to find, lock, and get alerts for their cars from a phone app, even letting them set curfews to notify them if the car is started during certain hours.

Aside from that, another small tweak is the simplified instrument cluster, which aims to be easier to read even when the roof is open and the sun is bright.

The cabin isn’t built to be plush, it’s built for ‘Jinba Ittai’, Mazda’s philosophy that applies most strongly to the MX-5 which means ‘horse and rider as one’.

And trust me, you feel one with the horse- er, car, when there’s not ample room to move. It’s not restrictive, but it’s cosy. 

Everything’s quite well-placed and it’s not busy with buttons or features in here though, it’s made for focusing on driving. 

One downside is the lack of storage, not even a glovebox, in front of the passenger, and the central storage spot under where your elbow sits is tiny, good for keeping the key fob snug though. Also, the cupholders are able to be removed or swapped between the space behind your elbow, or above the passenger footwell.

There’s also a small storage space between the seats behind where your elbow would sit, though it’s tricky to access while you’re driving.

Then there’s the boot, which is usable for a small amount of luggage at 130 litres in the Roadster and 127L in the RF hardtop.

Finally, as a huge positive, probably the biggest advantage of the ND over any other convertible is how easy it is to open and close the roof in the Roadster. You can do it single-handed, which is great if it starts raining and you’re at a traffic light or able to quickly pull over.

The RF hard-top has a switch that automatically opens and closes the roof section.

Inside, the 2025 Ram 1500 is also updated with a larger 14.4-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto, supplemented by a 10.5-inch passenger screen and dual wireless smartphone chargers.

The passenger’s screen is a big deal, too, as it allows the passenger to upload navigation way-points and destinations, watch a movie, or search the internet via a connected phone. And the driver sees none of it thanks to the blackout screen tech.

Even though Ram has obviously gone to a lot of trouble to make the right-hand-drive conversion seamless and perfect, we still wonder why the indicator stalk wasn’t moved to the right of the column. Cost, probably, and the placement of the rotary dial for gear selection is less than perfect, too. What we’d really like to see would be a column-mounted gear-shift, as well as paddle shifters which are brilliant when towing big loads.

The front-seat area is home to no less than three USB-A and three USB-C charging ports, while there are also two of each in the rear seat.

There’s a storage area under the rear seat which also flips up to form a large load area. There’s even a secret cubby-hole under the carpet in the rear capable of storing a laptop or small bag.

In place, the rear seat is another of the Ram’s big selling points compared with conventional dual-cab utes. The foot and leg room is strides ahead of the mid-sized pack and the seat itself is also a better class of perch. The dual-pane panoramic sunroof keeps it all light and airy, too. Plenty of grab handles and those automatic side-steps make getting in and out a pretty civilised process.

Despite the change in engine, the six-cylinder pick-up retains its 4500kg maximum braked towing capacity – at least in Laramie Sport form. That, however, is contingent on the use of a 70mm tow-ball, while towing drops back to 3500kg with the standard 50mm ball. All Aussie Rams have a tow-bar as standard.

The Ram 1500 Limited drops 300kg in its maximum braked towing capacity rating to 4200kg. That, says Ram, is purely because the Limited is a high-performance vehicle first and a load-lugger second, although one suspects the 22-inch Pirelli Scorpion tyres might be a factor in that as well.

As for payload, the 2025 Ram 1500 Laramie Sport features an 863kg capacity, while the Limited comes in at 782.5kg – 20kg and 17.5kg more than the pre-facelift version.

The tub features a spray-on liner and a cargo divider. There’s also a standard tri-fold tonneau cover for Australian 1500s, not to mention a fold-out step for accessing objects at the bottom of the tray. Powered side-steps are also standard on our Rams, backing up the prestige price-tag.

A powered tailgate is another nice inclusion which can be raised and lowered by touch or via the key-fob.

Fortunately, the twin storage bins along the top of each side of the tub remain, complete with their drain holes just perfect for adding ice and cool drinks.

