New MX-5

[SFO]

Cabsi said:

A quick snap from the day

good to see the Tan interior

do you have any tan interior pics please?

[J1JPE]

Great extended Test Drive in the 1.5 and 2.0L with Mazda UK at Daylesford this weekend.

1.5 is point and shoot, foot to the floor quick but controllable; whereas in the 2.0 it was harder to utilise the extra power 'fully' on 'normal' traffic and speed camera burdened roads.

Would love to drive them back to back on track and compare lap times - are there any YouTube videos where that has been done?

As a second / toy car for DVLA (road) use and occasional track days, the softer suspension, lower weight and smaller wheels of the 1.5 made it the winner.

I'd use the extra $$'s saved over the 2.0 to add an aftermarket strut brace, induction and zorst.

[300bhp/ton]

Is there any real weight saving between the two engines, or is it a matter of trim level, with the 2.0 having more gear?

[SFO]

just registered for a day long experience in mid September in Horsham

[Cabsi]

[quote=DeaconFrost]
The seats also don't have a height adjustment. They are on a sliding 'ramp' so the closer to the wheel you have the seat the higher it goes. I'd have liked to have the seat lower as I felt there was too much wind buffeting above the windscreen frame. The speedo is also small and marked in 20mph increments so not useful for 30mph.


I would agree that the lack of a seat height adjuster is a surprising over sight. I'm 6 foot and there was too much 'wind in the hair' (I must be getting old) for my liking. There is a seat runner mod for the NC, and I can see people doing the same in the ND. And the lack of reach adjustment on the steering wheel should really have been fixed in the new model.

I should probably clarify my statement about the 2.0 Sport suspension. The Billies again seemed not able to react quickly enough when handling a broken road surface. This led to the wheels 'skipping' rather than remaining in contact with the road. I didn't measure tyre pressures, but suspect its the Billies, as it was exactly the same in my NC2 Sport. The ND sits a little high to my eyes (again like the NC), but I didn't find roll a problem.

[Cabsi]

SFO said:

Cabsi said:

A quick snap from the day

good to see the Tan interior

do you have any tan interior pics please?

Sorry - didn't take any interior shots. The upper dash, doors and carpet were Black and the middle section of the dash, seats and door cards were in Tan (although beige is probably more accurate). I had a look at the different interiors and much preferred the dual colour scheme, which had a better perceived quality look.

[JulesV]

elvismiggell said:

JulesV said:

Mrs JulesV finalised her order today following a test drive. Car should be with us in Mid September.

I assume that's for a 1.5?

The 2.0's are delayed until the end of October and we're still waiting for hear dates from Mazda - they've told us they're delayed, and gave an approx ETA of end of October.

The 1.5's are apparently ok.

Yes, she has chosen a 1.5 Sport Nav.

[Mr-B]

I went out in the 2.0 sport with all the options including the 'sand' leather, didn't get any photos unfortunately but I do have one photo (though not a particularly good angle) from some promo materials I got from a dealer. I was going to go out in an all black interior car but thought I would give the sand colour a go and it did grow on me, it seemed to lift the interior a bit and it felt reasonably 'premium', there is a piece of stitched leather that goes across the middle of the dash in front of the passenger which creates a nice contrast.



Thought the acceleration wasn't too bad, didn't find the suspension too choppy, speedo was a bit small and it seemed to take a disproportionate effort to read compared to the dominating rev counter, no one touch close function for the windows, would have liked the handbrake to have been a bit lower so that it wasn't slightly obstructing my reach to the gear stick (being picky here as it wasn't really obstructing much but it would have been better if it had been recessed a bit into the console) the arm/elbow rest on the drivers door was a bit too narrow and didn't feel to be in the right place to be of much use; I guess they couldn't put anything more substantial in as it would take up valuable interior space. Those were the only niggles I felt about the care otherwise it felt a very nice place to be.

Average fuel consumption for the day was showing 37.7mpg on the trip which I thought was pretty good considering most drivers would not have been driving particularly frugally I guess and the engine had only done less than 500 miles. Don't know whether that mpg is good for MX5's or not but it seemed OK to me.

[VladD]

Cabsi said:

I would agree that the lack of a seat height adjuster is a surprising over sight.

It won't be an oversight, but a design decision to reduce weight.

[300bhp/ton]

VladD said:

Cabsi said:

I would agree that the lack of a seat height adjuster is a surprising over sight.

