RE: 2024 Mazda MX-5 RF Exclusive Line | PH Review

[86wasagoodyear]

LuS1fer said:

May be impractical but it will not be for long journeys and we have a little Panda for the humdrum stuff.

It'll be perfectly practical up to a point, and no problem for long journeys. We had an NB for years, criss-crossed Europe in it including going skiing - it was fab on the winter tyres. No bother at all, just pack light. An ND will be fine.

[Garvin]

Now I’m retired I decided that I no longer need the powerful GT type cars as the mileage on my daily driver has reduced - no commute back and forth to work, no cross country work treks either. I’d had my Mustang GT for 6 years and, great GT as it is/was, it was no ‘sports’ car - too big by half. I also found that 400 odd bhp is, quite frankly, mostly unusable on the road (quite what anyone does with 500+ bhp and more I’m not sure of).

Mustang now gone and replaced by an MX-5 RF ND. Great to be back in a true sports car that can be ragged within an inch of its life I was going to wait for the MY24 version with the more trick LSD but having experienced Mazda’s horrible, nannying, badly implemented safety setup for MY24 vehicles (ISA, LKA, Brake Assist, adaptive CC etc) I decided to get one of the late outgoing MY23 versions which has none of these thank goodness. I have one minor gripe in that the SatNav is truly rubbish . . . but it does have Apple Car Play so Waze et al is available.

[LuS1fer]

Garvin said:

Now I’m retired I decided that I no longer need the powerful GT type cars as the mileage on my daily driver has reduced - no commute back and forth to work, no cross country work treks either. I’d had my Mustang GT for 6 years and, great GT as it is/was, it was no ‘sports’ car - too big by half. I also found that 400 odd bhp is, quite frankly, mostly unusable on the road (quite what anyone does with 500+ bhp and more I’m not sure of).

Mustang now gone and replaced by an MX-5 RF ND. Great to be back in a true sports car that can be ragged within an inch of its life I was going to wait for the MY24 version with the more trick LSD but having experienced Mazda’s horrible, nannying, badly implemented safety setup for MY24 vehicles (ISA, LKA, Brake Assist, adaptive CC etc) I decided to get one of the late outgoing MY23 versions which has none of these thank goodness. I have one minor gripe in that the SatNav is truly rubbish . . . but it does have Apple Car Play so Waze et al is available.

I'm retired too but my 460hp 2005 supercharged Mustang GT was paid for a long time ago and remains a keeper and a garage queen with only 17000 on the clock.
I bought my Insignia, thinking it would be useful for ferrying eople round but that never transpired and a few weeks ago, I was behind a white RF and though "Ooh, if only" but when I thought it through, there was no real bar to buying one.
So the Mustang, with its modified suspension, is perfectly capable as a big (not so big these days) sports GT (would never have a standard setup), the Mazda can do my daily driver and my partner's 2011 Panda can perform backup when more than 2 seats are needed. I can also get both cars on the drive.

[horsemeatscandal]

86wasagoodyear said:

Ooooh - that's *very* nice

Thanks. Nice to mix things up a bit.

Read through the latest comments and thought of something else I don't like (I'm not a contrarian, I swear); think Soul Red is crap, specifically on the MX5. Though the rest of the colours are dull, yes. If it was about when I got mine I'd have opted for that dark blue they do now.

[86wasagoodyear]

horsemeatscandal said:

86wasagoodyear said:

Ooooh - that's *very* nice

Thanks. Nice to mix things up a bit.

Read through the latest comments and thought of something else I don't like (I'm not a contrarian, I swear); think Soul Red is crap, specifically on the MX5. Though the rest of the colours are dull, yes. If it was about when I got mine I'd have opted for that dark blue they do now.

Does your Accord have a high-risk-of-rusting front bulkhead like the previous shape (ie the official UK Type R) had - or did they get the design right for yours ? I'd be seriously tempted by one of yours as a forever-daily if it's likely to stay in just the one piece.

[MyV10BarksAndBites]

Bispal said:

A proper NA / manual / rwd / lsd sports car for around 1 tonne, with all the toys you need (Ac / cruise / heated seats) and non of the nonsense you don't.

Mazda should be applauded for doing all this in such a lightweight package. If a hot hatch is faster so be it, who cares when you have the wind in your hair, a delightful manual gearbox, don't need to pull into the hedge when a bloated SUV comes the other way and can feel every one of those missing 450 kilos every time you change direction, brake or accelerate.

The only other manual / na / rwd convertible is a 718 Boxster and they start at £55k, oh but wait, Porsche just killed it. Looks like you are looking at the last of the breed, a true survivor, and for good reason.

It's emasculated rubbish lol...... But with tuning its an absolute hero

And nothing has been killed as there is a used market!!!!

[AmazingGrace]

Interesting hearing the differing experiences of BBR. Have my mind on a NC 2.0 for the fun car, and after hearing the induction sound of the super225, fell completely in love with the idea.

Now, I fear they might not be as reliable as I first thought

[horsemeatscandal]

86wasagoodyear said:

Does your Accord have a high-risk-of-rusting front bulkhead like the previous shape (ie the official UK Type R) had - or did they get the design right for yours ? I'd be seriously tempted by one of yours as a forever-daily if it's likely to stay in just the one piece.

As far as I'm aware, it's an issue for the Mk6 only. I got very fortunate with mine, it looked like this underneath when I bought it and has since been treated:



If you're genuinely considering buying one, feel free to message me if you want any info. There's two or three decent threads in the Readers' Cars section too.

[Earthdweller]

Great cars but why can’t Mazda offer them in a decent range of colours?

