The Mk1 MX5 - the best sports car in the world?
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
- When the NA MX5/Miata/Eunos Roadster was launched, traditional sports cars were all but gone. Taking the ideas of the classic roadsters and making them better, Mazda created something very special - an everyman's supercar.
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I own a 1994 Miata ( it wasn’t an MC5 here). Zero rust, original exhaust and top. It has never left me stranded. One new cam belt and a replacement radiator and hoses. Every drive is a delight.
The UK did have a hand in the mX5 through International Automotive Design (IAD UK Ltd) was a British design company, based in West Sussex, England and had at its peak a large R&D facility in Worthing, West Sussex. They specialised in car prototyping and engineering design. The Mazda MX5 (Miata) was one of the many projects IAD was involved in, developing not only Exterior and Interior style for the vehicle in the UK/ US (California) but also building prototypes locally prior to volume production in 1989. Mazda came to IAD to replicate the "true" British sports car invoking the MG's success of handling, and even directed the Chassis team to copy the exhaust note of early MGBs.
I've recently bought a late NC (Mk3). It's absolutely sodding brilliant, makes me laugh every time I climb in. Makes every journey a joy.
Me too! :-)
Me as well !
I had one of the first - slightly larger than the NA and NB so it fitted me better and just felt a bit more grown up but in a good way. I preferred it to the NB it replaced.
Sold mine 3 years ago only car I've ever missed. Remember taking it to do an exotic car day, drove all sorts supercars. The drive home in the mx5 was the most fun I had that day.
Miss our eunos so much it was the most dynamic handling car I have ever driven. Consider it was tired and standard it drove so dam well. One day I will have another 👍
they are always good, regardless the condition!
I loved the MX5 when it came out but also had mixed feelings. It was a true successor to the British two seater sports car in a modern age. I did feel sadness though that due to lack of investment the British cars had fallen by the way side. A slight resurgence with the MGF and TVR were still going as a small manufacturer back then but it was too late. Nostalgia can only work in volume for a so long. Mazda as you mention continued to develop the car and not just tweaks and changes to an existing car (something the the British couldn't do due to cost constraints) but whole new versions from the ground up. I came close to getting an MKII or a MKIII many years ago but I didn't for reasons that I still cannot completely reconcile today. I'd still love one today but following a few surgeries and back issues I fear that ship has sailed. I still love them. Many thanks for sharing.
17 years of enormous pleasure owning a now 32 yr old Eunos S Limited. Gradually restored it on a tight budget. Replacement leather Nardi Gearknob was £80, but the correct Nardi steering wheel a secondhand bargain. Wheel size makes a big difference to steering feel, smaller is sharper but more tiring & obscures panel lights. New LSD, gas shocks, correct spec rather than cut down springs & careful alignment transformed the handling & ride back to out of the box sweetness. The early cammy 1.6 is not to be confused with the later gutless option. I’ve had classic Mini Coopers & two Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9s but the Eunos balance of virtues - amongst them - all speed satisfaction + general reliability & most importantly fun - make it my favourite which is why I have kept it all these years. Excellent review, kudos to recalling all of that well researched information so fluently to camera 😮PS, the gaiter appears correct although they suffer contact wear so often get replaced.
I absolutely adore mine. It makes every journey feel like an adventure, no matter how mundane! I hope you enjoy!
I never really "got" the MX5 until I bought one to see what all the fuss was about. Now I love my current Eunos and can't imagine being without one.
I think alot of people find that with these
I saw a review of someone fitting a Jag V6 into a MX5, he used the original gearbox with no problems. When he was getting it built he sourced a second hand box for it to be fitted by the builder, he asked if you want to get it overhauled, he said just fit it as is. Very strong gearbox's are fitted to the MX5 and highly recommended box's for projects.
thats the Rocket V6 swap, a very good conversion
I bought a 1990 MX5 back in year 2000. Red with black interior, best combination. It now has almost 100,000 miles and has been totally trouble free. It is a bullet proof little gem and I love it. As luck would have it I also own a 1996 MGF which now also has about 100,000 miles. I love driving it as well. The F is not in as good condition as the MX5, seems it may have lead a more difficult life before I came along. If push comes to shove I would be hard pressed to choose between the two. With a gun to my head though I would probably keep the Mazda. Yes, that's it, the Miata wins, but not by much.
