MX5 for the OH?
Discussion
Obviously it is well known that the MX5 is very popular on here, but I was wondering how good or practical it would be for a first car for the OH
My OH has never driven and would be starting from scratch, back in the day when I was learning, my Dad got me a car ASAP, I would have my lessons and then as I got better if he needed to go anywhere I would drive him in my car
He wouldn't 'teach' me persay more just be there and it helped me get experience, it also meant when I passed I was already familiar with the car
The OH is now considering learning to drive, I showed her an MX5 (Mk1) and she loved it, this would also be a great opportunity for me to get my hands on one from time to time
She is 26 and I am assuming the insurance might be a bit high, but aside from that are there any pitfalls with having an MX5 as a first car?
Oh and no pics, I'm not that daft...
My OH has never driven and would be starting from scratch, back in the day when I was learning, my Dad got me a car ASAP, I would have my lessons and then as I got better if he needed to go anywhere I would drive him in my car
He wouldn't 'teach' me persay more just be there and it helped me get experience, it also meant when I passed I was already familiar with the car
The OH is now considering learning to drive, I showed her an MX5 (Mk1) and she loved it, this would also be a great opportunity for me to get my hands on one from time to time
She is 26 and I am assuming the insurance might be a bit high, but aside from that are there any pitfalls with having an MX5 as a first car?
Oh and no pics, I'm not that daft...
mattman said:
mk1 Mx5 is a great car, decent sized boot and make sure you get the earlier 1.6 as its more powerful that the later one (about 1995 i think).
Great fun little car, nothing too scary for a 1st motor and won't swap ends on a soggy roundabout unless you really cane it.
Go for it I'd say!
CheersGreat fun little car, nothing too scary for a 1st motor and won't swap ends on a soggy roundabout unless you really cane it.
Go for it I'd say!
It's a bit of a win win situation in my eyes, she gets a cute car which I don't think has aged at all and I get a bit of a gem on the occasions I do manage to get it off her, she doesn't know I plan to track it yet
I guess the insurance is going to be the main stumbling block now, I'm not sure they will agree with me
my oh is also an inexperienced driver, used to my mondeo estate (which she learned in). I picked up a '5 for the two of us to play in and was surprised she didn't like it that much. Reasons were
1) bit low (so hard to see)
2) rear window is knackered so can't see out the back
3) no abs. yeah yeah we all learned without it, and I've tried to teach her it, but its not very confidence inspiring that if she just slams her foot on the brake in the wet it might all go a bit wrong
4) didn't like the a+1 pillars (front 1/4light) as it blocked her visability
5) feels very exposed
so there ya go. something like a ka would doubtless be a 'better' car to learn in, whether you let your misses try one to have a frame of reference for the mx5 or not is up to you
1) bit low (so hard to see)
2) rear window is knackered so can't see out the back
3) no abs. yeah yeah we all learned without it, and I've tried to teach her it, but its not very confidence inspiring that if she just slams her foot on the brake in the wet it might all go a bit wrong
4) didn't like the a+1 pillars (front 1/4light) as it blocked her visability
5) feels very exposed
so there ya go. something like a ka would doubtless be a 'better' car to learn in, whether you let your misses try one to have a frame of reference for the mx5 or not is up to you
mattman said:
decent sized boot
Really?? Yours and my ideas of a decent sized boots must differ a touch. It's tiny and if you leave the spare wheel in, travel Very light!!That said you can put a nifty rack on the back, if that's your bag (excuse the pun!
).Definitely a good car to drive and not very powerful so well worth the crack. Need to be a bit careful in the wet if you're running less than great tyres and the geometery hasn't been set for a while as they can get a bit tail-happy on roundabouts.
A number of my family and friends have had them (including me) without any troubles and some of them are a long way away from driver of the year so I wouldn't be concerned.
