RE: The best sports cars to buy in 2020
Discussion
cerb4.5lee said:
I was always in the MX-5 is a 2 seat convertible rather than a sports car camp, but the current one does actually have decent performance which in my mind now makes it sporty.
I had one of the older MX-5's try to out drag me when I had the E92 M3...god knows what he was thinking was going to happen! After that I always thought that the MX-5 looked sporty but they certainly don't go sporty. All mouth and no trousers if you like, and if a car looks sporty it should go sporty for me.
I had one of the older MX-5's try to out drag me when I had the E92 M3...god knows what he was thinking was going to happen! After that I always thought that the MX-5 looked sporty but they certainly don't go sporty. All mouth and no trousers if you like, and if a car looks sporty it should go sporty for me.
Apart from being slow they have no character whatsoever. It’’s a bit like a Rolex homage, they look ok and you get the same basic sensations but it’s just a clone. That’s the biggest problem and why the ‘s
t old cars’ are better in every way for me. baconsarney said:
Lee, are you suggesting an E92 M3 is a sports car? Or that anything slower can't be?
God no! 
The E92 M3 is definitely not a sports car and it isn't even a very quick performance car either(it needs a turbo for that). I just mean't that if a car looks quick(or sporty) it should be quick(sporty) that's all.
cerb4.5lee said:
God no!
The E92 M3 is definitely not a sports car and it isn't even a very quick performance car either(it needs a turbo for that). I just mean't that if a car looks quick(or sporty) it should be quick(sporty) that's all.
But it’s likely got character, and likely handles...so why not a sports car? Has more claim than the Mazda. The E92 M3 is definitely not a sports car and it isn't even a very quick performance car either(it needs a turbo for that). I just mean't that if a car looks quick(or sporty) it should be quick(sporty) that's all.
ddom said:
But it’s likely got character, and likely handles...so why not a sports car? Has more claim than the Mazda.
The engine does have character I reckon, and it does handle well for sure(well I thought it did). It isn't a sports car for me though, and I'd class it as a sports coupe. It is more of a cruiser rather than a sports car to me. CABC said:
i was looking to get a Caterham next. Better can that idea. clearly not a sports car.
In my head that is pretty much the only sports car on sale for me. 
Everything else is just playing at it I reckon. The Caterham is light/fast(most are anyway) and it doesn't even have a roof. A pure sports car to me.
I feel I might regret asking this but why does an MX5 not have character vs an M3? I certainly haven't driven them all but NA MX5's feel like they have plenty of character to me. Free revving engine, pop up headlights, nice steering, fun to drive, don't see the problem. I don't think they're trying to be anything else. Yeah, they don't break down very often but if that's your bag for defining character you can watch them rust in realtime which should keep you amused. Whether it's a sportscar or not, who gives a crap? Desperately pointless argument that has not and never will have a winner.
Edited by Gad-Westy on Sunday 18th October 11:22
cerb4.5lee said:
In my head that is pretty much the only sports car on sale for me.
Everything else is just playing at it I reckon. The Caterham is light/fast(most are anyway) and it doesn't even have a roof. A pure sports car to me.
they're really not very fast. 0-60 is ok merely because they're light and have superb 0-30.Everything else is just playing at it I reckon. The Caterham is light/fast(most are anyway) and it doesn't even have a roof. A pure sports car to me.
once moving an M3 easily outdrags 80% of 7s.
on track, many 7s get overtaken on the straights by all sorts. The main reason they don't is that their exit speed was higher at the previous corner. a straight drag from something like 40mph sees them suffering.
i agree, a 7 is a sports car. i'm challenging the flawed notion that raw speed is in any way relevant. the world is full of point'n'squirt heroes, even on track, and these types probably aren't capable of appreciating a good chassis. hence comments about mx5s above. (Monkey is the exception of course. and in no way did he make controversial assessments for clicks...). As for old Triumphs et al, yes, they're sports cars. just crap ones.
CABC said:
they're really not very fast. 0-60 is ok merely because they're light and have superb 0-30.
once moving an M3 easily outdrags 80% of 7s.
You do make a good point there, and I remember Clarkson's drag race with the Cerbera in it, and all the cars in that dropped the Caterham very quickly to be fair. once moving an M3 easily outdrags 80% of 7s.
cerb4.5lee said:
CABC said:
they're really not very fast. 0-60 is ok merely because they're light and have superb 0-30.
once moving an M3 easily outdrags 80% of 7s.
You do make a good point there, and I remember Clarkson's drag race with the Cerbera in it, and all the cars in that dropped the Caterham very quickly to be fair. once moving an M3 easily outdrags 80% of 7s.
My first car when I was a yoof was a Lotus 7
ddom said:
biggbn said:
Having just skipped through this thread, are people genuinely arguing about the Mazda Mx5 sportscar credentials? Only on PH!!
Yes, but I’ll concede that the general consensus is it is....but it’s not a very good one All joking aside though...I'd love a 30th anniversary model for sure.
cerb4.5lee said:
baconsarney said:
My first car when I was a yoof was a Lotus 7
Very nice! 
bought the car from Caterham Car Sales (on the hill) which was a twenty minute drive away... when I’d got the car back together they offered me a job, which I took at that time folk were buying the ‘kits’ to avoid purchase tax, we had a steady stream of 7’s, Elans, Tuscans and Vixens coming and going... happy days....Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff