Help! Too tall for a MX5 - Any solutions?

[Ari]

Test drove an MX5 a couple of days ago with my girlfriend, it was a grey metallic late 2006 2.0 litre.

Both loved the car, it drove and handled superbly and I really liked the way it felt, solid and precise, everything I'd hoped it would be.

The problem we have is that I'm 6ft 3 and she's 6ft 1, and we just seem to be that little bit too tall for it. Once we got past 45mph with the roof down I was finding it uncomfortably windy around the top half of my head, and my girlfriend was experiencing a sensation she described as "like being firmly thumped over the head repeatedly with a large soft pillow". In fact it was so bad for her that it gave her a headache.

If we scooched down in the seats about six inches we were both ok, but clearly we can't drive around like that.

We (ok, I) want the car as a weekend toy, something we can take off for a run to a nice hotel somewhere for example. The car is fine for that, the seats are comfortable, the ride is fine, it's not too noisy, all is well, but we both agreed we'd probably last about quarter of an hour tops at any speed before we would be pulling over to put the top back up, which of course completely defeats the object. Might as well take the existing tin top as do that.

The car was fitted with the (presumably) standard little windbreak behind the seats, guess it was about four inches tall. I wondered whether there was a taller one available? I think that might help a bit although we've still got the issue of the airflow over the screen "hitting" my girlfriend over the head.

Also wondered whether there was any seat height adjustment (we couldn't find any but you never know). Or whether a different model (like a "Sport" for instance) might have lower seats or more adjustment?

At the moment the idea of buying the car has been canned because there's just no point. But I'd be very interested to hear of any possible solutions that might re-open the possibility, or indeed whether anyone else has experienced similar?

Cheers in anticipation.

Ari

[Ari]

Thanks guys. Looks like it's back to the drawing board then...

Bloody shame, great car.

[Ari]

Jonny671 said:

Ari said:

Thanks guys. Looks like it's back to the drawing board then...

Bloody shame, great car.

MK3 has adjustable seats?

Edit: Just checked in the showroom, only drivers.. Apologies!

Maybe different on leather/sport though, I only checked the 20th Anniversary, Cloth seats.

Edited by Jonny671 on Wednesday 14th April 11:22

That's interesting! I looked for a lever on the drivers side but couldn't find one.

Unfortunately it doesn't resolve the problem of the car being uncomfortable to ride in for the missus.

[Ari]

Lefty Two Drams said:

Buy an Elise/VX220?

I had a VX220T and am 6'4" and fitted just fine. In fact, I didn't need the seat all the way back. But I had to take the soft top off for trackdays because I didn't fit with a lid on.

An Elise S2 or VX220 will be (almost) as practical as an MX5. Plenty of people use em as only cars. And they are quite a bit more focussed. The VX is a bit softer than the Elise and has the safety net of ABS and airbag. That's the main reason i went for one over an Elise as it was to be my only car.

Too dear unfortunately. What attracts me to the Mazda is I can afford a very tidy (it looked and felt like new actually) low mileage (20K) 3 year old car fairly easily and without borrowing any money, and I feel reasonably confident in it's reliability and ability to be serviced and fixed fairly cheaply, insured reasonably and so on.

I'm not after ultimate performance, I just want something quick-ish that drives and rides nicely that we can use as a little two seat tourer rather than out and out performance car.

The MX5 ticks all the boxes for me, and as I say, it's the right price. Hence really frustrated about the fact we're both too flippin' tall for one!

[Ari]

Jonny671 said:

Ari said:

Jonny671 said:

Ari said:

Thanks guys. Looks like it's back to the drawing board then...

Bloody shame, great car.

MK3 has adjustable seats?

Edit: Just checked in the showroom, only drivers.. Apologies!

Maybe different on leather/sport though, I only checked the 20th Anniversary, Cloth seats.

Edited by Jonny671 on Wednesday 14th April 11:22

That's interesting! I looked for a lever on the drivers side but couldn't find one.

Unfortunately it doesn't resolve the problem of the car being uncomfortable to ride in for the missus.

Ah right, on the right hand side you have one near the front for height, and one nearer the back (same as on the passenger chair) for the back angle.

Many thanks for that, found the backrest one, I guess I must have thought the other was for sliding the seat forward and back (it was in the right place so I didn't try adjusting it).

Definitely nothing on the passenger side though?

[Ari]

The one I looked at was at a main dealer (with warranty) for just under £10K.

And as I say, it was like new really.

[Ari]

Jonny671 said:

No, unfortunately the passenger side doesn't.. I wonder how difficult it might be to put a european 'drivers' (Our passenger) seat in it though if you wanted the MX-5 enough

Interesting thought. I wonder though whether the non adjustable seat equates to the adjustable seat right down, right up, or somewhere in-between? Be a bear if got an adjustable seat and found it adjusts all the way down to the same height as the standard seat!

Ultimately though it's a bit too much hassle, just want to buy and enjoy.

[Ari]

Lefty Two Drams said:

Ari said:

The one I looked at was at a main dealer (with warranty) for just under £10K.

And as I say, it was like new really.

Definitely Elise/VX territory. Seriously, either of these (but a VX in particular) are pretty usable and amazing fun to drive.

It's a very good suggestion, but a quick look in PH Classifieds suggests I'd be looking at an older car at that money, and even if it were the same it's probably a little too "focussed" for my needs. The concept of Japanese reliability and ease of use (hood operation for example) is what appeals.

[Ari]

Just another thought, is anyone aware of a "full sized" wind deflector option for an MX5?

Just wondering if that would help manage air flow with the top down?

[Ari]

That's interesting, thank you. By the look of it this one just goes between the seats?

I had a full width mesh wind deflector on my Audi A4 Cabriolet a couple of years ago and it made a huge difference.