Mazda MX-5 is Top Gear magazine Roadster of the Year 2005

BBC Top Gear magazine has named the all-new third generation Mazda MX-5 'Roadster of the Year 2005', in its annual Top Gear magazine Awards featured in the December issue.

The world's most popular roadster has scooped this prestigious award just one month after officially hitting Mazda showrooms throughout the UK. By the end of the year over 1,000 sports car fans will be the proud owners of a new Mazda MX-5.

Mark Cameron, marketing director for Mazda commented on the appeal of the new Mazda MX-5: "The masculine styling with flared wheel arches, larger cabin size and increased engine size of 2.0-litre with 160 horsepower gives a more aggressive stance and expresses the evolution in design of the iconic Mazda MX-5."

Top Gear magazine explained why the new Mazda MX-5 is such an achievement: "It's not what Mazda added that made this reinvention so successful, but the driver 'aids' that it had at its disposal…and then left on the shelf. It's about something that owners of classic cars know plenty about. It's about knowing when to keep it simple.

Top Gear magazine Deputy Editor Tom Ford added: "At Top Gear we try to appreciate what makes good cars great, and why that is. We don't always get it right. Mazda, on the other hand, seems to have the knack of hitting the spot time and time again with the MX-5. Congratulations to Top Gear magazine's Roadster of the Year 2005.