White, grey, grey (slightly darker), beige, navy or red

Hardly inspired

Edit: sorry missed black off the list

Edited by Earthdweller on Thursday 28th March 14:37

[LuS1fer]

Earthdweller said:

Great cars but why can’t Mazda offer them in a decent range of colours?

White, grey, grey (slightly darker), beige, navy or red

Hardly inspired

Edit: sorry missed black off the list

You missed the lighter blue that looks a bit grey in sombre lighting.

If Mazda are reading, we would like the strident blue metallic which Fiat painted the 124 Spider with (so painted in the same factory FFS), maybe a baby blue and perhaps a metallic green.

[GeniusOfLove]

LuS1fer said:

You missed the lighter blue that looks a bit grey in sombre lighting.

If Mazda are reading, we would like the strident blue metallic which Fiat painted the 124 Spider with (so painted in the same factory FFS), maybe a baby blue and perhaps a metallic green.

No joke if they did a good green with a tan interior I'd probably buy a new one.

bks to grey, black, bluegrey, another grey, and white. Quite like the sand colour in person, but it's a bit weird. Best colour they ever did was the orange 30th AE.

Soul red was nice but in 2018 they switched to soul red crystal which is even nicer with more depth. It's not a very robust paint finish though and apparently very difficult to repair.

[Earthdweller]

LuS1fer said:

Earthdweller said:

Great cars but why can’t Mazda offer them in a decent range of colours?

White, grey, grey (slightly darker), light blue (looks like grey), beige, navy or red

Hardly inspired

Edit: sorry missed black off the list

You missed the lighter blue that looks a bit grey in sombre lighting.

If Mazda are reading, we would like the strident blue metallic which Fiat painted the 124 Spider with (so painted in the same factory FFS), maybe a baby blue and perhaps a metallic green.

Bugger how did I miss that ( list amended )

Or take a leaf out of alpine’s book and offer some vibrant colours it can’t be that hard can it?

[LuS1fer]

GeniusOfLove said:

No joke if they did a good green with a tan interior I'd probably buy a new one.

bks to grey, black, bluegrey, another grey, and white. Quite like the sand colour in person, but it's a bit weird. Best colour they ever did was the orange 30th AE.

Soul red was nice but in 2018 they switched to soul red crystal which is even nicer with more depth. It's not a very robust paint finish though and apparently very difficult to repair.

There is a lovely Soul Red crystal car for sale but some idiot has specced it with sh*t brown seats and door panels and it looks awful.

I had a look at the sand at the local Mazda dealer, it's more of a pale gold and better in the flesh although still a daft choice for a sports car.

[GeniusOfLove]

LuS1fer said:

There is a lovely Soul Red crystal car for sale but some idiot has specced it with sh*t brown seats and door panels and it looks awful.

I had a look at the sand at the local Mazda dealer, it's more of a pale gold and better in the flesh although still a daft choice for a sports car.

I loved the sand in mine, and I'd rather have the st brown than black, but the Mazda light leather wears really quite poorly. Not sure red and st brown are a great combo though. The cloth seats in the base spec 1.5 models are the most comfortable!

[usualdog]

I have nothing for or against BBR and thought long & hard about speccing up a low miles NC 3.5 with their Super 225 ITB kit, but by the time you've added the suspension, exhaust mods etc you've doubled the price of the car and I couldn't justify that no matter how good they sound in the promo vid!

[AmazingGrace]

usualdog said:

I have nothing for or against BBR and thought long & hard about speccing up a low miles NC 3.5 with their Super 225 ITB kit, but by the time you've added the suspension, exhaust mods etc you've doubled the price of the car and I couldn't justify that no matter how good they sound in the promo vid!

I’d still go for it. £20k all in isn’t that much these days and they so sound so good in the promo. Total induction porn

[nismo48]

In that primer grey it does look awful

[philrs03]

AmazingGrace said:

Interesting hearing the differing experiences of BBR. Have my mind on a NC 2.0 for the fun car, and after hearing the induction sound of the super225, fell completely in love with the idea.

Now, I fear they might not be as reliable as I first thought

If your anywhere local to the Herefordshire area your more than welcome to have a spin in mine. It is glorious when it works, and I doubt it’s a serious issue, however it’s BBR’s appauling customer service that’s the biggest problem.

[CABC]

I thought BBRs problems were with turbos on later cars, esp NCs.
are there issues with their nasp mods too?

[philrs03]

AmazingGrace said:

usualdog said:

I have nothing for or against BBR and thought long & hard about speccing up a low miles NC 3.5 with their Super 225 ITB kit, but by the time you've added the suspension, exhaust mods etc you've doubled the price of the car and I couldn't justify that no matter how good they sound in the promo vid!

I’d still go for it. £20k all in isn’t that much these days and they so sound so good in the promo. Total induction porn

I had a couple of other bits done at the same time at BBR (front lower arm bushes, a service, discs and pads- I ran out of time to finish those bits myself) and the bill for the super 225 fitted, as well as the above was just shy of £7,500. That’s including a full exhaust (sports cat) with GT backbox as well. I have BC BR coilovers, a full set of powerflex bushes that i fitted, odds and sods from restoring the subframe, alignment, new discs and pads all round, 17x7.5 rota wheels with NS2R’s, sparco seats, safety devices harnesses, and finally a safety devices half cage. With the car price (£4000) I reckon I’m touching the 20k mark. I wouldn’t change it for the world, it’s absolutely epic. Issues with BBR aside, I still love it.

Edited by philrs03 on Thursday 28th March 19:25