which weekend fun car...Elise S1 or MX5
Discussion
Evo said:
If your thinking of owning the Mazda MX5 and then trading upto an Elise, I would personally just go straight for the Elise, for your 8k budget you'll be looking at a base engined/power S1. I could understand if you were talking about a 240bhp supercharged Elise but with 120bhp I'd just jump straight into the Elise and enjoy it. The money you don't lose on owning the MX5 first could be put to good use upgrading the suspension, bushes, brakes on the Elise especially if you are intending on doing track days.
Have to say I can see their rational and agree. If they are wanting some sideways fun and to be a bit of a hooligan, the MX-5 is bar far the better choice to do this on the public roads. With a £3k budget for such a car they could even get a fairly peppy modified one too. And best of all, 1-2 years ownership will likely cost them next to nothing in depreciation.Not saying the MX is better or more fun. Just better suited to what they say they want to use it for.
3k would get plenty of MX5, I just paid half that for a tidy little mk1.
If you go for one I woul aim for a 1.8 if you are wanting a standard car. If you look at 1.6s remember that the UK spec 1.6 from 1994 onwards (I think) is massively under powered at something like 90bhp. The imported Eunos 1.6s are meant to be 115bhp which is much more like it and if you buy an import insurance can be a little more expensive. A quote I did on a 1.6 import came in at £100 more than I have paid for a UK 1.8. Other than that there are plenty out there so buy carefully and look out for rust in the sills and rear arches.
Go and have a go and see if you it would fit the bill for you.
If you go for one I woul aim for a 1.8 if you are wanting a standard car. If you look at 1.6s remember that the UK spec 1.6 from 1994 onwards (I think) is massively under powered at something like 90bhp. The imported Eunos 1.6s are meant to be 115bhp which is much more like it and if you buy an import insurance can be a little more expensive. A quote I did on a 1.6 import came in at £100 more than I have paid for a UK 1.8. Other than that there are plenty out there so buy carefully and look out for rust in the sills and rear arches.
Go and have a go and see if you it would fit the bill for you.
If you go for an MX5 I'd go for a 1.8 import, perhaps an RS if you can find one. These come with a 6 speed box, proper lsd (you do need one of these!), extra chassis bracing and around 140bhp IIRC. While MX5s don't look fast on paper they do feel fast when driving them. They love revs and the RS redlines at 7500 rpm. The handling is excellent and they grip well, the cornering ability will see you leaving much more powerful but lardy cars behind on bendy B roads. While they are no Elise they are a very capable car and a good place to rediscover rwd handling relatively safely and very cheaply.
For some reason, probably a plentiful supply and people feeling the pinch, they are cheap as chips at the moment and lots to choose from.
For some reason, probably a plentiful supply and people feeling the pinch, they are cheap as chips at the moment and lots to choose from.
kambites said:
However much "driving gods" may say that the Elise is easy to drive (and I've certainly not found mine a problem), the simple fact is that a huge number of Elises get thrown into hedges within the first few weeks of being bought. I suspect the same isn't true of MX5s.
Speaking personally I said it precisely because I'm not a driving god. My sum total of mid-engined experience was a matter of hours when I stepped into the S1, and part of that involved spinning the last (far trickier) mid-engined car I drove. I daresay the flattering conditions helped but I found the Elise a lot more progressive than I'd been led to expect by some of the posts you see on here.That said, I'd still go for a Caterham if it's a toy.
After seeing the words 'weekend' and 'fun' I'd go for the Elise. Why piss about looking at compromised cars (in the sense that they are built/made to be more than just weekend fun cars) when the Elise fits the bill far more admirably. Along similar lines, caterham must be worth a look; same philosophy.
My MX-5 is great. Its fun, great to drive, cheap to run, cost buttons. Its also very easy to work on, to get bits for and to tinker with (I'm currently doing a cylinder head at home to swap in).
If I had 8 grand to spend, I'd be looking for a slightly miley Mk3 2.0 Sport MX-5. I'd also contemplate an Elise.
If you also then told me, that I only needed to use it at weekends and for 'fun', not as an only car doing > 15K miles a year...
...then would I heckers like choose an MX-5.
It would be Elise, TVRS S, Wedge or Chim, or a Westfield. Easy.
