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EV vs ICE Miata: What’s the Answer?
There is no such thing as an affordable lightweight electric sports car.
The MG Cyberster weighs in at 1900kg (4189 lbs) and a dollar equivalent of $75,000, the Maserati GranCabrio Folgore tips the scales at 2400kg (5291 lbs) and over $200,000 and somewhere between the two will sit the upcoming Porsche Boxster/Cayman.
EV performance comes at the expense of heavy batteries that are incompatible with agility—at least not without some serious electronic intervention. Perhaps one day Caterham’s Project 25 or some future Alpine product will offer an electric drive that appeals to lovers of analog, but for now, there’s nothing on the new car market.
Turn to the aftermarket, however, and the answer is available—and like every other automotive question on the internet that answer is Miata.
Electrogenic, the British specialist that has developed drop-in EV conversions for a wide range of classics from the Land Rover Defender and Jaguar E-Type to the DeLorean DMC-12 and Mini, now has a plug-and-play setup for the NA/NB Miata.
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The core stats are as follows: 120kW (163 hp) electric motor, powered by 42kW of batteries mounted under the hood and in place of the fuel tank giving a useable range of 150 miles and CCS rapid charging at up to 60kW. There’s a weight penalty of just 30kg (66 lbs) over the factory 1.8-liter engine and drivetrain, and the conversion would take a couple of skilled mechanics a week to complete. There’s no drilling required and the process is reversible.
The kit will be available at Electrogenic’s U.S. partner installers, and, as with the E-Type and Defender kits, the company reckons that America will be the biggest market.
“It’s a popular car in the States and there’s been a lot of interest,” says Electrogenic boss Steve Drummond. “A lot of people are saying, ‘this is what I’ve been waiting for.’ The U.S.A. is our biggest market because the culture is to modify cars, personalize cars and there’s already quite a big market in Miata retrofits for bigger ICE engines.”
There’s no price confirmed as yet, but Drummond reckons that electrifying your Miata will likely cost a similar amount to doing one of the higher-end engine swaps. So, it’s fair to say that the car waiting at the little circuit at Bicester Heritage near Oxford is the most expensive Miata I’ll have ever driven.
I’m a former Miata owner myself. My little car took me to the Arctic in the depths of winter and to sunny Spain in the height of summer. I added coilovers, a hefty Flyin’ Miata strut brace, and underbody stiffening, and did a number of track days before passing it on to a pal who enjoyed it for many more years.
To re-familiarize myself I’ve brought along a 1996 example from Mazda U.K.’s heritage fleet. It’s a tidy car, but in a very basic specification, with no power steering or power windows. Some might say it’s the most ‘honest’ example you’ll find—as true to Mazda’s original Jinba Ittai—that’s “horse and rider as one—” ethos as it’s possible to get.
After driving it for a couple of days, it is a brilliant reminder of the simple pleasures in driving life. There is nothing complicated here, just a cammy DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder up front, a short-throw five-speed manual, and a chassis that’s set up, not for maximum cornering capability, but for driver involvement.
The suspension is soft and long travel—presenting large wheel-to-arch gaps that many owners fill with a lowering kit. The standard setup, however, delivers such advance warning of any impending loss of grip that it can be steered with the throttle at low to medium speeds in safety. The steering is direct, with an immediate turn-in, but without assistance it lacks some linearity and fluidity. The engine loves revs, with a step-change in sound and performance above 5000rpm, while the brakes feel up to the job, especially since one is inevitably traveling somewhat slower than senses suggest.
The Electrogenic conversion is a customer’s car and there are a few peculiarities as a result. It’s riding lower and on a brand of tire that I’ve never heard of, so it’s not an exact back-to-back comparison, but it’s close enough to immediately see where electrons give it an advantage.
There are three drive modes. Eco feels just a tad off the performance of the ICE car. It’s still fairly brisk off the mark and would be good for town driving—which is why the owner also specified speed limiters at 20 and 30 mph. Normal feels much more like the ICE 16-valver, with a measured torque delivery that builds with speed—a bit like that 1.8-liter engine coming on cam. Sport unleashes everything for a 0-60 time of around six seconds.
It’s a riot, with easy power oversteer on corner exit and linear acceleration that extends way beyond the braking point of the longest straight. If it was me, I’d upgrade the brakes, because even with some regeneration more stopping confidence would be welcome.
In a drag race, the Electrogenic car gets way better traction off the start and then simply pulls away from the ICE car, ending up two or three car lengths ahead by 60 mph. Next up, I chase Electrogenic engineer Alex Bavage for a few laps. Any progress I make under braking or in corner speed in the standard car rapidly disappears on the straights.
One last go in the EV to see to weigh up what’s gained and what’s lost. Most obviously is the removal of the transmission. The shifter is still there, but only engages forward or reverse so there’s none of that joy of rowing your own gears, heel-and-toeing to match revs for downshifts, revving right to the redline on the way up, snicking each shift home and hearing the mechanical music that accompanies it all. The EV swap loses that, although it does still retain the 50:50 weight distribution and fine handling balance of the original car.
For its owner, the biggest win will be in day-to-day driving. This car is destined to live in London and will be exempt from the city’s ULEZ and Congestion Charges, which would add up to £27.50 ($34) per day if the car was left as standard. There’s also a certain pleasure in the quieter running at speed, and a little more engagement with one’s surroundings without the cacophony of internal combustion.
Then there’s the performance. Dynamically, in most instances, you wouldn’t notice the added weight. Similar acceleration could, of course, be gained with forced induction or an engine swap, but the brutality of instant EV torque will always bring a smile to one’s face. And that—the ability to induce grins—has always been a key factor in the Miata answer.
Once again, the little Mazda is providing the benchmark and proof that a lightweight fun sports EV is possible after all.
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At only an additional 66lbs and hp at about 160, you’re looking at ND1 specs, so not at all outrageous.
I was super jazzed about this until I saw that they removed the manual transmission. Shifting is where most of the joy of driving a sport car is for me. I’d happily take a loss in power of I can have a transmission to route the power through.