It’s the world’s best-selling roadster in history but does the MX-5 still have what it takes when it comes to roof-down motoring? Al Suttie dons his sunglasses and heads to the back roads.

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Mazda MX-5 RF 2.0 Homura

List price (BiK): £33,810 (36%) CO2: 155g/km Economy: 40.9mpg Test efficiency: 42.3mpg

Monday

Sometimes, just sometimes, the world aligns perfectly to match car with conditions. This is what’s happened this week as a Mazda MX-5 RF arrived in unison with the sunshine. As someone who loves a convertible car, this is ideal for me and I’m also a big fan of the drop-top Mazda, having owned a few over the years. I’d prefer a soft-top model rather than the RF, but that’s just down to personal taste.

Tuesday

The colour of this MX-5 is Zircon Sand and rather an unusual choice. I wasn’t sure to begin with and still have reservations, but the reaction of everyone else has been overwhelmingly positive, so goes to show what I know. One big benefit is it doesn’t show any of the dust that has swirled over my other cars after tractors have been working in nearby fields.

Wednesday

Roof down and into Glasgow this morning on the back road for a more enjoyable drive. It’s no slower than going on the motorway and the 2.0-litre engine and six-speed manual transmission in the MX-5 are right in their element. As traffic thickens closer to the city, the Mazda is happy to cruise in a high gear, so fuel economy is a lot better than you might think for a sports car.

Thursday

This MX-5 RF is finished in Homura trim, which is top of the tree and comes with the gunmetal-coloured wheels. I’d rather silver wheels, but there are no complaints about the ride comfort of the MX-5 on some of the more challengingly surfaced local roads. However, experience of this type of multi-spoke alloy also means I know they can be a bit of a trial to keep clean.

Friday

A rare chance to just go for a drive for the sake of it this evening and the MX-5 is a great companion as we head into the hills. The handling and performance are superbly balanced, but the star of the show is the six-speed manual gearbox. The shift is simply the best you’ll find in any sports car this side of £100,000. Short, precise, and it goads you into using the gears just for the pleasure of making a change.

Saturday

Back to more mundane duties this morning with a run to the shops. As well as the usual groceries, my daughter and I make a detour to the pet store to pick up a new bed for our pup. I was worried we’d end up with the bed flapping out of the roof, but the Mazda’s boot proves (just) big enough to cope with everything so long as you use every nook and cranny to pack in the tins and bottles.

Sunday

It’s not often I get to the end of a week with a test car showing better fuel economy than the claimed average, especially a sporty number. However, this is where I find myself with the Mazda MX-5, and I reckon 42.3mpg over the week is impressive, given that I’ve not spared the car when the opportunity has arisen. It’s also happily dealt with city traffic and a shopping trip. All in, my belief in the MX-5 as a brilliant all-round sports car remains wholly intact.