Mazda MX-5 1.8i

I owned my 1.8i Mazda MX-5 (Mark 2.5 model) for two and half years, but sold it last year when the price of petrol went through the roof. I have to say that it's the best car I've ever owned. Exterior The Mark 2 MX-5 is, in my (slightly biased) opinion, the best looking MX-5 of them all. The newer version (Mark 3), although a very good car and slightly bigger than the mark 2, looks a bit bloated. It does not look as sleek as the previous version. I think, in the right colour, that the Mark 2 MX-5 is one of the best looking cars on the road (again, but I'm biased). It has a low slung appearance, and is all organic curves, rather than ...  Read the complete review

~~~~~~~~~ Background ~~~~~~~~~ We bought a Mazda MX5 as our first ever car in January 2003. Bizarre time to be buying a soft-top car, you might think, but actually quite good from an economic point of view – you'll be one of only a few people looking at these sorts of cars in the dead of winter and so can pick up a bargain – and probably get to test the waterproof quality of the roof! The model we have is the 1.8i S, and is W reg. As standard, it has ABS brakes, sill plates, electric wing mirrors, heated rear window, a CD player, twin air bags, mud flaps, alloy ...  Read the complete review

As the sun shines and the cold English winter fades to a distant memory what can be better then a sexy topless ………….. car! Well this year I finally decided that it was time to move from sports coupe to a full on two-seater convertible but not being what would be classed as the upper income bracket no chance of a Porsche Boxter or Mercedes SLK for me so the choice came down to three cars: The MGF, the MR2 Roadster or the MX5 Roadster. Following initial test drives we decided that the MR2 was ruled out as it had absolutely no storage space whatsoever so was not a practical option, but the handling and driveability nearly swung ...  Read the complete review

I've owned my 1998 new-shape MX-5 1.8i for over a year now so I feel I've gotten over the euphoria that seems to come over anybody who owns a roadster for the first time. Like many people, I lusted over an MX-5 more than a TVR or a Boxster because its great looks and handling don't have a monster price tag to match. Still, it wasn't exactly cheap when I bought it as the second owner - £13.5K with 18,000 miles on the clock. Those were still the days when main dealers could afford to be sniffy about their customers - MX-5s were genuinely in demand and haggling proved pretty fruitless. Today however, the situation has turned around and dealers ...  Read the complete review

The MX5 is the first sports car I have ever owned. I have had several hot hatches (Golf turbo, Puma 1.7), but nothing like this. I did some research before making the purchase, and test drove similar cars such as the Toyota MR2 and Rover MGF. In the end, I chose the MX5 because it offered good performance, plenty of choice on the used market, and excellent build quality. By comparison, I found the MR2 quite expensive, and was put off the MGF by reports of poor quality on early models (friend of mine traded in her MX5 for an MGF and regrets it hugely!) I bought privately, and with my budget of £8000, I could just about afford a Mk2 model. This model has ...  Read the complete review