RE: PH Heroes: Mazda MX-5

[Supervet]

kambites said:

chunkymonkey71 said:

As for the flock of sheep effect... what would you buy instead? An MGF???

There's nothing wrong with the MG TF. It's faster than an MX5, handles differently but I wouldn't say any worse... the only things that really let it down are driving position, steering feel (although it's probably no worse than a Mk3 MX5) and reliability.

Certainly meets all your criteria of: "lightweight, well balanced, cheap to own and run, great handling, the roof comes off..."

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 16th April 14:18

Great handling?! MG TF, I think not. Other half and I met both recovering from divorces, decided to cheer oursleves up by test driving all the sports cars we could find even including an Audi TT (she kept saying just one more roundabout in that!). However the a**e end of the TF was like a jelly compared with the rest. In the end we discarded Z3s, Elises and suchlike and chose a 1989 Eunos, one of the first 3000 built that had been (admittedly) tweaked a fair bit. Best fun of the lot without a doubt. And very cheap. We jumped in it immediately and romped off to Dorset down the B roads for a few days, wonderful fun. ;-)

[Miguel]

otolith said:

Rob13 said:

As far as handling goes...Sublime but watch outmost fun in the wet!

EFA. Wet roads tip the grip:grunt ratio funwards.

Agreed. I've done that a few times in the wet, where you can kick the tail out at safe and sane speeds. Easy to catch, too.

[Miguel]

Rob13 said:

Its funny how people say that theyre cheap to run, because they never say what theyre comparing them to. As a sports car, then I guess they are pretty reasonable, however with 25mpg & £300 tax (as of next year) and a set of £300 tyres annually, then I guess theyre not as cheap as some might think


As far as handling goes...Sublime but watch out in the wet!

Do you race every time you drive? I get around 24.5-25 US mpg (about 29.4-30 UK) when I drive mainly in the city and around 28 or so US mpg (about 33.6 UK) when I do much more highway. And I do rev it most of the time. Mine's a 2001 1.8 5-speed with the 4.3 rear. I also get more than two years out of the tires. Mine are almost two years old and still have some life left. As for your other costs, maybe you should just move to the US. My tires (195/50/15 Toyo Proxes, sp?) cost me around US$400, and the only tax I pay on the car is registration, which is about $30 (yes, thirty dollars) per year.

Miguel

[Herman Toothrot]

I get over 30mpg in my heavily modifed Eunos.

[lord summerisle]

Rob13 said:

Its funny how people say that theyre cheap to run, because they never say what theyre comparing them to. As a sports car, then I guess they are pretty reasonable, however with 25mpg & £300 tax and a set of £300 tyres annually, then I guess theyre not as cheap as some might think

hmm £185 tax, 35mpg and i've replaced tyres every other year... at a cost of £40 a corner inc fitting

[Combover]

I've worn a set of tyres out in 5 months and can get as low as 20-22mpg from mine. 1.8 SV-T 5 Speed.

[salsaman]

For years Ive passed these cars being driven at 40mph on the inside lane in my everyday 5 door hatch's. I thought maybe they were rubbish to drive. After all if you want to drive slowly why not buy a Metro or an Austin 1100? But of course there are a lot of people who drive sports cars because they like the look of it. Now Ive got a MK1 1800 as a second car and it's great. And I don't do inside lanes, unless they are empty. I also look forward to every corner! Must go; off to my next appointment dearie.

[flashygee]

Really a great Car and a great ph hero.
And he has Class but is so classless.(from a social perspective)
It was beloved and successful by the Rich and Famous and the normal People.
You can find it @ Beverly Hills or parked @ normal Appartements.
These Car dont needs Bling Bling or another Stuff to give him a High Class Image in all Areas From poor to rich.
The MX5/Miata speaks for herself with his Character.
How many cars can do that!?

[Porscha!]

flashygee said:

Really a great Car and a great ph hero.
And he has Class but is so classless.(from a social perspective)
It was beloved and successful by the Rich and Famous and the normal People.
You can find it @ Beverly Hills or parked @ normal Appartements.
These Car dont needs Bling Bling or another Stuff to give him a High Class Image in all Areas From poor to rich.
The MX5/Miata speaks for herself with his Character.
How many cars can do that!?

I'll second that

[Rob13]

Its a mk2.5 Sport with the 6sp box. At the moment i'm running Toyo T1Rs on there and theyre probably too sticky, I find the sidewalls although supposed to be reinforced feel a bit soft.

Unfortunately its 25mpg on the short commute to work. Was getting 30mpg on a run to my old job but its a pretty thirsty machine this one. Its my 2nd MX5. Would be tempted to buy an old Mk1 as a replacement as this one is probably a bit too costly for what Im after. The 1.6 although a little slower liked the revs and managed about 33-35mpg.

[jamoor]

Today was beautiful MX-5 Weather, forcast makes it out to be good for teh next few days, good bye boring 530d

[ambro25]

Just a quick note, to say the 'from - to' dates in the article for the Mk1 (bottom right of page) are incorrect: the Mk1 ran until early 1998 in the UK, last original UK cars are R-plated (look up the last 400 Mk1 UK cars, which were all sold as the (individually-numbered) 'Berkeley' ltd edition)

Edited by ambro25 on Wednesday 9th July 11:36