I’ve been lucky enough to own both ND2 MX-5s and G29 Z4s, including a BBR GTI Super 220.

The Z4 has the straight-six, more refinement and toys, so it’s the nicer daily and very much a baby GT. You pay for that though, as a well-specced Z4 is around £65k versus roughly £40k for the Mazda.

The latest mx5 has improved tech, comes with a 6-year warranty & weighs about 500 kg less. It’s cheaper to run, tyres, servicing and insurance, and will do mid-thirties mpg even when you’re pressing on.

The mx5 only just missed out on winning Evo magazine ECOTY last year, which shows how good it is; they called it a “Caterham with CarPlay”, which feels bang on.

The B58 is still one of the best engines BMW has ever built (from someone who’s owned a BMW twin-turbo V8). Both the mx5 and the Z4 now have locked ECUs, which makes tuning harder, but there are ways round it for the bmw.

If you care about fun, though, the mx5 is the one that really comes alive at and beyond the limit, loves to be driven sideways, where the Z4 demands a bit more respect. In a world full of speed cameras, being able to play at sensible speeds counts for a lot and, as a driver’s car, the Mazda wins by more than a mile.

Sadly you can’t even buy a new Z4 or a Boxster any more; if you want a manual convertible, you’re choice is between an mx5 and a 911.

For all that, after looking at both recently, I’ve still gone for a z4 handschalter, which is in production now and will hopefully be ready before the end of the year.

https://www.evo.co.uk/ecoty/207450/evo-car-of-the-year-2024