So much for the Mazda MX-5 Miata being the affordable sports car, as Mazda announced its new MX-5 Miata RF “Retractable Fastback” will have a starting price of $32,390?$6640 more than a base 2016 Miata softtop. 
To be fair, the model doesn’t include the roadster’s bottom-of-the-barrel Sport trim level. Instead, it starts at the Club level, an approximately $30,000 offering in ragtop form. As such, even the lowliest Miata RF comes standard with a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert, not to mention RF-exclusive items such as a 4.6-inch color information screen mounted in the gauge cluster and, of course, a power-folding targa top. Meanwhile, stepping up to the top-of-the-line $33,455 Miata RF Grand Touring brings additional niceties such as heated leather seats, lane-departure warning, and adaptive headlights with automatic high-beams. Like its cloth-topped sibling, the RF comes standard with a smooth-shifting six-speed manual transmission, although a six-speed automatic is available for $730 on the Club and $1205 on the Grand Touring. Unfortunately, Miata fans looking to purchase an RF with a limited-slip differential had better be prepared to forgo the convenience of an automatic transmission and the comforts of the Grand Touring trim, since the feature is strictly limited to the stick-shift RF Club. On the plus side, selecting this combo unlocks the option of the Brembo/BBS package, wh...