It won't be an oversight, but a design decision to reduce weight.

Not convinced it'll save much weight tbh. Maybe more cost.

Personally I think this is going to be something I won't like about it. I'm short, so need the seat forward, but I don't want it raised!!!! I want it the height it is further back, else you hit your knees on the dash/steering column cowl.

[MX-5 Lazza]

300bhp/ton said:

VladD said:

Cabsi said:

I would agree that the lack of a seat height adjuster is a surprising over sight.

It won't be an oversight, but a design decision to reduce weight.

Not convinced it'll save much weight tbh. Maybe more cost.

Personally I think this is going to be something I won't like about it. I'm short, so need the seat forward, but I don't want it raised!!!! I want it the height it is further back, else you hit your knees on the dash/steering column cowl.

I did read somewhere in Mazda blurb that it was a concious decision to fit the seat runners to a "ramp" so it rises as it moves in rather than fitting height adjustment as a weight saving measure. I suspect that in most cases this will work fine but there are always going to be people with different body shapes (short legs & long body particularly) where it just doesn't fit right for them.

[300bhp/ton]

MX-5 Lazza said:

I did read somewhere in Mazda blurb that it was a concious decision to fit the seat runners to a "ramp" so it rises as it moves in rather than fitting height adjustment as a weight saving measure. I suspect that in most cases this will work fine but there are always going to be people with different body shapes (short legs & long body particularly) where it just doesn't fit right for them.

I'm sure the marketing department have spun it as weight saving. The reality is, entire seat mechanisms aren't heavy really. So the riser part must weigh in at less than a bag of sugar total weight saved.

[VladD]

300bhp/ton said:

MX-5 Lazza said:

I did read somewhere in Mazda blurb that it was a concious decision to fit the seat runners to a "ramp" so it rises as it moves in rather than fitting height adjustment as a weight saving measure. I suspect that in most cases this will work fine but there are always going to be people with different body shapes (short legs & long body particularly) where it just doesn't fit right for them.

I'm sure the marketing department have spun it as weight saving. The reality is, entire seat mechanisms aren't heavy really. So the riser part must weigh in at less than a bag of sugar total weight saved.

It's all part of Mazda's "gram strategy". The weight saving for the seats and runners may not be significant individually, but by applying that principle to a lot of areas, they save weight. That's what Mazda claim anyway.

[Mannginger]

The weight saved from things like the seat runners etc isn't being removed from the car; it's going in to allow the entertainment system and lane departure system etc etc and, for example, I was informed that Mazda have put additional weight in the top of the gear stick to help it's throw and feel.

Are those things good trade-offs? Not sure but I'm glad they are taking at least looking for ways to remove weight in order to "fund" those pieces of kit rather than simply adding on top of (a la Mk3).

[MX-5 Lazza]

It seems to have worked. The ND is a very light car by modern standards, especially considering trim levels & quality.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Mannginger said:

...I was informed that Mazda have put additional weight in the top of the gear stick to help it's throw and feel.

That has always been the case with MX5s. The standard gear knobs are much heavier than you would expect them to be and it does help with the feel of the gearchange. Fitting a smaller/lighter gear knob makes the gear change feel "clunkier". Well worth the additional weight.

[SFO]

tan/sand leather looks great .. really improves the interior

leather looks decent quality too

[Mannginger]

SFO said:

tan/sand leather looks great .. really improves the interior

leather looks decent quality too

Forgot to reply on that earlier as well. I was in a black 1.5 with Sand leather and personally I thought it looked great. I'd be speccing Sand in a dark car definitely

Phil

[SFO]

Mannginger said:

SFO said:

tan/sand leather looks great .. really improves the interior

leather looks decent quality too

Forgot to reply on that earlier as well. I was in a black 1.5 with Sand leather and personally I thought it looked great. I'd be speccing Sand in a dark car definitely

Phil

colour costs .. £800 (£600 for compulsory Sat Nav!)

[Paul Dishman]

We took my wife's 10th Anniversary Edition to the Cotswolds for the MX5 test drive on Sunday afternoon. We drove the top of the range 2.0 litre.

We both thought that you sat on it, not in it and that the seats needed to be lower for us. I'm 6' 1" and she is 5'10". The cabin is noticeably smaller than her 10AE

You can certainly discern the MX5 DNA when you drive it and I thought it drove and handled nicely. The final decision is down to Sue and she wasn't impressed enough to part with her money for one