reviews of mk1 mx5 please

[MX-5 Lazza]

Sounds like you had poor tyres. My '5 is certainly quicker around roundabouts and the like than my Focus and if it does start to slide it's because I've deliberately provoked it. Regardless of the tyres, if the alignment is spot-on if you go into a wet roundabout too fast you should get mild understeer which you can adjust to oversteer if you want to play or just allow it to take a wider line. Poor tyres should be the same but all at lower speeds. It certainly shouldn't feel twitchy.

[freerange7]

I am rather lucky, I have a Caterham as a second car, a 2.0 Zetec running on 195/50/15 yokohama parrada tyres which work very well in all conditions, the problem being that I cannot use it every day.

My every day transport was a MK1 MR2, brilliant car with Lotus set up, under steer for safety but when you knew how to drive it correctly very controllable, smooth and fast rewarding late braking and left foot braking.
Unfortunately this mint MR2 was sold to pay for my Zetec conversion on the 7.

After suffering an automatic Toyota Carrina that sucked away my will to live I now have a MK1 1.6 H reg MX5.

This car is brilliant, handles well, very well balanced, direct steering, controlled over steer, great fun to drive and economical, a little under powered but the skill is getting from A to B while maintaining speed, one of the best cars I have driven.

I have both Led Zepplin and Metallica

[roverspeed]

I can honestly say that my 5 is the most balanced car I have ever owned, i absolutely love it.

I am shocked that someone found a MK4 Golf a more rewarding drive, no offense to mk4 golf drivers, but they are not regarded as great drivers cars.

I had a MK2 Golf, and although i loved it, the Eunos i have now is just sublime in comparison.

The only things I can think of that would make a 5 handle badly is rubbish tyres, bad alingment or a crash damaged chassis.

Interestingly u said "brand new" tires. Tires will have very little grip for the first 50-100 miles, could have been a factor??

The thing you got to love about the 5 is, it doesn't go that fast, but it feels like you are doing 100 mph everywhere.

Deffo agree with Lazza on the roundabouts, i can carry alot more speed even in the wet that my golf would have had.

Interestingly my Golf and Eunos ran the same tyres, Toyo Proxes T1R 195/50/15.

Both had been lowered, admittedly the golf was only on springs, were as the euno's has uprated springs and dampers.

Out of the box I would describe the 5 as fun and predictable.

Mod it right, and u can have one of the best handling cars around.


I think EVO placed it in their top 10 handling cars of the 20th century???