Poll-MX-5 -Good,rubbish or neutral

[blindswelledrat]

I know the MX5 is a much loved car on PH, but I wondered if it was the vocal minority or a general concensus.
I have owned one (well, my wife did so obviously it was mine) and I didn't like it at all. I thought it was far too slow and feminine to be considered a proper PH car and I couldn't understand the fuss at all. That said, it was hugely reliable, cheap to run and now you can buy them for next to nothing I can half see the appeal

ANyway, your opinions that count.
Go

[anonymous-user]

The problem I have is they are rather bland to look at! I know that doesnt really matter as its a car for driving, but I do like a car to look good!

[vixen1700]

Absolute crap, I'd rather drive AIDS



Don't really have any thoughts about them to be fair, never driven one or really been taken by the look of them.

[kambites]

Good cars for the price, but personally I greatly prefer the mk3 MR2.

[blindswelledrat]

MonkeyMatt said:

The problem I have is they are rather bland to look at! I know that doesnt really matter as its a car for driving, but I do like a car to look good!

Before I ever came on PH I used to actually laugh if I saw a bloke driving them as I genuinely thought they looked the equivalent to a bloke in a dress, with tits.
ANd when I first saw people recommending htem, I thought it was an 'in' joke whereby PH tried to encourage newcomers to buy one so they could then turn on them afterwatds and shout "gotcha, you massive bummer".
I was bewildered and disappointed when the end of the joke never materialised!

[Mr. Potato Head]

blindswelledrat said:

far too slow and feminine to be considered a proper PH car

OXO tower

[300bhp/ton]

blindswelledrat said:

I know the MX5 is a much loved car on PH, but I wondered if it was the vocal minority or a general concensus.
I have owned one (well, my wife did so obviously it was mine) and I didn't like it at all. I thought it was far too slow and feminine to be considered a proper PH car and I couldn't understand the fuss at all. That said, it was hugely reliable, cheap to run and now you can buy them for next to nothing I can half see the appeal

ANyway, your opinions that count.
Go

I like them. I don't think they are everything to mankind though. And I'd personally look at Wedge shape TVR's, TR7 V8's and MR2's ahead of an MX-5.

[littleandy0410]

I've not owned one, but have been a passenger in a few, and have driven a mk3, and I like them. Just found this one on ebay though:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-MX-5-1990-SOFT-TOP...

Why would you do that!?

[Chris71]

Good cars considering, well, a lot of things actually... purchase price, maintenance costs, reliability, practicality (compared to some) and accesible levels of performance.

As an overall package they're brilliant, but I think there's a tendency on here to forget they don't actually excel in any category (with the possible exception of value for money).

[Hoofy]

at final option.

Only test driven the mark 2 and did enjoy the drive.

[blindswelledrat]

Mr. Potato Head said:

blindswelledrat said:

far too slow and feminine to be considered a proper PH car

OXO tower

Did you mean to type that?

[300bhp/ton]

blindswelledrat said:

MonkeyMatt said:

The problem I have is they are rather bland to look at! I know that doesnt really matter as its a car for driving, but I do like a car to look good!

Before I ever came on PH I used to actually laugh if I saw a bloke driving them as I genuinely thought they looked the equivalent to a bloke in a dress, with tits.
ANd when I first saw people recommending htem, I thought it was an 'in' joke whereby PH tried to encourage newcomers to buy one so they could then turn on them afterwatds and shout "gotcha, you massive bummer".
I was bewildered and disappointed when the end of the joke never materialised!

No direct offense meant, but you've really got to be a bit dim or an incredibly poor driver to not see the merits in how they drive and handle. Ultimate speed is not their goal, nor is absolute grip. But if you can't make yourself smile driving one then you are doing something very very wrong.

Edited by 300bhp/ton on Tuesday 29th May 15:09

[Snowboy]

300bhp/ton said:

But if you can't make yourself smile driving one then you are doing something very very wrong.

Being a bit on the ‘powerfully built’ side I found the old ones very uncomfortable to sit in.
The newer one wasn’t too bad, but I would have had to take a hacksaw to the cup holder that was pressed into my knee.

There are a lot of alternatives if you want to step up a gear (S2000, Porsche, TVR etc).

But there aren’t many direct competitors in the smaller engines roadster market.
If it’s a choice between an MX5 or a Pug 206 cabrio then I know where my money would go.