I always wanted to have a red NA, but ended up buying my parents NB from them. Not so quirky without the pop up lights, but a great car to drive. Sadly, it succumbed to the dreaded tin worm/ car cancer (rust), but a friend bought it off me and restored it during lockdown. Someone near me bought it from him, but then it got rammed by a bus while parked outside their house. I still wish for another in the future though.
I remember when these first came out. The motoring press (that I read) loved them. Just a 1.6 litre, IIRC. Great for twisty bits. 😁👍
Yes, thank you Mazda for building these. I've had an NB and now have an ND2 on the optional lowered suspension. So good.
I love the TF. Glad I’m not the only one that drives topless in the cold. 😂
I had a 1968 Lotus Elan fixed head and in my mind the MX5 looked very similar especially the pop up headlights. I think they are great little car especially your model.
The MX5 created lots of excitement when it came out. In my opinion it came out in a period where cars were improving at a fast rate. I remember test driving a new MX5 in about 1990. It was a fantastic car to drive as you said, the only time I have experienced over steer on a test drive. We drove a whole lot of cars at that time and the MX5 was the most involving. My dad did not want a soft top and he wanted a little more power so he ended up with a MR2...which I was scared of and I never pushed it anywhere near its limits.
During the mid-late 90’s I worked at a company that had a company car lease scheme, where we were limited in what we could chose (4-5drs, no convertibles or coupes). A therefore a lot of my co-workers had “something for the weekend”, normally something 2nd hand, 2 dr and sporty. The MX-5 was a firm favourite, as was the MGF, MR2, Ford Puma and even some early Boxsters and TVR’s for those of us without too many “financial overheads”. Fun weekends were had. Good times.
Had the same spec car here in New Zealand as a JDM import. Was my (ex) Wife's and my only car at the time and ,surprise,surprise it was not really practical but we managed.Never really gelled with it as shuttle skake annoyed me and the leather seats,while looking great, were not comfortable for me.When the ex became pregnant with our daughter it was replaced by another JDM :a 1992 Honda Integra 4 door which was a great car and was the same colour as the Eunos.Prices for MK1s are getting ridiculous here.
Ive got a 2001 NB and love it to bits. So much fun to drive and here in Australia rust is not a concern. Simple to maintain as well.
I crashed mine at walking pace into the back of my son's Rav4. No discernible damage to his car but my 1992 NA needs a new bonnet, new bumper, new wing, new headlight & other bits, it's costing me a hefty sum & mental pain...but l can't not fix it. 😁 Given me 8 years of fun and beyong a cambelt and brakes it's cost peanuts to run and l have more fun in it than on my motorbike.
Didn't realize the Miata had so many neat and clever interior features. Loved these cars from the moment I saw them for the first time in the March 1989 issue of "Car" magazine, and how the second and third generations stayed somewhat faithful to the original style.
The best little sports car ever is the one that inspired the MX5, the Lotus Elan.
Great car and personally I like the wheels but each to their own. Saldy, the new MX-5 has lost its way in my opinion - not the best of lookers and overly complicated leading to a much higher price tag. One could argue there is now an opening for a back to basics sports car like the MK1 MX-5 again although I suspect it would need to be electric these days.
I’ve been enjoying the top down motoring recently in the sun the past few weeks, can’t wait for the weather to warm up.
I have a spare Nardi wood Mk1Eunos/VSpec gearknob if you would like it. :)
Thank you, I have a solution though (I hope!)
Great video Matt, but did you say that the hood leaks?
