Bloody trans hairdressers......
More seriously, seems to have a nice stance. Mini Supra?
Bloody trans hairdressers......
More seriously, seems to have a nice stance. Mini Supra?
Sorry, but the MX-5 just seems to get uglier every time they update it. I used to have a Mk1 and for me it never got any better than that.
When they were first launched I took one out for a test drive with a view to upgrading my Mk 3.5 2.0 litre Roadster. Whilst they look nice enough I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed and could find little justification for, or indeed added benefit from, the uplift in price.
I've still got the one I took with me which continues to fit all my requirements near perfectly.
In terms of the aesthetics, as a previous Mk2 owner I'm inclined to agree with Lampoc. Though I do grant that they've done a reasonable job in modernising the design for the current models, which to my eye look better in the metal than on a brochure cover.
If you go for a 6month old one - you can probably get a high spec for £20K roadster. Try the 1.5 RF - with its power to weight it’s super fun.
wife has the 3.5 2.0 auto. Great fun to drive - but downside for me - gets a bit cramped for long journeys (over 2h of driving) - but bearable.
Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 5th January 2020 at 13:37.
They look nice until you take a peak at its ass.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a hideous car. It just looks to me like they've squashed a Mazda2/Mazda3 hybrid in some sort of corporate branding exercise! I say this as someone who has excusively owned Mazdas for about the last 15 years: the Fiat 124 looks about 100 times better :D
Well, you're obviously emotionally invested in the older models. I have one and quite like it (although not an early reference, the adoration of which I do understand), but I came straight from a written-off Boxster S that I swapped with Foxy for a red Sub many years ago, and which to my mind was ten times the car. Sadly I couldn't afford to replace it.
Anyway, I much prefer the newer shape and could well see myself owning one in the future.
I quite like hard-top convertibles, and have recently been vaguely looking at getting a Mk3.75 (NC3) MX-5. I have obviously considered the Mk4 (ND) as part of the process. The killer for me is that the RF is no longer really a proper convertible, but just a targa.
I'm also not completely convinced by the looks.
I really like the looks of the latest iteration - the best so far IMHO. I took one for a test drive and really enjoyed it - since then Mazda upped the power and I'm sure it must be even more fun.
I happened to see a red 124 Spider yesterday and that was also gorgeous.
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We bought one of these last year Tony , only in white. We decided against the hardtop as there are a number of reviews about thrumming and turbulence when the hood is down. The ND mk 4 is lighter than the previous generations and more like the mk1 at just under 1000kgs.
Specced up with Bilstiens and a limited slip diff from the factory, you have a low cost lovely back lanes / track car.
The 124 looks like a good alternative as I would prefer a simple soft top.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I love the new shape and came close to buying one last year, but I decided to go for a MK3.5 instead as I wanted a proper folding hard top and the cheaper car mean't I had the budget for a few mods.
Tony, if you're planning to have a look at one there was an engine update in late 2018 which saw the 2.0 go from 160bhp to a claimed 180. I say claimed as BBR saw over 190 on their standard car before upgrading it to 220.
I tried out the new one with the retractable roof but didn’t fit. Fine if you’re under 5’. Oh, wait...
"A man of little significance"
Been out a few years, though, as I won a drive of one up Goodwood hill at the FOS 3 or 4 years ago!
Personally, I think the MX5 is nicer looking than the 124, which seems a bit faux (like the VW Beetle recreation, etc), but you seem (or seemed a while ago, at least) to be able to get some cracking lease deals on the 124.
Would be hard to say my drive at Goodwood gave me a massive insight into the MX5, not least as we met a tractor coming the other way at one point - So much for the 'professionalism' of the marshals there... .
It seemed pleasant enough, much like my RX8 at the time, but with a lot less oomph, but, as I say, it wasn't enough of a drive to get a really good feel for the car and it's behaviour.
M
I saw a chap driving one down mt fuji as I was shuffling up the mountain in a rented Suzuki Swift - he was having the time of his life
I thihk there is logic to have a well balanced, nicely powered, lithe front engined rear wheel drive roadster that you don't need to break the speed limit in to enjoy.
Perfect car for the B road blast and odd track day
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My wife has had the 30th Anniversary ND (the bright orange one...) 2.0 RF since the summer. There's no escaping the fact NDs are small - I'm under 6' and just fit, but apart from that, they are a significant uplift from all of the previous generations in looks, handling and performance. For a start they are the lightest of all 4 generations - yes, even than the original, and have the most power.
You really want the second generation 2.0L as that not only has more outright power, but also revs higher and has a better spread of torque (and matched and balanced cams, lightened valves, uprated fuel injection... &c. The engine upgrade was a lot more than a tweaked-up ECU). The "1.5 is better" is regurgitated motoring writer nonsense - *that* is the hairdresser car: all the looks, none of the go.
