RE: Mazda MX-5: PH Heroes
Discussion
redsq01 said:
I think a good Ford Focus a much better bet.
"You don't want one of those 'Sports Cars'! You'll regret it when you have to make several loads to the tip instead of just one, mark my words. And how will you get furniture in there? Or your in-laws? No, a Ford Focus is a much more sensible bet.More cocoa, dear?
"I got my MK2.5 in December and have done about 2000 miles since. Absolutely loving my time with it and find it to have plenty of poke to have fun on our roads - It was even quite well behaved given how much it was pushed on a recent hoon in rainy conditions 
I've been very lucky in that my car is basically corrosion free. Only a tiny tiny bit of bubbling on at the bottom of the rear arch - and won't cost much to put right - All major work carried out on it before I collected it
I was driving a 50bhp Micra before (technically a Skoda Superb in between) - so the Mazda is plenty fast enough for me.
Can't understand the overtaking problem. I've had no issues. On said hoon I completed many painless and safe overtakes and never felt for a moment I was short of power.
I've been very lucky in that my car is basically corrosion free. Only a tiny tiny bit of bubbling on at the bottom of the rear arch - and won't cost much to put right - All major work carried out on it before I collected it
RDR 838 said:
I've never driven, let alone owned a fast car so I can't relate to all this trouble overtaking business in reference to the MX5, so for now the MX5 still seems like a fast car to me.
Certainly seems so to me too I was driving a 50bhp Micra before (technically a Skoda Superb in between) - so the Mazda is plenty fast enough for me.Can't understand the overtaking problem. I've had no issues. On said hoon I completed many painless and safe overtakes and never felt for a moment I was short of power.
just bought one for £850,
at my budget which was no more than £1k my choices were MR2, MGF or mx5 for a RWD fun car.
It is awesome fun, the whole flow thing makes sense and lots of roads near me are wicked fun in it below the speed limit. I have bought it for autosolo and larking about.
nearest thing I have driven is my mates caterham , not quick but connected.
first time I have owned a PH hero.
at my budget which was no more than £1k my choices were MR2, MGF or mx5 for a RWD fun car.
It is awesome fun, the whole flow thing makes sense and lots of roads near me are wicked fun in it below the speed limit. I have bought it for autosolo and larking about.
nearest thing I have driven is my mates caterham , not quick but connected.
first time I have owned a PH hero.
I spent a good bit of time in a MkI. Very good cars.
As has been said, suggesting a Caterham as an alternative is totally missing the point.
These were and are a modern day MGB IMO. Not the last word in ability, but fun and most importantly cheap to own.
To my mind Mazda also followed MG down the evolution route too - heavier, uglier, more expensive etc. It'd be good to see the next version go back to basics.
As has been said, suggesting a Caterham as an alternative is totally missing the point.
These were and are a modern day MGB IMO. Not the last word in ability, but fun and most importantly cheap to own.
To my mind Mazda also followed MG down the evolution route too - heavier, uglier, more expensive etc. It'd be good to see the next version go back to basics.
Murph7355 said:
I spent a good bit of time in a MkI. Very good cars.
As has been said, suggesting a Caterham as an alternative is totally missing the point.
These were and are a modern day MGB IMO. Not the last word in ability, but fun and most importantly cheap to own.
To my mind Mazda also followed MG down the evolution route too - heavier, uglier, more expensive etc. It'd be good to see the next version go back to basics.
Er, aren't the current cars exactly the same weight as the originals, and arentthy a good bit cheaper in real terms?As has been said, suggesting a Caterham as an alternative is totally missing the point.
These were and are a modern day MGB IMO. Not the last word in ability, but fun and most importantly cheap to own.
To my mind Mazda also followed MG down the evolution route too - heavier, uglier, more expensive etc. It'd be good to see the next version go back to basics.
heebeegeetee said:
Er, aren't the current cars exactly the same weight as the originals, and arentthy a good bit cheaper in real terms?
Relatively cheaper, but a bit heavier - 1100-1150kg compared with 940kg for an early base spec Mk1.Pretty good considering the (compulsory) safety gear and increase in comfort, performance etc over the original though. They say the Mk4 will be lighter than the Mk3 too which will be good.
Agent Orange said:
I must be one of the few but I just don't get the high praise that is heaped upon the MX5.
My mother has one, a MK 2.5 I think with the 1.8 engine. A couple of years ago I drove it for the weekend whilst she borrowed my estate. I'll admit it was quite fun at first but after 30 minutes I began to see the faults and by the end of the weekend I was more than happy to hand it back.
It was fun through the bends but the moment you exited and put your foot down and nothing happened.
My overriding feeling was it's just gutless and the engine noise is awful.
My view is if you want a car like this do it properly and get a Caterham, Elise or VX220.