They don’t usually unless there is a split somewhere on the hood itself, or in the rain rail which runs inside the car. Also make sure the hood drains are clear.
The MX5 Restorer has some useful videos on Mk 1’s on how to look after them.
My S-limited comes out of hibernation in April. Needs some new tyres and a service and sorted for the summer. I also had a Vspec years ago which I bought cheap. Cleaned it up over winter and made a healthy profit on it the following spring.
That first generation MX-5 Miata is perfection. At 6'2" I get behind the wheel and it fits me like they built it around me. The ride was lovely, and the handling divine. In an odd way the Miata reminds me of my Volvo 245. Involving and a great deal of fun.
work in progress report on my eunos 1.6 import. rear brakes have been replaced (including calipers urgh unexpected) front brakes has begun - needs a caliper (might as well do both!) and both upper control arms. Hopefully after this and a brake bleed i'll see if it can pass an MOT. Body panels will have to wait. But i have found a replacement wing mirror for the missing one. I lay the blame entirely on you matt for this madness. Yours is in considerably finer fettle than mine - but the only way is up. Maybe rustival next year??
rear calipers are very common (I now know) as the hand brake seizes, good luck with the MOT and hopefully!
I wanted an MX5 NA but I couldn't find an unmolested rust free one and I settled for a 2015 NC instead. The NC was much reviled by MX5 purists as it had grown wider and heavier and got a bigger engine, but I think it still retains the spirit of the original. I wonder if you'd agree, Matt, or maybe the NC really has lost some of its zippy character.
PS: Technically, all MX5s are mid-engined, their engines are behind the front axels, not on top of them. I've heard it called "front-mid" by some.
I bought an NC here in Western Australia, at 6ft 3in a can’t fit in any of the other models. It’s now recognized as great . Better Ford based engine , less scuttle shake & the cute bubble arches etc . Love mine !
Never driven an NA, so can't comment, but I thought my NC was brilliant. For one thing: no rust! And a better hood.
Lo, canny argue wae a word ye said. Mazda knocked it oot the park wae that wee beastie. Thanks for vid.
Should be a mechanical boot release lever next to the fuel flap lever in the centre cubby box. Tan gear lever gaiter will be aftermarket .
nope not on this one
Just starting my Resto show Catch-up. An excellent review of the Eunos Roadster, another car I really need to own or drive one day.
You've not driven one?!? That makes sense - if you had you'd have one!
It looks so cool, especially with the headlights up.
Great video and I completely agree, the MX5 is the best sports car ever! Mine has been in my family for 27 years though so I am a bit biased 😉
I will stay with my mk1 TT roadster, I love it and the Audi reliability and build quality
Same inside door handles as Aston Martin DB7. Mazda sold more MX5 ,Miata, and Eunos in 18 months than Alfa Romeo sold spyders in 26 years.
Great cars, love the looks, the drive and fun, I only wish it was the size of an R129 Mercedes SL, as I find them a bit tight.
Fantastic review Matt. Very cool car… and good to see you enjoying topless driving 😎
The Mazda was sur ch a classic it had no real competition back then for its size - its only real rival until the MGF was released was the Reliant Scimitar SS1, SST and Sabre (the latter 2 were very handsome looking cars)
While I love my MG TF and would hold that up against an MX5/Eunos any day, I think the best sports car ever is the one this sought to replace, the MGB. I don't know of a more fun drive than a well sorted B, especially on the twisties. Despite it's age and limited power (by todays standards certainly) it was so well balanced with the power it did have and the handling it managed (even with cart springs) it'll still leave much more modern stuff in the dust on challenging poor surface roads - of which we seem to have a surfeit of these days.
I'd best say nothing mat .other than I like the colour.not a sports car at all
Very nice car, Matt. Would be nice to make the centre console original again, indeed. And out a nice double din in it. Shame I will never fit in it 😅
apparently 6'2 or 6'3 people fit in them
@@furiousdriving I'm 1,92m and around 120kg... Haven't tried but did try the original barchetta and the modern 124 and my head stuck out above the windscreen 😅
Weird this idea you have that you must drive with your headlights on all the time. Will you be doing this when you get the Mini back on the road?
