Mazda MX-5 RF White

As ever, the MX-5 is offered with petrol engines that aren’t especially powerful but will provide eager performance if you’re prepared to work them hard. The smaller of the two available is a 1.5 with 132 horsepower. It’s perfectly up to the job, giving a 0-62mph time of 8.3 seconds, but if you really want to make the most of the MX-5’s great handling it’s worth paying extra for the 184-horsepower 2.0-litre model. This gives you a much feistier 0-62mph time of just 6.5 seconds and much stronger responses when you put your foot down on the move. It’s keen to rev and sounds fruitier, too.The MX-5 harks back to classic roadsters but it’s packed with bang-up-to-date safety kit. Every version comes with front and side airbags, a tyre pressure monitoring system, cruise control with a speed limiter and a pop-up bonnet that helps to protect pedestrians. All but the cheapest versions also have lane departure and driver alertness warning systems, as well as traffic sign recognition. Crucially, they also feature an automatic emergency braking system that detects both pedestrians and vehicles ahead. The top two trims have a blind-spot warning system and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, which warns you if you are about to reverse out of a parking spot into the path of oncoming traffic.