My wife needs to change her car sometime this summer.
One of the models on her short(? :-) ) list (no test drives yet) is the MX5.
Notice that a number of you have/had one of these.
Any input appreciated
BTW she's knee high to a rabbit.

 

I really liked my MK1s and Karen could see out of them OK. Bulletproof, too.

No experience of the latest, other than to sit in it. Would get high marks, if it wasn't for the sadly awful front.

 

my mother has the new one, and she loves it, uses it everyday and never had a problem.

 

I had a 1.8i Mk2 and absolutely loved it.

It was very reliable in the 3 years that I had it (and then in the years after that that my brother and then his girlfriend owned it, until it was totalled a couple of years ago by a drunk driver ) and pretty cheap to service and run.

It had one of the most "chuckable" biddable chassises I've ever driven, and generally gave you pretty good warning of what it was going to do. (The back end did once catch me out on a large and very wet roundabout - on the A627M between Oldham and Rochdale, for anyone who knows the area! - but even a driver of my very modest talents was able to gather it up quite easily).

Can't speak to the current model - but then the "jacked up" look and the middling reviews about its handling would probably make me revert to the Mk2 anyway if I was ever to return to the marque.

 

I had a MK2 MX5, I absolutley loved it, brilliant chassis, enough power to be fun and very reliable.

Very cheap to insure, about

 

Also had the MKII (1.8is) - quite fun, but slow. Don't like the look of the MK3. Quite like the metallic folding roof though.

 

100% agree with all the replies.
In terms of value for money NOTHING comes close to an MX-5.

I owned a show winning 1990 Mk1 for 10 years and it provided the most enjoyable driving of my life. Better than the previous 15 years of owning a concours winning classic sports car. Totally worry free fun.
I'll go further, in that fine though the S2000 is, & performance & huge depreciation notwithstanding, a really good MK2 MX-5 could tempt me back into the Mazda fold. BUT, I Saw 5 this morning all within 100 yards of each other, & all driven by women.

Good Mk1's now difficult to find, & Eunos imports have a bit of a stigma to them, a cheapskate option. Many over-modified and thoroughly Chaved.

Main dealers seem to be overflowing with 2.5's, & for some the re-shaping of the nose cone, too high back seats & juddering clutches make them the odd-ball version. IMO The limited edition 2.5 Montana is worth tracking down though. High spec. inc. air and a lovely dark red metallic red.

Mk3 is awful, the worlds first 4x4 cabriolet. Contrived after-market looking wheel arches, & dreadful cheap interior plastics. The entire door trim panel rattles and shudders when you close the doors.
To quote a MK3 owner at a recent rally " Its been Ford-ised, & not really a sports car any more "

This leaves the MK2 which feels far more solid than the Mk1 & there is a huge choice on the market. Some of the Limited editions are worth seeking eg Icon, but beware that what Mazda gave they also taketh away eg fancy colours and extra chrome but no lecky windows, or lots of bits and bobs but only on the poverty 1.6 model.

You can afford to be fussy so good luck.

 

Thanks for all the input.
It looks as though we could have a summer of test drives

 

Check out the MR2 roadster if she can live with the lack of space. Really good chassis.

I've only driven a mk1 MX5 without power steering and it was a superb car. Much more feel than the S2000.

Also the Smart Roadster is definitely worth a look if you have a good independent specialist near you - 50mpg and lots of fun.

 

Isn't the ride height of the MkIII down to the pedestrian safety regs (which mean that there will never be a great low nosed small roadster again).

Last time I was at Center Gravity, Chris was working on a MkIII which had had the "proper" springs put back on. It looked ao much better.