Good car the mx5 but not as good as the Lotus elan ,but more reliable!
I’ll disagree with you on the AW11 handling I drive mine for many years as my daily and never had any issues even when pushed the weight is all between the wheels which gives perfect balance, my Nissan S12 Silva with it’s front engine rear drive was much more scary on the edge as it would grip grip grip then gone with very little warning.
I loved my AW11 too, it was an epic handling car but when they go at the back its wit little or no warning
I own a 96 1.8 5 speed NZDM Mx5. It’s fine.
I’m sure I’m not the only one that keeps thinking, Lotus Elan mk 1 ?
Does your wife know about this love affair?! If you look on the prototype cars, they had alloys similar to an Alfa Spider, and another one had similar ones to a Corvette - I think both looked great! If you do end up getting different alloys, I'd definitely suggest something special like those ones, rather than the standard 'JDM #metoo' stuff. Or stick to the original MX5 alloys! And, yeah, a new gearknob. That chrome one is, eh, letting the side down, especially next to that glorious steering wheel!
If you had to choose only 1 to keep….the Rover P6 or the Mazda MX5, which would it be?
gnyarph hmmm...manual P6
@@furiousdrivingtricky one isn’t it. Personally I like the slush o matic rover with V8……but because of generation I grew up in, I would pick the Mazda…..ideally the Eunos import with automatic transmission. I couldn’t go back to changing gear now.
@@davidrumming4734 I dont think Ill ever understand that, Ive had a 9 spedd auto Mercedes for 2 years and ±30,000 miles, and its made me never want another auto again!
I drove ! once, Best Car i ever drove for 10 mins. thank you Jenny Taylor.
Living the dream lately matt, furious dreaming 😂👍🇮🇪
Good video, what do you mean converted to UK spec??
He just means minor mods to make it U.k road legal (ie. U.K market cars require a rear fog light which was not a requirement in the JDM and some other markets). Cheers!
Fog light, MPH speedo, no flare
Want you to compare it to a mk2/3/4 etc.... Please! ;)
These are kind of painful to watch, knowing I will never be able to put my 1964 MGB back together (US LHD).
If only Mazda hadn’t faithfully followed the BMC / BL rustability protocol.
yeah, that was one thing they got too right..
Always wanted one or a lotus elise but it will stay a dream lol😅
Best sports car of all time is stretching it a bit,the best hairdressers car of all time definatley😅.not much for the mk1 but must admit i that i do like the mk2.buy one tho,never lol.good review tho again matt as allways.
if you thought 26000 was a lot of 1st gen MX5s, imagine 431,500 of them. That's how many they actually sold of the NA.
Sorry I think that was UK sales
Great little video to eat my breakfast to, cheers
I own one. Love it to bits.
I have to agree with you it is the best
2022 FORD TRANSIT. 1500 REVS. 60ISH MPH. PEAGEOT had it 10 years, cant spell) 206. 60 mph in the 206 is 3000 revs. (rpm) ? BY DESIGHN THEY ARE RESTRICTED BY GEARS....
Not for, if would of liked to have had more power, and a bit more room.
Equals bmw z3
@@roelandzw1846 ended up with a lexus sc430. Plan was to put the dogs in the back. Good car but it was awkward putting them in and I've nowhere to keep it. Parking is getting more and more difficult in our village so I sold it back to the garage I bought it from. Had a bit of fun though, great engine in that car!
Yeah this car desperately needs lowering
Yipee I'm here again Matt.
Apart from rust, yours looks decent but boy don’t these things rust.
It doesnt really have any rust!