[rhinochopig]

Can't fit in one being on the tall side. So I'll go for crap as they discriminate against company directors.

[blindswelledrat]

300bhp/ton said:

No direct offense meant, but you've really got to be a bit dim or an incredibly poor driver to not see the merits in how they drive and handle. Ultimate speed id not their goal, nor is absolute grip. But if you can't make yourself smile driving one then you are doing something very very wrong.

No offense, but you have to be a bit dim or increibly self-absorbed to not notice that different people have different opinions on driving pleasure and what makes a good car.
The things that make me smile most whilst driving are not found in an MX5. In my opinion they are so underpowered that the other merits they possess become totally irrelevant.

[heebeegeetee]

blindswelledrat said:

I know the MX5 is a much loved car on PH, but I wondered if it was the vocal minority or a general concensus.
I have owned one (well, my wife did so obviously it was mine) and I didn't like it at all. I thought it was far too slow and feminine to be considered a proper PH car and I couldn't understand the fuss at all. That said, it was hugely reliable, cheap to run and now you can buy them for next to nothing I can half see the appeal

ANyway, your opinions that count.
Go

I have to ask, did you have the alignment done or checked? Do you have the printout?

[300bhp/ton]

blindswelledrat said:

No offense, but you have to be a bit dim or increibly self-absorbed to not notice that different people have different opinions on driving pleasure and what makes a good car.
The things that make me smile most whilst driving are not found in an MX5. In my opinion they are so underpowered that the other merits they possess become totally irrelevant.

What you've said is total crap unless you only ever drive on race tracks or continually ignore every speed limit and normal levels of sanity. They are more than quick enough to have fun in, unless... refer to my earlier points

[blindswelledrat]

heebeegeetee said:

blindswelledrat said:

I know the MX5 is a much loved car on PH, but I wondered if it was the vocal minority or a general concensus.
I have owned one (well, my wife did so obviously it was mine) and I didn't like it at all. I thought it was far too slow and feminine to be considered a proper PH car and I couldn't understand the fuss at all. That said, it was hugely reliable, cheap to run and now you can buy them for next to nothing I can half see the appeal

ANyway, your opinions that count.
Go

I have to ask, did you have the alignment done or checked? Do you have the printout?

I had the alignment checked, plus a printout but noticed to my dismay that even after this the car remained very slow and very feminine in appearance

FOr the record, it handled and steered very well indeed, and I could see the fuss - but as mentioned- to me it was so underpowered that this became irrelevant. Admittedly it was only a 1.6 one, but even then- it just seemed absurd to go to those lengths and then make it so slow. I dare say my opinion might change in an instant if I drove a s/c one.

[blindswelledrat]

300bhp/ton said:

What you've said is total crap unless you only ever drive on race tracks or continually ignore every speed limit and normal levels of sanity. They are more than quick enough to have fun in, unless... refer to my earlier points

TOtal crap that people have different opinions or different things? I'm suprised you think so.
Thus you must assume I am lying? THat really I love them and am somehow frightened to agree with people? Or something?

[300bhp/ton]

blindswelledrat said:

I had the alignment checked, plus a printout but noticed to my dismay that even after this the car remained very slow and very feminine in appearance

How exactly do the look feminine??

The MK1 looks very Elan like with a touch of MGB about it. The MK2 with a hardtop almost looks mini TVR IMO, very strong lines and good looking.

blindswelledrat said:

FOr the record, it handled and steered very well indeed, and I could see the fuss - but as mentioned- to me it was so underpowered that this became irrelevant. Admittedly it was only a 1.6 one, but even then- it just seemed absurd to go to those lengths and then make it so slow. I dare say my opinion might change in an instant if I drove a s/c one.

There were two 1.6's and one was very low powered. That said it should still have been fun and was likely no slower than many warm hatches of the same era.

For the record do you actually realise how daft you sound banging on about them being too slow, when in reality they offer up similar straight line pace to a same era Golf GTI? A car not usually claimed to be slow.

You also need a hefty dose of reality check, in that most people, even today still drive cars that are in the 10-12 sec 0-60mph range. So anything 9 sec or lower is quick, unless you happen to own a genuinely fast car. Not too mention more period, the MX-5 came out in 1989/90, how many new vehicles of similar or less money where really any faster? Answer = very few.