Mazda to launch 2021 MX-5 GT RS track special (but there’s a problem)

Mazda Australia, launching an allegedly track-ready MX-5 in January, seems to have (hilariously) shot itself in the wedding vegetables…

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Mazda Australia was apparently looking for a cheap way to sex-up the ageing MX-5 for 2021.

So they added some front Brembos with, they claim, 26 per cent greater fade-resistance, plus 17-inch forged alloy BBS wheels and a strut brace. Glorified bolt-ons. But just enough to justify calling it the new MX-5 GT RS.

There’s also wireless Apple Car Play and a new blue colour in the range, as well as black caps on the wing mirrors - be still, my beating heart.

Mr Bhindi is, in my view, the administrative type who counts the beans at the top of Mazda’s local import shop. I’d respectfully suggest to him that ‘Zoom-Zoom’ is a philosophy in exactly the same way that the menu at the local Cantonese takeaway is literature...

Yeah, okay, performance, but not straight-line performance like the previous hot MX-5s like the turbocharged SP. That was a firecracker, that car.

Still, MX-5 remains a great car for that pure-handling experience. A little bit pricey, but no argument there: brakes, strut brace, wheel, black wing mirrors. Yes. Approved.

To be fair on all this, Mazda is also doing some kickarse engineering generally, especially with engine tech. They’re one of the few Japanese carmakers still doing that now that the likes of Honda and Nissan have, seemingly, given up.

This is exactly why I routinely recommend Mazda CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9, and the now superseded BT-50 ute.

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FIT FOR PURPOSE?

Anyway, here’s where the fun starts:

Hold that thought. It’s from the official press release, dated 10/12/2020. 

That’s also from the press release. Dated December 10, 2020.

However, on Mazda Australia’s official warranty page, section 8: “What is not covered by this warranty?” 8.1:

Specifically:

‘Competition racing.’ Really? Like, show me the racing that’s not actually competition. So there’s that. And what exactly, I wonder, are these ‘related purposes’? Safety car? Display car at a track event?

Is a ‘related purpose’ a (defensive) driver training day on a racetrack, or a skidpan, or a hill climb, or a personal track session at an open track day? 

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To track-day or not?

In any case, here’s a car about which the manufacturer publicly claims (quote) ‘track-ready grip and feedback’ and which is (quote) a ‘natural fit for club motorsport’ - but it seems if you actually do this with your new MX-5 GT RS you are at risk of voiding the warranty, at least as it is currently written. Oops a daisy. 

The delicious irony here is found in the detail of Australian Consumer Law. Specifically the legislated guarantee of ‘acceptable quality,’ which says, in part, that consumer goods, including cars, must match descriptions made about them in promotions or advertising.

And if the business fails to deliver these things, then, according to the ACCC, you have legislated consumer rights for repair, replacement or refund, plus compensation for damages or loss. These rights exist irrespective of the warranty status which is a vague fluffy promise which manufacturers make arbitrarily and are full of open-ended weasel words that don’t clearly define terms and conditions.

So it seems to me Mazda Australia has painted itself deliciously into something of a corner with this allegedly track-ready car that is allegedly a natural fit for club motorsport, despite offering a warranty that is apparently voided by doing exactly these things with it...

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PRO TIP

If I were you, considering the purchase a new Mazda MX-5 GT RS, which I’m sure is a great car - specifically for the purpose of occasionally driving at a local track day to blow out the cobwebs - I’d want Mazda’s position on warranty clarified.

Even though you could probably win a consumer law claim against them if push came to shove, pushing in this way is often quite expensive and a roll of the dice in any case.

I just really don’t think they’ve thought this through, probably because they were too busy gushing meaningless rhetoric over the philosophy of Zoom-Zoom and other related matters, whatever, when they should’ve been paying attention to the details.

If they had thought about it, they would’ve probably gushed something about warranty inclusion in yesterday’s press release. Perhaps they’ll add this hastily in time for the launch. I do hope so.

With respect, I would suggest to Mr Bhindi in the interest of not throwing additional fuel on the fire of the ACCC’s pending prosecution of Mazda Australia for alleged unconscionable conduct in federal court, just look at what Hyundai does for the i30 N warranty for track days. Just clone that.

You’re welcome. No charge for this wholly constructive criticism.

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