Having owned a TVR Griffith (and a 350i before that) I have been the happy owner of a 2 litre, 3 year old MX5 RF for the last 6 months. (partly thanks to the local yobs who stole my Fiesta ST3 and the insurance company paying up in double quick time)
Wheras the 2 TVR’s looked and sounded fantastic and would hurl you at the horizon (or nearby street furniture) at an impressive rate, the MX5 makes me smile with the finesse of it’s handling and its ability to make any country road driven at a modestly fast speed so much fun.
I might be the lucky one but I didn’t have any major issues with either TVR, unlike most Porsche owners. With Mazda build quality I don’t expect much trouble with reliability and the owners club is probably one of the most active and helpful there is.
I’ve found with my MX5 used day to day I achieve c40mpg with more on a run, compared to 25mpg with the TVR’s. Putting higher octane fuel in gives a few more mpg rather than making a notable difference to performance. I’ve just done my first long weekend away and there was adequate space for a couple of holdalls and a cool bag in the boot so next year a tour around Europe is looking likely.
I am sure you will come to love the MX5 like I have. Enjoy!
Good choice, Jonathan. Too many cars these days are big and bloated, full of pointless tech. Small, straightforward fun cars are a dying breed as everyone seems to want SUVs.
It’ll be interesting to see how the MX5 will eventually evolve as an EV.
Sounds like a great idea but your comments reminded me of a time yonks ago when I bought a sporty car. It was great fun but I had slightly ignored/ wasn’t aware of the smidgen shortfall of legroom and it was only when I eventually went on a longish run that the compromised legroom introduced itself to me! Thought worth mentioning ahead of your test drive tomorrow to encourage you to make sure the MX5 will work for you on the longer trips you have in mind.
Agree. I sold my 7 series through Motorway and got almost £2K more for it than any of the other offers. No fees and money in the bank within five minutes of deal completed. Hassle free.
I had a mark 1 Triumph GT6 back in the day. That was basically a fixed head Spitfire but with a 6 cylinder 2 litre engine up front. The Mark 1 was renowned for its dreadful handling, basically the back suspension in no way could handle all that weight up front. But it went pretty well in a more or less straight line. And by being careful, I never did spin it or turn it over…
Working on the engine or gearbox was a whole different experience because the whole front part of the body hinged up revealing the engine and you could remove the transmission tunnel inside the car to get at the gearbox. When I rebuilt the gearbox, I did it with the car parked in a lay-by outside our flat and the gearbox and overdrive came out of the car upwards through the cabin, so no need to have a pit or ramps. Those were the days!
