Thoughts on my first MX5
Discussion
Hey all,
Just wanted to post up my initial thoughts on my first MX5.
I've had lots of really good cars in the past, including two elises and a Boxster S and I have just picked up a £1800 '93 1.6 MX5. I've just come in after my first proper blast out in the peak district and I would like to say how impressed I am with that little car!
I've put some adjustable suspension on it and some '15 wheels just to sharpen it up a little but apart from that it's standard. It's is so much fun! The fact that the 1.6 engine isn't very powerful actually adds to the fun factor for me. I've had (and currently own) quite expensive, very fast cars and have had mixed feelings about them. Yes, on a track they are brilliant and can be great on the right roads at the right time but they sometimes suffer from modern-car-itis in that you can drive them very fast very easily. In other words, they can be a bit dull. I hated my Porsche for this, the Lotuses were always brilliant at making you feel like you were going fast and they were amazing on track but sometimes I felt that freezing my ass off in a car that leaked could be tiresome.
My little cheap 2nd car project which is the MX5 I just bought is the best of both worlds, it makes you feel like you're doing 100mph everywhere and handles like a proper sportscar. I love the steering which reminds me of the lotus, and I love the fact that I have to hustle it around everywhere, It makes you think about conservation of motion which in turn makes you a better smoother driver and I love that. You sometimes forget that when you have 280Bhp under your foot.
Brilliant.
Just wanted to post up my initial thoughts on my first MX5.
I've had lots of really good cars in the past, including two elises and a Boxster S and I have just picked up a £1800 '93 1.6 MX5. I've just come in after my first proper blast out in the peak district and I would like to say how impressed I am with that little car!
I've put some adjustable suspension on it and some '15 wheels just to sharpen it up a little but apart from that it's standard. It's is so much fun! The fact that the 1.6 engine isn't very powerful actually adds to the fun factor for me. I've had (and currently own) quite expensive, very fast cars and have had mixed feelings about them. Yes, on a track they are brilliant and can be great on the right roads at the right time but they sometimes suffer from modern-car-itis in that you can drive them very fast very easily. In other words, they can be a bit dull. I hated my Porsche for this, the Lotuses were always brilliant at making you feel like you were going fast and they were amazing on track but sometimes I felt that freezing my ass off in a car that leaked could be tiresome.
My little cheap 2nd car project which is the MX5 I just bought is the best of both worlds, it makes you feel like you're doing 100mph everywhere and handles like a proper sportscar. I love the steering which reminds me of the lotus, and I love the fact that I have to hustle it around everywhere, It makes you think about conservation of motion which in turn makes you a better smoother driver and I love that. You sometimes forget that when you have 280Bhp under your foot.
Brilliant.
glad you're enjoying it - and you're right about cars being too capable these days, you can't use most of their performance on teh road. but with a little engine that you need to keep spinning up and keep momentum through the corners with a nice handling car, it's a more rewarding drive 
Ah, man, this is not what I wanted to hear!
I love mine but I'm considering going the other way. Next step for me is going to be a 968. I figure that's not going to be as quick as a Boxster S and will still have the front engine/RWD combo for fun, and won't be blessed with limitless grip so there's fun still to be had, albeit with a bit more speed and refinement.
I love mine but I'm considering going the other way. Next step for me is going to be a 968. I figure that's not going to be as quick as a Boxster S and will still have the front engine/RWD combo for fun, and won't be blessed with limitless grip so there's fun still to be had, albeit with a bit more speed and refinement.
Damn You! I'm on my 3rd MX-5, finally got what I consider the ultimate model, the RS-Limited. I was originally after a 911 in 2000, but circumstances changed and I bought my first 5 and was blown away at how good it was. Now after my first trip to the Nurburgring on Friday, I've come back with a hankering for a sub £20k 911. I had just about made my mind up to go for it, and here you come with all your comments fueling doubt in my mind again. I know you are right. The MX-5 makes driving everywhere so much fun, and I am sure an early 996 just won't do that - and that would be extremely disappointing.....
I need to go think some more. Damn you!
I need to go think some more. Damn you!
jazzybee said:
Damn You! I'm on my 3rd MX-5, finally got what I consider the ultimate model, the RS-Limited. I was originally after a 911 in 2000, but circumstances changed and I bought my first 5 and was blown away at how good it was. Now after my first trip to the Nurburgring on Friday, I've come back with a hankering for a sub £20k 911. I had just about made my mind up to go for it, and here you come with all your comments fueling doubt in my mind again. I know you are right. The MX-5 makes driving everywhere so much fun, and I am sure an early 996 just won't do that - and that would be extremely disappointing.....
I need to go think some more. Damn you!
Don't go down the Porsche route! I need to go think some more. Damn you!
I speak from bitter experience!!
Even though I love the 993. Definitely don't get a sub £20k 996!! You will regret it. I traded "up" my beloved Elise for a '03 Boxster S and what a mistake that was. It wasn't as much fun as the Elise and was less reliable! I hated that Porsche! In the end I had massive problems with the gearbox and had to take the garage to court to get them to reimburse the £5000 it cost me for a new gearbox! The 996 is basically a 911 based on the Boxster (the boxster was designed first and they share a lot of parts with the 996 to cut costs) and trust me a sub £20k 996 will be very very expensive when it goes wrong, and it will go wrong. Just go and have a look over at the porsche forum to see how many Rear Main Seal and intermediate shaft failiures there have been on these cars.
A 968 would be quite good but only if it was the CS version. anything else just isn't worth the bother.
