Discussion
At CandM The Hut last night in my barn find MGF and by luck a NA MX5 of the same year, similar colour etc parked up next to me.
Having owned a number of MX5s, 4 of them NAs over the years it's an interesting comparison. TL:DR, the MGF is not as good, but it's not as rubbish as people like to say.
The MX5 wins driving position by miles, the MGF's is very odd and you sit way too high. You do get used to it quite quickly though. Handling wise the hydrolytic is pretty lovely (appreciate mine needs a pump up) and with the PAS deactivated the steering feel and weight IMO is on par with the MX5 an in fact the weight is better in flowing corners. the MG does not like to do skids like an MX5, it feels much more planted and encourages you to exploit the grip and to not try big angles. Interestingly I also own an S2 K series Elise and the MG doesn't feel as mid engined as that does. It's very much a character in its own right. Scuttle shake is broadly the same as NA and NBs, I think my F will be improved when I get the suspension pumped up a bit.
Build quality is another area where the MG gets a lot of stick. This is hard fo rme to judge tbh, my car has only done 29k and most stuff feels tight as a drum and there's virtually no rattles. The only issue I've had is the foam in the door cards behind the fabric turned to dust, so I had to glue that back down. Everything else works, the buttons and switches feel nice, the plastics are similar to the MX5 (both NA and NB) and the roof works just as well. The fake wood has gone faded and bad, I've seen the same in MX5s so that's a draw IMO.
Engine wise there's no competition. I adore MX5s as I said but the K series is far superior than the boat anchors in the 5s. The mid range punch in even my non VVC car is massive over the MX5s and the car feels considerably quicker than the book numbers would suggest. The VVC cars fizz all the way to their 7.2k limiter. They also all sound much better than the BP engines. Where they fall down is they are not as unable when it comes to forced induction. Although I think 300bhp in a F would be terrifying lol, whereas in an MX5 it's a hoot.
I'm an MGF convert. I think the prices of these are insane at the moment, a mint VVC one at £1.5k is practically theft and they're out there. Interestingly I also had a lot of people asking me about mine at C&M last night, people under 25 actually thought it was cool.
Some of my MX5s for comparison:
And the current daily driver:
And the Lotus:
Having owned a number of MX5s, 4 of them NAs over the years it's an interesting comparison. TL:DR, the MGF is not as good, but it's not as rubbish as people like to say.
The MX5 wins driving position by miles, the MGF's is very odd and you sit way too high. You do get used to it quite quickly though. Handling wise the hydrolytic is pretty lovely (appreciate mine needs a pump up) and with the PAS deactivated the steering feel and weight IMO is on par with the MX5 an in fact the weight is better in flowing corners. the MG does not like to do skids like an MX5, it feels much more planted and encourages you to exploit the grip and to not try big angles. Interestingly I also own an S2 K series Elise and the MG doesn't feel as mid engined as that does. It's very much a character in its own right. Scuttle shake is broadly the same as NA and NBs, I think my F will be improved when I get the suspension pumped up a bit.
Build quality is another area where the MG gets a lot of stick. This is hard fo rme to judge tbh, my car has only done 29k and most stuff feels tight as a drum and there's virtually no rattles. The only issue I've had is the foam in the door cards behind the fabric turned to dust, so I had to glue that back down. Everything else works, the buttons and switches feel nice, the plastics are similar to the MX5 (both NA and NB) and the roof works just as well. The fake wood has gone faded and bad, I've seen the same in MX5s so that's a draw IMO.
Engine wise there's no competition. I adore MX5s as I said but the K series is far superior than the boat anchors in the 5s. The mid range punch in even my non VVC car is massive over the MX5s and the car feels considerably quicker than the book numbers would suggest. The VVC cars fizz all the way to their 7.2k limiter. They also all sound much better than the BP engines. Where they fall down is they are not as unable when it comes to forced induction. Although I think 300bhp in a F would be terrifying lol, whereas in an MX5 it's a hoot.
I'm an MGF convert. I think the prices of these are insane at the moment, a mint VVC one at £1.5k is practically theft and they're out there. Interestingly I also had a lot of people asking me about mine at C&M last night, people under 25 actually thought it was cool.
Some of my MX5s for comparison:
And the current daily driver:
And the Lotus:
Nice write up, seems like everyone loves to bash the MGF, I've never had one, but drove a friends one, he found his way to it via an MX5 too, it was never as sharp as the MX5 and the styling is what I call 'soft' but it was by no means a bad car, there has been worse.
My view is its a 2 seater roadster, whats not to like, is it scalpel sharp, no, but did it make you smile and lift your mood driving to C&M, probably, so in my view, job jobbed, keep enjoying it fella ....
My view is its a 2 seater roadster, whats not to like, is it scalpel sharp, no, but did it make you smile and lift your mood driving to C&M, probably, so in my view, job jobbed, keep enjoying it fella ....