The first thing to know is that the cut-price, $120,000, Bighorn variant of the Ram 1500 has not made it to the other side of the transition to the facelifted Aussie range. Instead, the range now kicks off with the Laramie Sport which, at $141,950, before on-road costs is exactly the same price as the outgoing Hemi-powered version.

The only other grade in the current line-up is the flagship Limited which now carries a sticker of $159,950, which is $3000 up on the previous Limited. If you can wait until very late this year (according to Ram) there should be a Bighorn replacement available to bring the price of 1500 admission down considerably.

However, it’s worth remembering that the previous Bighorn model missed out on some important safety kit, so until we’ve seen the specifications, we’ll reserve judgment.

There’s no getting around the landed cost of these vehicles (thanks to the typically dreadful exchange rate plus the cost of converting them locally to right-hand drive) puts them at the premium end of the price scale. So, to fit with that, Ram has made a lot of gear standard on Australian examples - gear that is not standard in the US, for instance.

That includes things like the panoramic twin-sunroof, the Night Edition graphics on the Limited, but across the board, these are highly specified vehicles.

For instance, the entry-level Laramie Sport (which uses the standard output version of the new engine) gets all the driving modes and all-wheel-drive functionality, LED lighting, the 14.2 inch, portrait-oriented central screen, Harman Kardon stereo, 20-inch alloy wheels, dual wireless phone charging, wireless connectivity, powered tailgate, reversing camera and parking sensors.

Leather trim is standard and so is the overall interior look that suggests high-end finishes and fittings. Heated and ventilated seats in all five positions are also standard.

Move up to the Limited and things get even swisher. The front seats now have a five-way massage function, there’s extra safety in the form of traffic sign recognition, the headlights feature an animation function, there’s proximity lighting, a switchable digital rear-view mirror, surround cameras and 22-inch alloy wheels. Crucially, there are also mechanical upgrades including the high-output version of the Hurricane engine and air suspension. The fuel tank also grows from the Laramie’s 98-litre unit to a full 125 litres.

What’s missing? At this price-point, an electrically adjustable steering column and a head-up display for the driver, not to mention a network of smart towing cameras and electronic towing-assistance programs that at least one of the Ram 1500’s major competitors boasts as standard.

Up front, you get one option: a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-pot. It makes 135kW and 205Nm, and it’s a delightful little thing, driving the rear wheels only - as it should.

It used to be that the smaller 1.5-litre engine was the more revvy, keen option, rest its soul, but Mazda updated the 2.0-litre to be more eager (and deliver more power) at high revs and basically made the little 1.5-litre redundant.

Anyway, you can have it with a six-speed manual in any variant, or a six-speed automatic in GT guise if you find manual gearboxes difficult or a hassle.

Here’s where the Ram world gets flipped on its head.

The new inline six-cylinder engine for the 1500 measures 3.0 litres which sounds like a relatively small unit for a vehicle this size. But don’t be fooled, because with twin turbochargers it really comes out swinging.

There are two states of tune for the engine dubbed Hurricane, starting with the basic tune that develops 313kW and 635Nm of torque. That’s a good chunk more than the old V8, in fact, 22kW and 79Nm more.

But it gets better. If you pony up for the higher-spec 1500 Limited you’ll find the engine bay now contains what Ram calls the 'high-output' version of the Hurricane. In that form, it cranks out an impressive 403kW and 707Nm. In old-school horsepower terms, those 403kW equal 540 ponies.

The extra power and torque comes from more turbo boost and, to cope with that, the High Output version of the engine sports a little less compression but twice the number of fuel pumps (two) to deliver the fuel.

Both versions of the inline six also use an intercooler with its own cooling system, rather than relying on the engine’s coolant reservoir.

In each case, the turbocharged engine sends its outputs through an eight-speed conventional automatic transmission.

The Ram also features four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer-case for low-ratio off-road gearing. As well as two-wheel drive and a low-range four-wheel-drive setting, there’s also 4WD auto mode that allows the Ram to be driven on bitumen in all-wheel drive which is a huge bonus when towing in wet conditions.