I have to agree, I sold my Alfa Spider and bought a 1.8NB. 6 years only and it was rusting badly (MOT failed inner wings and needed new sill). To drive, the engine was like a tractor compared to the twinspark in the alfa, it felt slow and crude. Yes it handled nicely, but it didn't make up for the other issues. I then had a steer in a Mk1 MR2 and was astonished by how much better the engine, refinement, handling and performance was. So I sold it, bought an MR2 Mk1 of my own and restored it. Best decision I ever made. My mother has one, a MK 2.5 I think with the 1.8 engine. A couple of years ago I drove it for the weekend whilst she borrowed my estate. I'll admit it was quite fun at first but after 30 minutes I began to see the faults and by the end of the weekend I was more than happy to hand it back.
It was fun through the bends but the moment you exited and put your foot down and nothing happened.
My overriding feeling was it's just gutless and the engine noise is awful.
My view is if you want a car like this do it properly and get a Caterham, Elise or VX220.
Goodwood in a 1.6 MK1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iANBxUYdaxY
I really think people miss the point of the mx5! They are now at prices that are ridiculous for a reliable, use everyday - yes everyday , rear wheel drive, roofless sports car. I've had my current one for over a year having owned two in the past. It's black, mk1 and n reg , yes not the fastest thing in the world but can be easily turbo'd supercharged if that's your thing. In the time I've had it I've replaced nearly everything in it for about £1500. So for around £2k I've got a practically new car. I've had hugely more powerful cars previously such as Bmw m5's and a mercedes amg 55. In the end out of choice I've opted to run this as my daily driver. It's been superb in the whole time I've had it and driven across Europe without a hitch. I can't recommend them enough, they are simple enough to fix things yourself and not complicated enough for anything to go seriously wrong. I think the most complicated thing in it is the stereo. Yes I've lowered it slightly but out of the box they are a lot of fun and with a couple of pound spent in the right area they can become the performance car bargain of the century especially at their current price. Looks superb without any stupid spoilers or silly add ons too. People who are saying buy an Elise or an s2000 clearly haven't got a clue, buy an mx5 for £500, turbo charge it, lower it and set it all up properly and it'll wipe the floor with any stock s2000 or Elise and you will still have spent bugger all when compared with even the cheapest Elise or s2000. And to top it all off, I insure the mx5 for £100 a year. Enough said I think.
They are great cars, I had a UK 1.8s mk1 (AFAIK no UK mk1s came with an LSD) and ran it as my only car for 6 years/100,000 miles including European roadtrips and track days. It was fun to drive, especially when it was on good tyres and had been aligned properly and easy to work on. I nearly replaced it with a mk3, but thought the handling was rubbish when I tested it, so kept rubbing the mk1.
When the mk1 inevitably failed it's MOT due to rusted sills, I tried to get it repaired as it was such a good car, but it had rusted from the inside out and there wasn't anything to weld the new sills to. So it got sold for parts and the hunt for another MX-5 started, I test drive a mk3.5 and found it much better than the mk3, it handled like a mk1, but felt much more refined. I leased one for 2 years and found it much better than the mk1.
At the end of the lease and after 8 years of having an MX-5 as my only car I decided that I wanted to try something else, but it wasn't easy finding another sub £5k sports car that would be as fun and practical as an MX-5, in the end I sacked off the practicality and went for an MR2. The MR2 is nowhere near as practical and a different driving experience, I guess down to the engine location, the limits feel higher than the MX-5, but they are narrower, so you can't play with overseer as easily as in an MX-5. I won't say either is better as it is down to personal preference, but I'm glad I had the MX-5s first.
When the mk1 inevitably failed it's MOT due to rusted sills, I tried to get it repaired as it was such a good car, but it had rusted from the inside out and there wasn't anything to weld the new sills to. So it got sold for parts and the hunt for another MX-5 started, I test drive a mk3.5 and found it much better than the mk3, it handled like a mk1, but felt much more refined. I leased one for 2 years and found it much better than the mk1.
At the end of the lease and after 8 years of having an MX-5 as my only car I decided that I wanted to try something else, but it wasn't easy finding another sub £5k sports car that would be as fun and practical as an MX-5, in the end I sacked off the practicality and went for an MR2. The MR2 is nowhere near as practical and a different driving experience, I guess down to the engine location, the limits feel higher than the MX-5, but they are narrower, so you can't play with overseer as easily as in an MX-5. I won't say either is better as it is down to personal preference, but I'm glad I had the MX-5s first.
mrpenks said:
I have to agree, I sold my Alfa Spider and bought a 1.8NB. 6 years only and it was rusting badly (MOT failed inner wings and needed new sill). To drive, the engine was like a tractor compared to the twinspark in the alfa, it felt slow and crude. Yes it handled nicely, but it didn't make up for the other issues. I then had a steer in a Mk1 MR2 and was astonished by how much better the engine, refinement, handling and performance was. So I sold it, bought an MR2 Mk1 of my own and restored it. Best decision I ever made.
