New MX5 preview--first impression

New MX5 preview--first impression

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Northernlights

Original Poster:

55 posts

187 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
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Evening all,

I don't know if this will interest anyone especially, but thought I would share my experience of the new MX5, having just been to a preview event.

The car I viewed was a 1.5 in a funny spec in Blue Reflex with gunmetal wheels. The spec was odd for things like a wired in aftermarket speed camera detector and lack of LED DRLs. Anyhow, it looked lovely. It was petite, and had a taut, muscular design. I thought the nose was particularly successful, with unusually slim lights and a more aggressive look. Obviously it's still a hairdresser's car, but... Having said that, I've yet to be accused of being a hairdresser since owning my NC. I am a little disappointed about this.

The interior was lovely. It's plusher, more techy and more stylish. There's no silly fuel cap pull in the centre storage box (push the cap to pop out, as with most more modern cars), but there is also no glovebox--an oversight, I would have thought, given the smaller boot. The screen is pretty well integrated in the top of the dash, and the screen is aesthetically pleasing in terms of graphics. The selector wheel is a bit slow to respond; the touchscreen is quicker, but apparently will not work above 5mph. I guess it is personal preference, but I would argue if you are going to be looking at the screen whilst using the rotary controller, you might just as well use the touchscreen. I am not sold on screens in cars for reasons of safety, though.

Finally, the hood. The hood mechanism, when pulled, allows the hood to spring up to you from its 'down' position, making it a tad easier to grab. I suppose it speeds the process up, too, but in my NC it takes seconds, so no great gains there. What is nice is the aluminium panel in the top section and the clearly thicker material. Obviously I have not driven the car, but in terms of noise and security, I imagine it will be a significant improvement. The rest of the mechanism works in the same way, but with some different switchgear.

Overall, the car looks lovely, and I cannot wait to have a go in late August/early September. And then to persuade the wife-to-be that the finance deal is too good to miss. Might take a while, though. Can anyone offer any convincing persuasive tactics?

Northernlights

Original Poster:

55 posts

187 months

Sunday 26th July 2015
quotequote all
Thank you for posting the pictures. I did not take any, unfortunately. Under showroom lights, it did look lovely.

With reference to the DRLs, I was advised that the car was Japanese spec, as mentioned by an earlier poster, so, as a result, there were bits that were not fitted that would be on the production model.

I noticed the boot button issue. There was a button on the key fob, so I guess that is the one you would use most of the time.

Anyone help with persuading my other half we need one?! ??