Sorry mate, no. For the section of the market, the AW11 Toyota MR2 was the best. The MX5 was based, roughly or otherwise, on a Lotus. MR2 hairy on the edge? only on snow. I had an SW20 Anniversary, only 2 cars came close to it - 1275GT Mini & Cav 2000 GSi (2wd). Best cannot be defined, it is personal choice. It is down to how you LIKE TO DRIVE. I respect your opinion, but didn't the French have some great sports cars?
There is a button in the centre console for an electric BOOT release on my V Spec, yours should be the same.
Should be a mechanical lever.
Ive looked but not found one, it makes sense not to be there as its a security risk in a soft top
The lever is fuel cap release, my 1990 V-Spec has a button for boot release, no security risk as long as you LOCK the lid with ignition key@@furiousdriving
Had two V-specs before 1994 and 1995. Now have NC3.5. If Hall wins the mayor of London election and scraps outer London ULEZ as promised, I would sell NC buy another NA in a heartbeat
Great revue but the Honda s2000 is the best sports car ever.
S2000 is good but a bit tail happy
I mean... Ferrari Daytona?
Hold on a minute!!! What about Toyota?
MR2 was also good (I had one) but this has an edge
Yes Matt your find if you lick 👅 the back of gummy bears they will stick on dash and I find lick one , stick one, eat one works well and keeps a good supply stuck in place for handy consumption 😵💫👌🏻.
Thats what I was thinking. Wine gums would work too
@@furiousdriving Oh gosh no Matt , I eat like 6 big bags on any trip and would surely be over the limit on wine gums 🍷 😂👌🏻.
1st
Great cars just underpowered.
Err, The best sports car ever? No it isn’t at all. It just was cheap and that was it’s buying factor, it didn’t have a special engine, special looks or interior. It did nothing groundbreaking.
The Honda S2000 is the best sports car ever, it has all the ingredients to be perfect with the drivetrain and looks that haven’t aged and to this day, the values speak for themselves. There’s something about a one off car made to present a manufacturers birthday that spawned production for over 10 years. The S2000 is a true great. Simple.
Nope, if it had similar salesnumbers and still existed in roughly the same form today: yes, but no.
@@roelandzw1846 the MX-5 only exists today because it had an uninspiring normal engine which doesn’t interfere with emissions standards, the S2000 engine is soo groundbreaking and high revving that it had to meet strict emissions by 2009 hence it got discontinued and Honda didn’t produce a replacement because it couldn’t meet emission standards again. The MX-5 is ok for a cheap budget convertible but it is no way in the same league, a sports car has to be special and that is what the S2000 is…. Special!
"It did nothing ground breaking" says someone who was clearly not trying to buy a new sports car in the decade before 1989 (when you'd have had to wait another 10 years to buy a Honda S2000, by the way - if you had the extra £10k to pay for it).
@@hackdaniels7253 tell me what the MX-5 did that was unique and groundbreaking? When I speak to MX-5 owners, all they say is the price and best bung for buck, says it all. You had various convertible offers in the late 80s but yes the Mazda was the cheapest. They are a copy of a Elan at the end of the day. I have no interest in them and yes I have driven one. There’s a reason an S2000 is worth much more and has a iconic appeal with many around the world.
@@hackdaniels7253 what does an MX-5 do that’s unique and special then? Apart from the price to buy. If you want to get into a cheap open top car then fine but I can’t understand what’s the fuss even now on the MK1 MX-5, they do nothing special. There are many alternatives out there now which deserve more do a mention.
On the other hand, people pay the 10K more for an S2000 for a reason, because it’s a one off unique special car that has it all.
Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid. I grew up in a time they were considered a hairdressers car.
Strange. I couldn't give a toss what they look like or what people think because they're so good to drive. Just joyous little things.
Surely hairdressers are the opposite - style over substance?
Likewise, I dont care what anyone thinks just how good the car is, and these are superb - and anyone under 25 has no idea about that and this gets more 'cool car' comments than anything else Ive been in
I rather like the wheels Mathew. They look similar to the ones on my VW.