Honestly, you won't have as much fun in a expensive Porsche as you will in a cheap MX5!
jazzybee said:
Hmmm... I think your going to make my wife very happy. I was thinking of a nice newer/bigger family car (A8 TDi, 730d etc) - but she agreed that we could do with something like an A4 if I really needed a 911.
heheh. Sorry mate!Just my opinions of course! You might love the 996 and never have any problems...
It's not what I'd call a "fun" car though, more a serious tool for going from A to B fast.
Im on my second MX5, a G reg 1.6 but its only got 20k miles on it, the first was a 1993 with 85k miles, felt "looser" but both are great fun. Be careful in expecting that the 968 will offer the same sort of fun at low speeds, its wont. I had a 944 Turbo in the early 90's and although it had wonderful feel it only came alive at 90mph on A roads! OK back in the early 90's but not now with speed camera's on every straight.
As for Porsche's being a nightmare, that can be true of all high performance cars as they get older. I had a boxster (no issues) and a boxster S (no issues) and currently drive a 1997 993 C4 as my daily drive after years of faster and more refined cars like M5's and S2000. I like the rawness of these cars compared to most of todays motors (caterhams and even the S2000 etc excepted). Remember that Porsches have never been cheap to buy and they are generally made to very high standards and that requires decent looking after = costs money. Having said that you can find very good independants who can keep a Porsche on the road for not a lot of money.
I know what it feels like to want a change but think carefully, you may just end up on the upgrade bug road and that gets expensive..I know! if you are smitten with the idea of a change take a look at a late S2000, they are incredibly well built, great fun to drive (if at times scary..in the wet) and wont cost a fortune to maintain if you get a later model (glass rear screen). My MX5 is likley to stay with me for a lot longer than anything else Ive got or will have (it already has).
As for Porsche's being a nightmare, that can be true of all high performance cars as they get older. I had a boxster (no issues) and a boxster S (no issues) and currently drive a 1997 993 C4 as my daily drive after years of faster and more refined cars like M5's and S2000. I like the rawness of these cars compared to most of todays motors (caterhams and even the S2000 etc excepted). Remember that Porsches have never been cheap to buy and they are generally made to very high standards and that requires decent looking after = costs money. Having said that you can find very good independants who can keep a Porsche on the road for not a lot of money.
I know what it feels like to want a change but think carefully, you may just end up on the upgrade bug road and that gets expensive..I know! if you are smitten with the idea of a change take a look at a late S2000, they are incredibly well built, great fun to drive (if at times scary..in the wet) and wont cost a fortune to maintain if you get a later model (glass rear screen). My MX5 is likley to stay with me for a lot longer than anything else Ive got or will have (it already has).
Oops, misread the 996 as 968...I agree with the previous guy, a sub 20K 996 is a problem about to happen! Failures on early water cooled flat 6's are well known (if exagerated) and if you get one of those..well its going to be a mid 20k's car not sub 20k. If you can pisk one up with a good history from a reliable source then thats fine. The rest of what i said applies though.
huytonman said:
Oops, misread the 996 as 968...I agree with the previous guy, a sub 20K 996 is a problem about to happen! Failures on early water cooled flat 6's are well known (if exagerated) and if you get one of those..well its going to be a mid 20k's car not sub 20k. If you can pisk one up with a good history from a reliable source then thats fine. The rest of what i said applies though.
Scarily, if you read Baz from Hartech's comments re 996s he reckons they're actually cheaper to maintain than a 944 S2.Maybe not a sub £20k one, but you might get lucky subject to a thorough independant inspection...
Anyway, back to MX-5s!!
I bought a 94 Eunos R-LTD from a Pistonheads ad at a bargain price earlier this year and I much prefer driving it to my 1990 944 turbo. I've spent an insane amount of money on the Porsche over the last six years and although the turbo boost is a blast when it comes in I generally will take the Mazda as I can enjoy it at relatively sane speeds and I prefer the delicacy of the responses to the brute power of the 944 turbo (which is also a very good handling car). I'm taking the Eunos to the Pistonheads evening at Bedford next month for my first track day with it (I've done about ten or so with the Porsche).
Steve
Steve
Well, problem solved. Just went for a test drive in a 2.7 Boxster. Boring boring boring. It felt incredibly heavy and slow, had on/off clutch and most surprisingly steering felt 'detached'. I was going to try a 911 as well, but the sales guy said it would not be much different in feel, just a little more power. Now, in fairness, I only drove it around town and did not get a chance to let it off the leash, but there did not seem to be much point. Based on my comments, the guy said I would be best going for a GT2 or a GT3 - but that is a whole lot more money. The boxster felt closest to my old 1999 328i company car - in fact, that was an auto and felt faster.
Now.... where can I get hold of an Ariel Atom?
Now.... where can I get hold of an Ariel Atom?
jazzybee said:
Well, problem solved. Just went for a test drive in a 2.7 Boxster. Boring boring boring. It felt incredibly heavy and slow, had on/off clutch and most surprisingly steering felt 'detached'. I was going to try a 911 as well, but the sales guy said it would not be much different in feel, just a little more power. Now, in fairness, I only drove it around town and did not get a chance to let it off the leash, but there did not seem to be much point. Based on my comments, the guy said I would be best going for a GT2 or a GT3 - but that is a whole lot more money. The boxster felt closest to my old 1999 328i company car - in fact, that was an auto and felt faster.
Now.... where can I get hold of an Ariel Atom?
I can't really understand why the press rave about Boxsters, maybe they are all superhero/hardcore/fast drivers and need that amount of speed to excite them. I've decided I'm never gonna be a super fast driver so don't need a super fast car. I'll get my kicks from something thats cheap, reliable and handles better than I thought the Porsche ever did. Now.... where can I get hold of an Ariel Atom?
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