If I had 8 grand to spend, I'd be looking for a slightly miley Mk3 2.0 Sport MX-5. I'd also contemplate an Elise.
If you also then told me, that I only needed to use it at weekends and for 'fun', not as an only car doing > 15K miles a year...
...then would I heckers like choose an MX-5.
It would be Elise, TVRS S, Wedge or Chim, or a Westfield. Easy.
snotrag said:
My MX-5 is great. Its fun, great to drive, cheap to run, cost buttons. Its also very easy to work on, to get bits for and to tinker with (I'm currently doing a cylinder head at home to swap in).
If I had 8 grand to spend, I'd be looking for a slightly miley Mk3 2.0 Sport MX-5. I'd also contemplate an Elise.
If you also then told me, that I only needed to use it at weekends and for 'fun', not as an only car doing > 15K miles a year...
...then would I heckers like choose an MX-5.
It would be Elise, TVRS S, Wedge or Chim, or a Westfield. Easy.
The only problem with the older TVR's is their chassis/outriggers. If you were to look at one make sure you do your research and look at the outriggers properly with mirrors, lights and something to prod about with (carefully If I had 8 grand to spend, I'd be looking for a slightly miley Mk3 2.0 Sport MX-5. I'd also contemplate an Elise.
If you also then told me, that I only needed to use it at weekends and for 'fun', not as an only car doing > 15K miles a year...
...then would I heckers like choose an MX-5.
It would be Elise, TVRS S, Wedge or Chim, or a Westfield. Easy.
) You really have to get your hands around as much as possible, just google it and you'll see what i mean about the rotting on the tops which is almost impossible to see.The average life of a TVR will most certainly be affecting 8k cars, I looked at quite a few when looking for mine and some of the 97/98 all had holes in the corners, costs about £900 per side for a partial body lift to replace them, other than that they are fantastic fun and the noise is really hard to beat, especially with a sleeved exhaust and decats, flippin loud to with pops and bangs on demand.
Based on budget if you were only going to spend cica 3k it would be MX5 all the way with some nice handling mods but if you go for the 8k I'd still stick to an Elise. Caterhams are fantastic little cars but I'd just like a little more car surrounding me.
Edited by Evo on Tuesday 17th May 12:55
I was in the same frame of mind for years but mine was VX220, Elise or MX5 then I was thinking what do I want out of it, bit of weekend fun the odd camping trip and one trip a year to LeMans, could I fit enough stuff in them all? No so MX5 it was due to the slightly larger boot plus it cost a fifth of the cost of the other two.
Being in the (very) fortunate position of owning an S1 Elise and a supercharged MX5 I can tell you now that the MX5 feels like a barge compared to the Elise.
That said, the MX5 is much more useable and costs much less and don't get me wrong, its far from a bad car. It all depends what you really want this for.
You will get a lot of car for your money with the MX5 and you will not be disappointed..............unless you have driven an Elise first.
So in conclusion m'lud, I like them both but for different reasons.
HTH!!
That said, the MX5 is much more useable and costs much less and don't get me wrong, its far from a bad car. It all depends what you really want this for.
You will get a lot of car for your money with the MX5 and you will not be disappointed..............unless you have driven an Elise first.
So in conclusion m'lud, I like them both but for different reasons.
HTH!!
Bonefish Blues said:
One thing taht I haven't seen mentioned thus far is whilst the MX5 is an admirable piece of design and very robust/reliable, sadly Mazda didn't apply the same rigour to rustproofing.
If you do go ahead and purchase this is, by a country mile, your biggest check-point.
Spot on. Rear of the sills and rear arches. If you can see bubbles it's worse than it looks. It can be repaired well but often isn't.If you do go ahead and purchase this is, by a country mile, your biggest check-point.
Elises have their problems too: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/lotus/elise-2...
rovermorris999 said:
Spot on. Rear of the sills and rear arches. If you can see bubbles it's worse than it looks. It can be repaired well but often isn't.
Elises have their problems too: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/lotus/elise-2...
Interesting opinions on the Honest John article's claims here:Elises have their problems too: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/lotus/elise-2...
http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php?tid=267335
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I'd go for the Elise. For me, the MX5 is a perfectly capable everyday car, so would be the choice if you were going for an only car. The Elise is less practical as a daily (although plenty of people do use them as such of course) so fits better as a "weekend car". It's also a step on in terms of ability.
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