Bad Place to Put a Knob - 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Convertible Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited November 2015 in Mazda
imageBad Place to Put a Knob - 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Convertible Long-Term Road Test

The controls for the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata's infotainment system are in a particularly awkward place.

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  • s197gts197gt Member Posts: 486
    A simple lock-out button to deactivate that controller would be a nice option on manual (and automatic for that matter) vehicles.
  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    From a business point of view it makes financial sense that Mazda designed one infotainment interface and put it in all of their cars. However, from and engineering point of view some type of modification should have been done to make this more ergonomically correct. With that being said, remember the MX-5 was designed and engineered in Japan. The knob's placement is not a problem when it's right hand drive.
  • DebunkerDebunker Member Posts: 49
    What you say is not a deal-breaker may only mean that you don't need to think beyond short-term jaunts (and for free!). But put your own money up and hit that damn knob day after day, and the tune might be a quite different one.
  • 5vzfe5vzfe Member Posts: 161
    Just drop the top and you won't notice the skipping music
  • wheelmccoywheelmccoy Member Posts: 97
    A minor problem, but Mark, those are pretty good suggestions toward fixing it. It will probably be fixed in the imaginary retractable hard top model!
  • dvanosdvanos Member Posts: 52
    Mazda definitely dropped the ball on that one. Just by looking at i was wondering if this would be an issue.
  • dvanosdvanos Member Posts: 52
    Debunker said:

    What you say is not a deal-breaker may only mean that you don't need to think beyond short-term jaunts (and for free!). But put your own money up and hit that damn knob day after day, and the tune might be a quite different one.

    You are right.
  • sharpendsharpend Member Posts: 177
    Easy. Turn off the radio. And just drive.
    That's the ENTIRE reason to get a Miata in the first place.
  • subytrojansubytrojan Member Posts: 120
    edited December 2015
    I have not had a single instance of hitting the cup holder or Multi-Function Commander Control while driving my 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club 6MT (exactly the same as Edmunds' except it's black). I think this is unfortunately dependent on one's anatomy. I am 5'8" with a 32" inseam.

    I think this might also depend on where you position your hand on the shift knob when you shift. My hand is on top of the shift knob 99% of the time when I shift as recommended in the book Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving.

    Another factor could be how long or short a person's humerus is and the angle of the person's elbow when shifting.
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