Thudd said:
5lab said:
so there ya go. something like a ka would doubtless be a 'better' car to learn in, whether you let your misses try one to have a frame of reference for the mx5 or not is up to you
This. Ka first, MX5 second.5lab said:
my oh is also an inexperienced driver, used to my mondeo estate (which she learned in). I picked up a '5 for the two of us to play in and was surprised she didn't like it that much. Reasons were
1) bit low (so hard to see)
2) rear window is knackered so can't see out the back
3) no abs. yeah yeah we all learned without it, and I've tried to teach her it, but its not very confidence inspiring that if she just slams her foot on the brake in the wet it might all go a bit wrong
4) didn't like the a+1 pillars (front 1/4light) as it blocked her visability
5) feels very exposed
so there ya go. something like a ka would doubtless be a 'better' car to learn in, whether you let your misses try one to have a frame of reference for the mx5 or not is up to you
In contrast to this, I gave my younger brother a couple of lessons in my MX5 (ETA previous standardish Mk1 not the turbonuttermobile!) and he loved it! Learnt much faster being able to feel what the car was doing as opposed to the numbness of most modern cars.1) bit low (so hard to see)
2) rear window is knackered so can't see out the back
3) no abs. yeah yeah we all learned without it, and I've tried to teach her it, but its not very confidence inspiring that if she just slams her foot on the brake in the wet it might all go a bit wrong
4) didn't like the a+1 pillars (front 1/4light) as it blocked her visability
5) feels very exposed
so there ya go. something like a ka would doubtless be a 'better' car to learn in, whether you let your misses try one to have a frame of reference for the mx5 or not is up to you
Edited by GravelBen on Monday 19th April 11:24
On one hand I think it'd be a good first car as it's reliable and good fun, on the other hand if you look at some of the threads from around winter on MX5 club forums, some people won't even take them out or panic at a hint of a bit of ground frost for fear of losing the back end so I wonder if a first time driver will be ok all year round, despite the MX5 being fairly low powered. In the three or four years I owned mine I drove in the snow and on icy roads without issue (it was my everyday car and did about 18k miles a year) I could never understand the problems some drivers had with controlling their vehicles during winter. Now I accept that it could have been their tyres, or some other hang up, but I suppose it was more likely that some people just didn't have a clue. I don't know if your OH is naturally alright as a driver but I wouldn't think it'd be my first choice for a first car for my OH due to some of the reasons mentioned by other posters - parking, for example, takes some people a while to get the hang of but and blind-spots are an issue with the hood up on an MX5, saying that, they are probably no-where near as bad as a convertible mini.
Visibility with the hood up can be a little limited. Crash safety is frankly not up to new-car standards (due to light weight and tininess). And the brakes aren't as good as a brand new ABS car either (even if you find one with ABS).
But the vulnerability is a plus point: it makes you concentrate. And you can feel absolutely everything that the car is doing. And it is the easiest car to park I've ever owned (even without PAS on mine).
Do it. If she doesn't like it, it'll be summer soon so you're not going to lose money if you sell it!
But the vulnerability is a plus point: it makes you concentrate. And you can feel absolutely everything that the car is doing. And it is the easiest car to park I've ever owned (even without PAS on mine).
Do it. If she doesn't like it, it'll be summer soon so you're not going to lose money if you sell it!
Gizmo! said:
...And the brakes aren't as good as a brand new ABS car either (even if you find one with ABS)...
MX5 brakes are fantastic IMO! None of this overassisted nonsense where you breathe on the pedal and get an emergency stop, but plenty of stopping power when you need it - helped by the relatively light weight, no trouble outbraking plenty of modern cars.Agreed that ABS could save a learner from potential bumps, but I'd guess probably 90% of PH members will have learnt to drive in cars without ABS and we're still here. Personally I prefer the idea of drivers learning to modulate brakes from the start anyway rather than just learning to rely on computers to fix their mistakes.
Edited by GravelBen on Monday 19th April 12:37
GravelBen said:
Gizmo! said:
...And the brakes aren't as good as a brand new ABS car either (even if you find one with ABS)...
MX5 brakes are fantastic IMO! None of this overassisted nonsense where you breathe on the pedal and get an emergency stop, but plenty of stopping power when you need it - helped by the relatively light weight, no trouble outbraking plenty of modern cars.Agreed that ABS could save a learner from potential bumps, but I'd guess probably 90% of PH members will have learnt to drive in cars without ABS and we're still here. Personally I prefer the idea of drivers learning to modulate brakes from the start anyway rather than just learning to rely on computers to fix their mistakes.
is this for all year use or just for the summer?
If its for all year use I wonder if a light weight RWD roadster would be the best choice. I have worked with a few women who have had a MX5 on the road in bad weather and said they had some scares.
They are great cars, but would be the best option for a new driver. Remember, maybe the insurance would be high for a reason.
If its for all year use I wonder if a light weight RWD roadster would be the best choice. I have worked with a few women who have had a MX5 on the road in bad weather and said they had some scares.
They are great cars, but would be the best option for a new driver. Remember, maybe the insurance would be high for a reason.
the other thing to consider (just thought of this) is that the mx5 has a fairly light flywheel, with a fairly revvy engine. This is good for us, but it does make the clutch a bit more tricky than something more sedate, and could dent the confidence of a learner. the misses stalls mine about 30% of the time
RV8 said:
I managed to disintegrate the rear pads on mine after some enthusiastic driving.
How did you manage that, budget pads? My previous MX5 did 3 track days and 13k miles of hard driving on whatever pads it had when I bought it (most likely Mazda OEM) without wearing them out, and stopped hard every time without even a hint of fade.
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