The rollout of the new 2006 Mazda MX-5 represents what is nominally the Miata's third generation, but it's actually the first total rework of everyone's darling roadster. And that makes it a high-stakes gamble. Confronting a new-generation Mazda Miata is charming and bubbly, yet at the same time scary and momentous, because so much could go wrong.

Ever since we first saw the Miata's Lotus Elan routine in 1989, the car has stood as a monument to basic driving fun. But light, balanced, responsive cars rarely benefit from the impulse to make them roomier, more comfortable and more civilized as they mature, in pursuit of a broader audience. And even though the Miata does not represent huge sales numbers (its projected 16,000 units a year in the U.S. equals two fair weeks of Camry traffic), it is still Mazda's defining product and a benchmark car for devotees of the driving arts and sciences.

So a lot is riding on how the Miata's new "upgrade" plays out. It is frighteningly important that Mazda not screw up.

Mazda, we can report with real relief, has not screwed up.

It's true the new Mazda Miata parts with tradition in one way: it isn't called the 2006 Mazda Miata at all. For marketing reasons that must have sounded convincing in the meetings, Mazda is going with just MX-5 henceforth. Fine. The world will always call it a Miata.

Remains True to Mission
As Richard Homan reported in our First Drive: 2006 Mazda MX-5, the new car does indeed remain true to the original Miata mission: be a lively, sweetly balanced little roadster with so much feel and reactivity in the controls that no one will even think about straight-line speed, luggage space or interior noise. True, the '06 is longer, wider, heavier and roomier inside than before, and it's packing more motor and more amenities. All of this could have deadened that characteristic Miata feel, but it hasn't. Not significantly, at least.

You know the car is bigger and more refined, but it still changes direction like a roller skate, speaks to you clearly through the steering wheel and driver seat, accelerates adequately with a classic inline-four growl and writes the book on manual-shifter precision, effort and feel. In other words, it nails the fundamentals.

Better Drive
That's not to say the new MX-5 is functionally indistinguishable from any old Miata. Longer-travel suspension (sourced from the RX-8 in back) provides nicely controlled compliance over choppy surfaces where Miatas used to feel harsh while bouncing and flailing about. Also, running vibration is better managed, so day-long 75-mph freeway cruising is notably less fatiguing. All of which makes the MX-5 a better car without making it a less effective Miata.

Sheer thrust has never been a critical ingredient in the Miata brew, but obviously, nothing happens without a little horsepressure. With 170 horsepower from 2.0 liters, the 2006 MX-5 nearly matches the peak output of the previous hotted-up, turbocharged Mazdaspeed 1.8 engine (it made 178 horses), and does so with newfound low-to-medium-rev flexibility. Though hardly a torque monster, the new engine pulls willingly and revs freely. It's a delightful instrument to play, especially in combination with the optional six-speed manual box.

Our test 2006 MX-5 ran zero to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, clearly quicker than previous normally aspirated Miatas (we got 8.1 seconds from a 2001) and close to the 2004 Mazdaspeed version (6.7 seconds). Quarter-mile numbers line up similarly; the '06 ran 15.3 seconds at 89.4 mph compared to 16.2 at 84.7 for the 2001 model and 15.2 at 90.4 mph for the Mazdaspeed.

Ask it to erase speed and the new MX-5 again delivers. Its 60-0 stopping distance of 116 feet was 5 feet shorter than we recorded in a 2001 Miata. Credit slightly larger disc brake rotors (diameter increased from 270mm to 290mm in front, 276 to 280mm in back) plus a larger vacuum booster, new linkage ratios and more rigidity in the lines and calipers. Response is crisp and pedal feel is excellent. The P205/45R17 tires that come on the Grand Touring package didn't hurt here either.

Weight is the enemy of performance, both having too much and carrying it in the wrong places, and Mazda sweated the details to trim mass wherever possible, shift some weight rearward, and move major masses closer to the center of the car to reduce polar moment of inertia. In theory, that means happier balance and more eager changes of direction, and it was key to retaining Miata-like behavior despite adding 2.6 inches to the wheelbase, 1.6 inches to both length and width, more beef to stiffen the unibody and the bigger engine.

Major changes (such as using aluminum instead of iron for the engine's block and mounting it 5.3 inches farther aft) as well as obsessively small ones (paring 0.19 pound from the rearview mirror) kept the overall weight increase to a claimed 22 pounds. Mazda says the front-to-rear weight distribution is just slightly nose-heavy at the curb, and comes back to 50/50 with two occupants aboard.

More Hospitable
Those passengers will appreciate the more spacious layout inside. Big guys, especially, won't be rubbing elbows all the time now, and they'll find that the tastefully finished and flat-shaped dash seems to be mounted farther away and higher above the deeper, broader footwells. It's simply a bigger car. Still snug, but much more livable.

Tasteful and functional style plus richer finishing (in three choices of trim) make the MX-5 interior nicer as well as more spacious. We especially liked the bright-trimmed gauges in their new binnacle (though the orange markings can disappear through sunglasses, and the tach's redline is not obvious at night) and we welcomed the generous new storage pockets, cubbies, nets and cupholders.

Of course, the Miata's best interior feature has always been the ease with which it opens up. You don't even have to leave your seat, just unlatch the top and toss it back. The MX-5 actually improves on that tradition by using just a single central latch (instead of two) and cleverly folding into the well in a way that presents a finished appearance, almost as if you'd affixed a hard boot over it. And with the top down, turbulence and wind racket are considerably improved by reshaping the header, adding front-quarter window panels in the "V" of the A-pillars and providing a wind blocker behind the seats. All very tidy.

Better Than Ever
This bigger new non-Miata Miata is packaged in sheet metal intended to give it a stronger character and — though Mazda doesn't care to put it this way — a less feminine look. Being a chick car has always been a rap on Miatas, and moving beyond that image is likely one rationale for dropping the Miata name. It's certainly one goal of the redesign, with its stronger face, more rakish lines and accentuated fender contours.

At $27,095, our top-of-the-range Grand Touring model crowds closer to the $30,000 mark than a light-hearted roadster maybe should. But the 2006 Mazda MX-5 still strikes us as decent value for the money. Especially since the driving experience's fun quotient was not lost as the car got bigger and nicer. We all survived the scary and momentous part of a new Miata introduction to enjoy the charming and bubbly part.