NC 1.8 SE or 2.0 Sport Tech?

NC 1.8 SE or 2.0 Sport Tech?

Author
Discussion

Andrew-kp06f

Original Poster:

1 posts

79 months

Monday 21st January 2019
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Looking to buy. The 1.8 SE advertised at £6500, the 2.0 Sport Tech advertised at £8500. Both 2010, same low mileage 25-30k, both PRHT, same excellent condition, FMSH, the SE has leather, both good colours. Is the Sport £2k better? It’s been Dinitrol undersealed at a cost of £500, say I had to do that to the SE, so £1.5k difference now. Worth the premium in your opinion?

Darryl247W

564 posts

122 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2019
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It depends what you're looking for from the car and what sort of driving you do.

1.8 has 125bhp.
2.0 Sport-tech has 158bhp, 6 speed box, limited slip diff and Bilstein suspension. Whether that last item is an upgrade is debatable.

1.8 fine for cruising around and the satisfaction of saving £1500. 2.0 Sport-tech a bit more fun and a better place to start for tuning.

wpc692

19 posts

70 months

Tuesday 29th January 2019
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All the people I know who bought a 1.8, eventually regret themself. I personally have a NC1 2.0, and i would suggest you to go in this way, since the 1.8 is very, very shabby.

RostokMcSpoons

1 posts

64 months

Wednesday 27th February 2019
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I'm a current 1.8SE owner, and yes, having taken it to a track (Bedford) I've got a hankering for a few more horses, so I'm looking around for a 2.0 Sport Tech.

However...

1) I'd strongly disagree with the comment that the 1.8 is 'shabby'. I've test driven a couple of 2.0L NCs, and even a 2015 ND, and the difference is not 'night and day'. Yes, there's definitely a bit more torque for the acceleration - if you drive on roads where you need to make overtaking manoeuvres in the face of oncoming traffic then you'd definitely prefer it. But personally I enjoy wringing my 1.8's neck a bit, and I'm consequently a lot faster than 95% of the traffic around me.

2) I've been looking for that Mk3.5 2.0 Sport Tech from a dealership on a decent low mileage between £7-9K, and they're like hen's teeth. You do get a lot more choice for the pre-2010 cars though, and they're a fair bit cheaper, so spending some cash on suspension upgrades is an option there.

As a consequence I'm actively considering the BBR 175 upgrade which will give me around 180bhp, and a set of coilovers, to make a decent all-rounder - cheaper than trading in my car and making up the difference.
In fact I'm concerned the power upgrade might be a bit much, and I'd lose the ability to keep my foot to the floor.
The only thing stopping me from doing that is that I do fancy the LSD and the 6 speed 'box. Not sure how important they are in the grand scheme of things though.


Ecosseven

1,972 posts

216 months

Sunday 3rd March 2019
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I've owned a 2010 2.0 Sport tech for over 6 years and taken it from 9k miles to 63k miles. Hasn't needed anything other than normal consumables and servicing. I have another car (Seat Leon) that I use during the winter months and when I need to carry more than one passenger.

the MX-5 is a great car and I'll probably keep it for another 2 years and then replace it with a facelifted ND.

The handling on my car is balanced but quite soft. the ride quality is actually pretty good. The heated seats are excellent and the stereo is fine (if that matters to you!).