The Mazda MX-5 Miata is the ultimate weekend car

Matthew DeBord/BI

I'm an unapologetic Mazda MX-5 Miata fanboy.

When I lived in Los Angeles, I owned one — a first-generation classic, with flip-up headlights — and I loved taking it out for jaunts up the Pacific Coast Highway and runs through the canyons.

As Mazda developed the car through subsequent generations, I thought it lost much of its essential roadster character and became more of sports car. But that all changed with the latest version of the peppy two-seater, the fourth iteration, which was unveiled in 2014.

We got a crack at the car over the winter, which wasn't ideal. But even after a snowstorm and on winter tires, the new Miata was still a blast: I put the top down and cranked up the heater and the seat-heaters. The car has lost 220 lbs. and now feels more like my old Miata.

The new Miata returned to my driveway recently and I got to take it on a proper autumn outing, in what for me is real roadster weather: when it's crisp and slightly chilly and a driving cap and maybe even some driving gloves make sense.

You already know that I adore the new MX-5. Here's a closer look at why, this time with more pictures:

It wasn't exactly convertible roadster weather when we got our first crack at the new Miata.

I made the best of it, however.

The climate was more favorable the second time around.