We have strangely similar car tastes, and I am heading to the Hut in my MX5 NB in a couple of weeks! My neighbour has an MGF which sounds really nice, and I agree they are an absolute steal at the moment - mind you, so are NBs. I give you £900's worth of NB on 41k miles (plus a few second hand upgrades over the summer):
And the S2:
And the S2:
interesting comparison, especially as you have deep knowledge of them all. I love having "similar" cars as well as ones of total contrast.
5s are great, especially when modified, which I think is essential. on that point I wonder whether a TF would be a good call as you can improve the suspension on that whereas the MGF is untouchable?
is the Elise at Gurston?
5s are great, especially when modified, which I think is essential. on that point I wonder whether a TF would be a good call as you can improve the suspension on that whereas the MGF is untouchable?
is the Elise at Gurston?
Decky_Q said:
If I had the lotus I dont think I'd bother with either of the softer roadsters. I've owned or driven all 3 and the elise is just streets ahead, looks, performance and joy.
They serve different purposes, but I agree that as out and out sports car the Elise is in a different ball park. The Elise - I use this mostly for fun drives out and for hillclimbing, sprinting and track days. I love it and have become a huge lotus nerd in the 18 months I've owned it. What it isn't is a comfortable daily driver for a slightly rotund man in his late 40s who travels up and down the UK visiting customers and coworkers.
The MX5 - That ticks the daily box. 50mpg, apple car play, awesome stereo, heated comfy seats. I do between 10 and 20 miles a year in it and every time I drive it, it reminds me how right Mazda got the ND. All that, in a car that weighs only 20% more than the Elise. It eats up motorway miles and then when I get to some nice roads I can drop the roof and have a blast. Mines a 2021 ND2 2.0 Sport that I've owned since new, I'm very attached to it.
The MGF - This was an impulse purchase. My Cinquecento is broken and I needed something pre 2000 to take to Retro Rides gathering this weekend. My mate offered me this F for £400 2 weeks ago, the issue being the clutch pedal went to the floor and it hadn't had an MOT or moved under its own power since 2015. £450 of bits and a couple of days of my time and it passed with no advisories. Not sure you can get much cheaper enjoyable topless motoring.
I also have the aforementioned Cinquecento and a 2007 Nissan cube. Oh and a Sinclair C5. None of those are really relevant to the comparison discussion though. Well maybe except the C5, that is kinda open top!
Edited by HorneyMX5 on Monday 11th August 13:23
Interesting comparison.
My farther had both an F and a later TF which i purchased and prepped for him. So i perhaps did less than 50 miles in the F and north of 500 in the TF, whilst owning an NA MX5 at the same time.
The F always felt better than the later TF to me, the TF never seemed to settle on it's springs and wanted to take a 2nd lean/roll on it's springs when the engine joined the weight transfer party. The MX5 has never failed to amaze me with just how much corner speed you can take, entry to exit. Mine is in a modest state of tune still naturally aspirated and all the better for it.
But i realise now i prefer the front engine sitting on the rear axle RWD layout, so the MG's were never going to float my boat. For me it was Westfields and is probably why i love my NA MX5 still today, but do wonder if i had got into Elise's instead would i favour the MG or Toyota choices over an MX5?
My farther had both an F and a later TF which i purchased and prepped for him. So i perhaps did less than 50 miles in the F and north of 500 in the TF, whilst owning an NA MX5 at the same time.
The F always felt better than the later TF to me, the TF never seemed to settle on it's springs and wanted to take a 2nd lean/roll on it's springs when the engine joined the weight transfer party. The MX5 has never failed to amaze me with just how much corner speed you can take, entry to exit. Mine is in a modest state of tune still naturally aspirated and all the better for it.
But i realise now i prefer the front engine sitting on the rear axle RWD layout, so the MG's were never going to float my boat. For me it was Westfields and is probably why i love my NA MX5 still today, but do wonder if i had got into Elise's instead would i favour the MG or Toyota choices over an MX5?
I’ve had an MX5 A and D, MR2 (the last one), and Elise S2 and S3. MX5 ND wins as the best all rounder. Currently in France with Mrs Shiny for 10 days in it. If it was just a fun car with no other purpose then Elise S3 hands down even though I had the 1.6 base Toyota. I took my Elise S3 across France but with only me in it. As/more comfortable than the ND and unlike the NDs first French trip the Elise’s AC actually worked!
Good luck, loved my mgf, first proper car bought at 2 years old back in 2000, Boot rack means camping trips easily possible
Build quality woeful most expensive car maintenance car i've owned, over 1k per year in unexpected costs of build quality, wiper mechanism disintegrated after 3 years? Imagine that on a German/Japanese car? Let alone coolant pipes etc
Hopefully such things will be remedied for your excellent bargain motoring, enjoy (be wary of gritting in winter as spinning is rather easy)
Build quality woeful most expensive car maintenance car i've owned, over 1k per year in unexpected costs of build quality, wiper mechanism disintegrated after 3 years? Imagine that on a German/Japanese car? Let alone coolant pipes etc
Hopefully such things will be remedied for your excellent bargain motoring, enjoy (be wary of gritting in winter as spinning is rather easy)
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