Vehicle Review: 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring RF - Disneyland and Food Adventures

This is my first time reviewing the Mazda Miata since 2014 and I can already tell there have a been a lot of changes over the years! New for 2017 is this Mazda Miata MX-5 Grand Touring RF. The RF is for Retractable Fastback which refers to the power-folding hardtop. But let's get into the review! 

Thanks to my buddy Mike for the incredible drone photography! 

The cabin is nicely laid out and there is plenty of legroom for myself and I am 5 foot 6 but taller friends had difficulty getting out of the car. 

Gauges are bright and controls are all easily within reach. There is automatic climate control, push button ignition and power everything as to be expected with a vehicle of this type! 

The large 7-inch touchscreen has voice command, HD Radio, Aha, Pandora and Stitcher internet radio integration, SMS text message audio delivery and reply, Mazda Navigation System, SiriusXM, and speed sensing automatic audio controls. The steering wheel has audio, phone and cruise controls. There is a Bose 9-speaker audio system that delivers crystal clear sound with driver and passenger headrest speakers and a subwoofer. There is even a CD player! 

The first place I headed to was of course to Disneyland! My awesome friend Erin and I had tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party, an event that is sold out every single year! We went as Hiro Hamada and GoGo Tamago from Big Hero 6! And yes, that Baymax is a candy bucket! We ended up with more than enough candy from all the treat stops that we didn't even go to all of them! Plus, there are special Halloween fireworks, a Halloween parade and special character meet and greets and other entertainment that make this a good to event every single year!

Halloween also brings special food and drink offerings to The Disneyland Resort! Erin and I both got the poison apple-tini with the exclusive green poison apple glow cube from The Carthay Circle Lounge in Disney California Adventure!

2016 Mitsubishi Lancer SEL AWD - A Fun, Inexpensive Family Car

Take a look at the fun to drive 2016 Mitsubishi Lancer SEL! I got to drive this beauty for a week and let's see what I thought about this car! The SEL is new to the Lancer lineup this year as an upper-midlevel in between the lower-midlevel SE and the sporty GT.

I headed back up to Northern California again and put in well over a thousand miles on the Lancer. The standard all-wheel drive (AWD) on the SEL handled the climb up the grapevine with ease.

The console is neatly laid out. Everything is easily within reach as well as easy to read. You get full power accessories, cruise control, a tilt-only steering wheel, climate control, bluetooth hands-free calling, a 140-watt stereo system with 6 speakers, a USB port, heated front seats, a rear-view camera, satellite radio, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.  

The 16-inch alloy wheels are ready to hit the road. They provide solid traction and grip the road tightly. You also get a ton of safety features including 4-wheel antilock brakes, traction and stability control, front side-mounted airbags, front and rear head curtain airbags, LED daytime running lights, front fog/driving lights, turn-signal-integrated mirrors as well as a remote antitheft alarm.

Dessert! Yes, dessert is the first food adventure of this trip! A banana creampuff, a banana pudding  and a banana tart round off this delicious plate at the buffet at the Gold Coast Casino.

Time to hop back into the Lancer and the plush leather seats and head out to the next food adventure!

Even the back seats offer leather and lots of legroom. And we will need all this comfort as we head to the Fisherman's Buffet at the Jackson Casino.

The first plate is full of King Crab legs!

Next up is a lobster with steamed clams and shrimp.

Last but not least is this plate of dungeness crab legs and more steamed clams. An amazing election of crab, lobster and more make this one of the best seafood buffets around. But get there early as they only allow so many people in for each hour the seafood buffet is offered.

I would fill all the crab legs and lobster into the trunk here if I could. But as you can see there isn't a ton of trunk space but it is more than enough for a trip for two or a small family.

On the way home from Northern California, I was invited by Dolby to attend an advanced screening of Kubo and The Two Strings and the latest Dolby Cinema Theater at the Del Amo AMC 18.

Super excited to see the newest movie from the amazingly talented folks at Laika.

The 2.4-liter I4 engine produces 168hp and provides more than enough power to get you anywhere you need to go. The gas mileage is listed at 23/31/26 and I got the exact same numbers.

A week of driving up and down the state of California showed me what a fun vehicle this is. An inexpensive (the review vehicle came in at $22,805.00) family 4-door car that has enough performance and comfort features to make you take a look.