NC MX5 Nav & Bose

[V8Taxi]

Hi all,

I'm currently considering either a MK3.5 MX5 or a GT86 (having a really tough time deciding) but one thing I'm wondering is how good the touch screen Nav and Bose systems are?

I know these cars are all about the driving and that's my main priority. I really like how both cars drive but I do like my music too, so I'm just curious about the quality of the systems. The GT86 stereo is terrible, in case you were wondering.


Should I be ruling in or out cars that have/don't have either the Nav or Bose, or are they both naff to the point that I shouldn't care either way?

• Whilst I'm here, I've posted the question in the Car Buying section of PH of "NC vs. GT86" but I'll ask it here too. I know I'm in the MX5 section so replies might be biased, but has anyone here owned both and can offer a comparison of the two?

Cheers.

[cptsideways]

The Mazda Bose system is very good indeed & worth it if you like your tunes, the Nav system is OK it's simple in its actual operation, the twiddly knob is great. It can take a while to wake up at times but its a lot better than most other systems out there!

About the only only function that will work with the voice commands every time successfully is "Screen off"

In the US the geeks have successfully hacked the system to run with Android & Waze etc which is the way forward imho.

[V8Taxi]

Thanks for the reply. If the Bose system is that much better, it might be worth going for that over then Nav then. Phone Nav is often good enough anyway.

Pity there isn't a Nav+Bose option.

The Android hack sounds interesting though.

[Hammerhead]

We've got the Bose system in our NC.5 Sport Tech. I'd say it's ok a best and only reasonable to listen to whilst stationary or at low speed. At motorway speeds, any audio sound quality is lost due to road/wind/tyre noise. Meh, in short form!

The car itself is great! Had it from new and it's never let us down or anything break or fall off in 7.5 yrs/80k miles. It still puts a smile on our faces to this day They're somewhat of a PH cliche, but they are great, fun little cars.

[Evoluzione]

Hammerhead said:

We've got the Bose system in our NC.5 Sport Tech. I'd say it's ok a best and only reasonable to listen to whilst stationary or at low speed. At motorway speeds, any audio sound quality is lost due to road/wind/tyre noise. Meh, in short form!

The car itself is great! Had it from new and it's never let us down or anything break or fall off in 7.5 yrs/80k miles. It still puts a smile on our faces to this day They're somewhat of a PH cliche, but they are great, fun little cars.

Does yours change the volume according to road speed/noise?
The manual is a bit unclear as to whether it is supposed to or not and mine doesn't seem to despite activating it via the button on the head unit.
When you take the top down it pauses the volume so it's noted what has happened, but does nothing. I think the lesser model of stereo does and the Bose doesn't which is a bit daft if so as it's a really useful feature, unless i'm doing something wrong.

Back on topic and apart from that I found the Bose very good, the speakers in the car are positioned well and whilst some of the sound quality is lost top down on the motorway, it's not that bad - better than I thought it would be, but the MX5 is very blustery compared to other cars.
The only other very minor gripe is the volume control is too slight, you've got to hang onto the button on the steering wheel for about 5 minutes to change up a Db, I tend to use the dial as you can spin it round a few turns much quicker.

[Hammerhead]

Evoluzione said:

Does yours change the volume according to road speed/noise?

Can't say I've noticed, to be honest. We use the h/u volume knob, too. Only use the steering wheel controls for the cruise control, generally. I think dropping the roof is supposed to beef up the frequencies - if it does, I think it's very subtle/not that noticeable.

[V8Taxi]

Hammerhead said:

We've got the Bose system in our NC.5 Sport Tech. I'd say it's ok a best and only reasonable to listen to whilst stationary or at low speed. At motorway speeds, any audio sound quality is lost due to road/wind/tyre noise. Meh, in short form!

The car itself is great! Had it from new and it's never let us down or anything break or fall off in 7.5 yrs/80k miles. It still puts a smile on our faces to this day They're somewhat of a PH cliche, but they are great, fun little cars.

Evoluzione said:

of stereo does and the Bose doesn't which is a bit daft if so as it's a really useful feature, unless i'm doing something wrong.