"The RF's just a targa" is also a meme - how much weather do you actually *want* in your cabin? Rhetorical question - the RF lets in just as much as you need, and does so while being more secure and not needing rethatching every 5-10 years! Costs a few more £s and lbs, sure, but nothing significant.
Meme 3: "Suspension's too soft". No it isn't. Unless you *enjoy* back pain. And piles. It's a complaint made by people who've driven too many overweight, undersprung computer-driven German hatewagens. If you like those, you will never "get" an MX-5. Why even try?
They're not for everyone, of course, but don't let idiots on forums make your mind up - get a test drive. And do it soon, cos a gutless hybrid NE is on its way - so the ND will very likely be the last mainstream naturally-aspirated sports cars ever...
If my vx220 ever gets nicked or written off I'd be getting an MX-5 in a heartbeat.
You can spank one along a B road within the speed limit.
I prefer to drive a slower car fast than a faster car slow.
I really like them too. Unfortunately I didn't fit when I sat in one at Goodwood. Too tall and too wide apparently.
Still, bigger inside than an S2000
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There used to be massive discounts on Drive the Deal too. With 50% deposits and 0% on the rest. I was seriously considering buying one for my mother to replace her weekend MR2.
It's just a matter of time...
Thought long and hard about the 30 AE before stretching to my A110 but big fan of the mx5 following 3 test drives and will no doubt wish I had a top down option come summer!
We've had our 2ltr Sport Nav+ convertible since Easter last year, we had the loan of the demo car 1.5ltr RF for a 1000 trip to Germany as ours wasn't ready.
Both the engines and cars are totally different, the RF being more suited to long motorway runs.
Mush prefer the 2lrt with the high revs and performance.
I had various performance cars over the years, but when asked by a few people about the MX5 I've said it's the most fun you can have with your trousers on and keep your license.
It feels nimble and that your driving faster than you actually are.
You can get a prereg 30AE for £23k cash, which sounds pretty good to me for a runaround.
I personally think that one is the dogs.......
I had a Mk 2.5 a good few years back, loved it. I replaced it with a Boxster S 986, then a 997 C4S and another Boxster S 987......but if I'm really honest none of those were quite a much fun as the MX-5.
For the record.....I've never cut hair. Don't listen to the nay-sayers.
interior is to small
Or just under £25 if you take one of each -
https://goodsmileshop.com/en/On-Sale...p/16D_WD_01400
Here's ours, I wouldn't say the interior is too small, I'm 6ft and fit in OK, the boot is big enough for boxes of wine and beer, what else do you need?
always loved the MX5; ex had a series 1 & 3; but i'm just too bloody tall for one at 6'5"
just think Mazda put a small sports car together so well and the hairdresser stuff is just BS; nice, fun, nippy little cars can be small engined, small interiored and great fun (if you fit in)
Wise words. Some of the most fun I ever had behind the wheel was in my wife's 750cc Fiat Panda. No weight, no grip - lurid 4 wheels drifts at 40mph on the roundabouts on the ring road. Wherever I was going, I got there late but always with a smile on my face.
Cheers,
Plug
Lovely car that! My wife's a total petrolhead (her weekend car's a '91 NSX), so I treated her to BBR's "Super 220" engine upgrade, plus exhaust system, for xmas. The MX-5 now dynos at a pleasing 222BHP and with a torque plateau that you'd normally need a turbo for, but none of the downsides. If the VX is ever killed, I think you'd enjoy this very much - same linearity, and revs higher.
Nice! Very nice. Not driven one, but that would be on the wish list.
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There are a few cancelled-order 30ths about - all soft tops. Provided you like orange, the tweaks are very nice to have. And no-one's buying ragtops in winter, so deals should be have-able.
Had the new 1.5 a few years back, drove across Europe with it and it never missed a beat.
No real reason to sell it but I did (after putting some nice suspension and exhaust on it - loses the comedy ride height and tightens it up a bit).
Now done the same with the Fiat 124 - lightweight wheels, remap, bit of induction and exhaust, same Meister R suspension as I had in the MX-5)
Next to the newer 2.0 MX-5 that actually likes to be revved.
Great cars for when you want something that wont break down, a soft top that doesnt leak, real world usable and more importantly fun performance (its just a car, missus was happy to doddle about across Spain whereas she wouldnt entertain the Elise/Exige/Atom/Caterham we've had in the past.
My track day career is long gone and I get much more enjoyment from touring in this.
And the heated seats are nice :)
Mrs T recently got a used low mileage Recaro ltd edition 2.0L , well spec’d and looks good with additional body bits, a great car.
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The nd is the best looking mx5 since the na in my opinion,I have a red mk1 currently and I really rate it as a driver's car even though it has no power!!!
When it dies I'll be after an orange nd 30th anniversary edition.
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