The updated pick-up also offers five drive models, selectable via the steering wheel buttons. They include Normal, Sport, Towing, Off-Road and Snow.

Mechanically, the main difference between the two grades (engine output aside) is underneath where the Limited gets air suspension rather than the Laramie Sport’s conventional steel coil springs.

Mazda says the MX-5 uses 6.8L/100km as a manual Roadster, or 7.0L/100km with an automatic gearbox. Or, in the heavier RF 6.9L for a manual and 7.2L for auto.

Not great for a tiny car like this, but pretty good for a sports car!

It’s got a 45-litre fuel tank, takes premium 95 RON or higher, and while it should hypothetically be able to travel more than 600km with its on-paper claims, expect fuel use to sit closer to 8.0L/100km if you’re driving it anything like it deserves.

Because of the classification the Ram 1500 falls into, there’s no compulsion for the manufacturer to state an official fuel consumption figure in Australia. And in this case, Ram doesn’t.

The most definitive statement we could get was that the 313kW tune is 12 per cent more fuel efficient than the outgoing Hemi V8, and the high-output engine is closer to 3.4 per cent more efficient. Although whether that extrapolates directly to a 12 and 3.4 per cent fuel saving respectively is not clear.

Our test drive included a stretch of gentle highway cruising, during which we saw an average of about 8.5 litres per 100km, which is about the best you can hope for, but remains a decent figure for such a machine.

In normal use, you can expect that to creep up, and seat of the pants says the standard-output engine should be good for a high 10 litres per 100km, and the high-output unit closer to a high-11.

Obviously, that will go to hell during off-road work or when towing any sort of trailer.

With the Laramie’s 98-litre fuel tank, that model should see an easy 700 to 800km between fills, while the Limited’s larger, 125-litre tank, should take it closer to a realistic 1000km range.

Bear in mind, though, that while the Laramie is happy with standard ULP, the higher compression and extra turbo boost of the Limited means it requires the more expensive Premium brew, which might be harder to find in the outback.

It feels like every motoring journo under the sun (literally if the roof is off) owns or has owned an MX-5 of some sort.

And the first time you drive one, you might understand why. 

If you spend your days testing and driving a bunch of different cars that aim to be many things at once, it’s refreshing to drive something that aims to be one: fun.

That’s it, the MX-5 feels like it was built to be fun. Not for convenience, not for power, certainly not for the school run.

And fortunately its simplicity remains with this update. All Mazda has done to change the way it drives is attempt to improve the rear limited-slip differential and improve the steering a little by reducing friction in the rack, as well as improve throttle response.

Has any of that changed the way it feels to drive on-road? No, not massively, but the ND was already such a delight that Mazda could have kept this update to purely design and interior tech changes and it would have still been one of the best-value buys around in terms of fun.

The MX-5 still feels relatively softly sprung while still being a dynamic and communicative sports car that’s engaging to drive even at low speeds, and rewarding (or frustrating) to drive fast.

On tight, winding roads, the MX-5 is at home, its soft suspension keeps you humble with its shifting weight and its relatively meagre outputs keep your licence safe.

In fact, despite being slightly compromised as a daily drive, the MX-5 is still plenty of fun even in traffic, there’s something about the satisfying click as the shifter slips into gear, or the little rev matches heading back down through the cogs when approaching a red light.

The 2.0-litre four-pot is a keen unit, and the six-speed manual is light and easy to work with, plus its steering is light without sacrificing road surface feedback - that feedback can quickly turn into cabin noise on a coarse highway which could become a little irritating on a long trip.

But the MX-5 can still be plenty of fun on track, where you’re more likely to get the most out of its new limited-slip differential and Track DSC mode.

It’s equally frustrating and satisfying to hustle the MX-5 around the East Circuit at The Bend in South Australia, where the track is twisty, busy, and unforgiving. Get it wrong, and the MX-5 lurches or slides to let you know you’ve made an error. 