Back on topic and apart from that I found the Bose very good, the speakers in the car are positioned well and whilst some of the sound quality is lost top down on the motorway, it's not that bad - better than I thought it would be, but the MX5 is very blustery compared to other cars.
The only other very minor gripe is the volume control is too slight, you've got to hang onto the button on the steering wheel for about 5 minutes to change up a Db, I tend to use the dial as you can spin it round a few turns much quicker.

Thanks for the posts chaps.

I drove another NC3 today (Venture Edition, so no Bose) and certainly enjoyed it. It was a lovely example (14 plate in that very nice pearl white) but I'm just a little concerned that I'm just a bit too big for it. It's definitely cosy. I shall hopefully be viewing another GT86 this afternoon so I'll go from there. I'd really like an extended test drive in an MX5, but I don't suppose that's really A Done Thing with used cars?

[Evoluzione]

V8Taxi said:

Thanks for the posts chaps.

I drove another NC3 today (Venture Edition, so no Bose) and certainly enjoyed it. It was a lovely example (14 plate in that very nice pearl white) but I'm just a little concerned that I'm just a bit too big for it. It's definitely cosy. I shall hopefully be viewing another GT86 this afternoon so I'll go from there. I'd really like an extended test drive in an MX5, but I don't suppose that's really A Done Thing with used cars?

I'm 6'2" which is why I went for the later model NC as it's the first one they made that I would fit in.
Like you say it is a snug fit, but I've never felt overly cramped or got out of a long drive hating it.

[V8Taxi]

Evoluzione said:

I'm 6'2" which is why I went for the later model NC as it's the first one they made that I would fit in.
Like you say it is a snug fit, but I've never felt overly cramped or got out of a long drive hating it.

I've been doing some reading and general browsing on MX5Nutz this last couple of days, and I must say I'm growing more and more tempted by the little Mazda.

I suppose the snug fit would just encourage me to keep the gym up and lay off the pies. An MX5 might actually be better for my health. Now there's some logic.

[Evoluzione]

V8Taxi said:

I've been doing some reading and general browsing on MX5Nutz this last couple of days, and I must say I'm growing more and more tempted by the little Mazda.

I suppose the snug fit would just encourage me to keep the gym up and lay off the pies. An MX5 might actually be better for my health. Now there's some logic.

It was a bit of a struggle finding where to plug the seatbelt in at first, but i've got used to it now. As a potential fellow new owner you might be interested in my first impressions here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Sadly PB has spoiled the thread, i'll update the pics when I have time.

[V8Taxi]

Evoluzione said:

It was a bit of a struggle finding where to plug the seatbelt in at first, but i've got used to it now. As a potential fellow new owner you might be interested in my first impressions here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Sadly PB has spoiled the thread, i'll update the pics when I have time.

Thanks for the link. I'll have a proper read later.

[SmilerFTM]

Bose isn't very good and much more of a fanny on if you want to buy any aftermarket stereo stuff which I did as the lack of Bluetooth without buying other accessories is a pain. I've had an NC with Bose and without and was glad the current car I have didn't have it as it's much easier to replace. If you really want decent sound buy a car without Bose and then buy an aftermarket stereo and speakers. You could even get some sound deadening for the inside of the door cards which can make a good improvement.

[V8Taxi]

SmilerFTM said:

Bose isn't very good and much more of a fanny on if you want to buy any aftermarket stereo stuff which I did as the lack of Bluetooth without buying other accessories is a pain. I've had an NC with Bose and without and was glad the current car I have didn't have it as it's much easier to replace. If you really want decent sound buy a car without Bose and then buy an aftermarket stereo and speakers. You could even get some sound deadening for the inside of the door cards which can make a good improvement.

Thanks for that mate.

I just bought a Venture Edition, so no Bose for me. To be honest, the nav unit is pretty crap but as you say, it makes it easier to swap in a different head unit speakers in.

I've been looking for a decent Android Auto unit but can't seem to find much info or any decent reviews.

[docp]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread..

I'm considering a mx5 nc 3.5 or 3.75. I know perfect music quality is not a priority in a hard top convertible but it is important to me. A lot of cars are specced with nav rather than bose. Sounds like some think the bose system is better and some indifferent, but I wanted to know how easy is it to upgrade the mazda nav unit to an aftermarket headunit with android auto etc. Has anyone done this?