Strange I bought a supercharged Mk1 MR2 probably 20 years ago.It lasted a month.
Tiny inside, can't take the roof off (a targa is NOT the same) you can't play with the back and they rot terribly.
Even the supercharged one seemed slow (perhaps because it has higher limits - so long ago I can't remember)
Conversely I bought my first Mk1 MX5 with the intention of selling on for a profit and during the drive home (through wales) I thought I'm not selling this.
I've owned a MK1 (Eunos import) for almost five years now & love it! It's a pampered car & only gets driven in the Summer months, consequently it has zero rust & has only done about 102,000kms. When I bought mine it had some awful after market suspension on it which I binned & fitted some Bilsteins & had the geo done. Amazing difference to how the car handled & felt. It's not a fast car but on B roads, top down & red lining it through the gears it's great fun. It has to be 'thrashed' for it to come alive! Owners of a MK1 will know what I mean.
We've travelled all over the North of England in ours & it's only ever let itself down once. A split heater hose (common problem) which was fixed by AA roadside. This can be forgiven as the hose was the original one, some twenty odd years old. Now wears a full set of silicone hoses so won't happen again. Cheap to buy (for now) cheap to insure, maintain & run.
You can't compare the original MX5 with anything else because, for the money, there isn't anything to compare it with! End of story.
We've travelled all over the North of England in ours & it's only ever let itself down once. A split heater hose (common problem) which was fixed by AA roadside. This can be forgiven as the hose was the original one, some twenty odd years old. Now wears a full set of silicone hoses so won't happen again. Cheap to buy (for now) cheap to insure, maintain & run.
You can't compare the original MX5 with anything else because, for the money, there isn't anything to compare it with! End of story.
andy3781 said:
... People who are saying buy an Elise or an s2000 clearly haven't got a clue, buy an mx5 for £500, turbo charge it, lower it and set it all up properly and it'll wipe the floor with any stock s2000 or Elise and you will still have spent bugger all when compared with even the cheapest Elise or s2000. And to top it all off, I insure the mx5 for £100 a year. Enough said I think.
I stuck a turbo on my MX5. It was huge fun. I also have an Elise. In a 5 year back-to-back test the MX5 Turbo didn't "wipe the floor" with the Elise. It was huge fun to drive, and a lot cheaper to buy, but not really better for anything other than driving extremely sideways (which only applies to track driving, and not even fast track driving).
It wasn't even cheaper to run, if I include the cost of upgrades.
I've met loads of other MX5 drivers who think it's the best car ever, and it isn't. It's huge fun for tiny money and has no downsides at all, but other cars can be more capable or more fun (although usually for more money).
Captain Muppet said:
I've met loads of other MX5 drivers who think it's the best car ever, and it isn't. It's huge fun for tiny money and has no downsides at all, but other cars can be more capable or more fun (although usually for more money).
Exactly this, and its this which is why some people are getting worked up. II am a rabid MX5 fan, I'm on my third. I'll sing its praises all day long.
But If I had the money to by an S2000 or an Elise, would I still have my MX-5 (even with its turbo) ? Not a chance.
V8RX7 said:
Strange I bought a supercharged Mk1 MR2 probably 20 years ago.
It lasted a month.
Tiny inside, can't take the roof off (a targa is NOT the same) you can't play with the back and they rot terribly.
Even the supercharged one seemed slow (perhaps because it has higher limits - so long ago I can't remember)
Conversely I bought my first Mk1 MX5 with the intention of selling on for a profit and during the drive home (through wales) I thought I'm not selling this.
I had two mk1 MR2s. I don't remember the cabin being smaller than my MX5 (I'm average height), and they both rusted terribly. However I found the back end of both MR2s very mobile and friendly. Not as easy to slide as an MX5 with a diff, but no harder to slide around than an E30 3 series.It lasted a month.
Tiny inside, can't take the roof off (a targa is NOT the same) you can't play with the back and they rot terribly.
Even the supercharged one seemed slow (perhaps because it has higher limits - so long ago I can't remember)
Conversely I bought my first Mk1 MX5 with the intention of selling on for a profit and during the drive home (through wales) I thought I'm not selling this.
Mine were both NAs. I knew a chap with a supercharged one and he drove it up a tree on a straight bit of road, so perhaps they were different.
snotrag said:
Captain Muppet said:
I've met loads of other MX5 drivers who think it's the best car ever, and it isn't. It's huge fun for tiny money and has no downsides at all, but other cars can be more capable or more fun (although usually for more money).
Exactly this, and its this which is why some people are getting worked up. II am a rabid MX5 fan, I'm on my third. I'll sing its praises all day long.
But If I had the money to by an S2000 or an Elise, would I still have my MX-5 (even with its turbo) ? Not a chance.
Hence much faster / better stuff has come and gone - admittedly mine has a supercharger - which is far better than a turbo for fun but inferior in every measurable way (cost, power, mpg etc)
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