Get it right, however, and the little roadster glides through the corners, camber changes and even over apex kerbs smoothly and carrying impressive speed.

Plus, the electronic assistance won’t usually kick-in until you really need it, a welcome change from cars that are constantly trying to keep you from having fun behind the wheel.

If speed and acceleration were your only metrics, then the new Hurricane six-cylinder engine really delivers. Against a zero to 100km/h time of about 7.5 seconds for the outgoing Hemi V8, the standard-output Laramie Sport takes around 6.2 seconds for the same journey.

Point the high-output version down the same piece of hotmix, and the time to 100km/h falls even further to about 5.5 seconds and maybe even less if you get the perfect launch. Oh, and those figures were recorded with the transmission in 4-Auto, as trying the same thing in two-wheel drive will see the rear tyres turn into smoke bombs.

So, yes, it’s very fast for such a big truck. In fact, it’s fast by any standards, really. But does it feel 'right’ for a pick-up?

While it’s obviously not a V8, there is a huge sense of swelling, cresting performance on tap as well as a feeling that the turbo boost is available pretty much immediately. There’s very little lag, in fact, and, in the traditional manner of inline sixes, the Hurricane feels smooth and sweet all the way across the face of the tachometer.

What you can also feel is the eight-speed transmission really making its presence felt. Obviously, getting this much mass moving requires full use of all those ratios and even though the shifts themselves are crisp and silky, there is more evidence of the transmission at work than in a lighter vehicle with the same sort of torque. File this under `observations’ rather than `complaints’.

The steering is light but accurate and helps create the impression that the Ram is not as big to drive as it is to look at. That’s helped by the ride quality which, frankly, is superior in the base grade with its conventional steel springs. The Limited on its air springs feels a bit more lively and jiggly over patchy surfaces, but part of this is also surely the difference between the Laramie’s 20-inch tyres and the 22-inch Pirellis fitted to the Limited.

There’s a degree of tyre roar on coarse surfaces but, overall, if all you know about American picks-ups is hitching a ride in a 1976 F-100, you’re going to be very impressed at how these things have matured and become refined to the point where they’re a genuine high-end experience in many ways.

As well as all the driver aids seen when this model was originally launched a few years ago, the facelift has brought some important safety upgrades. Those start with a steering assistance system that works in conjunction with the new forward collision warning program.

There’s now also intersection-assist and a driver drowsiness monitor. The Limited adds to that with traffic sign recognition and a surround camera system.

Existing driver aids across the range include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assistance and six airbags including curtain airbags.

A tyre pressure monitoring system is also a great safety feature in a vehicle like this that might be frequently hitched up to heavy loads. Throw in a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors and it starts to look okay.

But the one thing that is missing is the equivalent towing assistant package that is so popular on the Ford F-150. With a range of cameras and electronics to guide the hitching-up process and then monitoring the load en route, the Ford’s system should be standard on all these big tow-rigs.

The Ram also has adaptive cruise control but, for those who don’t like these active cruise systems, a standard cruise control setting is available at the flick of a switch.

Three ISOFIX child restrain mounting points are fitted to the rear seat.

The Ram hasn’t been crash tested and, since there’s no compulsion to do so in this class of vehicle, don’t expect one to be hurled into the crash-lab wall any time soon.

Mazda’s five-year, unlimited km warranty covers the MX-5, including five years of roadside assist.

Servicing costs are pre-set, with intervals every 12 months or 15,000km up to seven years or 105,000km. They cost between $447 and $638, averaging out at about $544 each.

Ram probably needs to do a bit of catching up in this department, as the 1500 seems off the pace warranty wise.

The three-year/100,000km factory warranty might be okay in throw-away North America, but it doesn’t really send the right message here. For reference, the Chevrolet Silverado range also has three-year warranty, while both the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra run to five years of cover.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 12,000km, and Ram has no capped-price servicing for the pick-up, although previous experiences tells us that the Hemi version was quite reasonably priced to service. Let’s hope that continues with the turbocharged version.