Inside The Mazda MX-5 Sustainable Road Trip

A quartet of Mazda MX-5s cover a 1,000-mile trip on 100 percent biofuel with zero fossil content. Motoring editor Jeremy Taylor and Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby try the ever-youthful MX-5 convertible.

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The Mazda MX-5 & Eco Fuel

JT – You may have read car manufacturers are struggling with the uncertainty over Government policy on electric vehicles. Will the sale of petrol and diesel cars cease in 2030 or 2035 – and what about hybrids?

J-TP – Yes, we could do with some clarity. Motorists I’ve spoken to don’t know whether to invest in an EV or not. That same uncertainly has also caused the price of secondhand electric cars to plummet.

The situation has given EV naysayers another excuse to knock battery powered vehicles. But, in the meantime, at least there has been progress with conventional fuel. Sustainable fuel is big news – even the classic cars racing at the Goodwood Revival next month will run entirely on green fuel.

That is significant because many classic car owners fear their engines will be damaged by sustainable fuel or additives.

Not so. Mazda has helped proved the point by celebrating 35 years of the iconic MX-5 convertible with a 1,000-mile drive from Land’s End to John O-Groats using only sustainable fuel. Four cars – one from each generation of MX-5 – made the trip.

So, what is the fuel made of?

The product is called Sustain 100 and manufactured from agricultural waste and the by-products from crops which can’t be used for human consumption. Petrol cars new or old don’t need any adjustment to run on the stuff.

It’s as simple as that?

The drop-in fuel utilises carbon that is already in the atmosphere, which crops absorb as they grow, therefore recycling it rather than releasing additional CO2 as fossil fuels do.

Electric vehicles are increasing in numbers, but there are many millions of combustion engine cars on our roads – it surely makes sense to reduce the emissions from those vehicles if we can. 

Indeed, yet many people don’t realise it’s an option or know how sustainable fuel works. 

So, I can drive my petrol-engined MX-5 sports car with a clear conscience?

You can! Not only the world’s best-selling sports car but also one of the most fun vehicles on the road. The RF model we drove has a folding hard-top for even more practicality.

DISCOVER

Learn more about Mazda’s MX-5 sustainable road trip here, and discover more about the Mazda MX-5 at mazda.co.uk

Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby is Director of Programmes at London College of Fashion, studying for a PhD in sustainable e-textile design.