EARLIER this year, Mazda returned fire at Toyota's runaway-success 86 sportscar with a fourth-generation MX-5 that went back to the compact and lightweight formula of the original with a bargain price.

But now, the Japanese car-maker has doubled the range with a more powerful 2.0-litre SkyActiv engine joining the most affordable 1.5-litre version, adding a more grown up offering but without overly fattening its sharp price.

The United States only gets the 2.0-litre, while Japan has just the smaller engine version, so will Australia's exclusive two-variant range return the MX-5 to the halcyon days of the original, way back in the late 1980s?

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