The most fun you can have with your top off! (Mazda MX-5 1.8iS)

Member Name: Tyrion

Product:	Mazda MX-5 1.8iS
Date:	31/05/01 (700 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Soft Top, Quick and nimble, Loads of fun

Disadvantages: Slight lack of legroom, Boot won't hold much

I've just got to the end of my first seven months with an MX-5 and I love it!

I have an X-Reg 1.8iS, with the optional hard top and a CD player.

With the hard top on, the car feels like a normal sporty two seater, plenty of acceleration and a dream round corners. You may want to bear in mind that before the MX-5 I had a Fiat Cinquecento, so I may be colouring my experience based on the upgrade. On the motorway, all you need fear are supercars, motorbikes and sales reps, you have the power to get out of most situations with a quick blip of the loud pedal. About town, the car has plenty of low end for pulling into traffic safely and is nimble enough to change lanes almost at will.

However, you didn't come here to read about a car with a hard roof, and removing this is the route to true joy. The actual removal process is reasonably simple and can be accomplished single-handed if you need to, and you have the arm length to pick up the roof. When you have stored the hard top somewhere out of the way in your house or garage, you can take in the splendid sight of a scaled down TVR with no roof. On your driveway. Waiting for you. You can almost hear it purr.

Driving the MX-5 with the soft top down is not such a different experience from driving it with the hard top on. There is a slight amount of flexing, which translates to more roll going round fast corners, but other than that the only different you will notice is that your hair is being blown into your face. If you have long hair, I would seriously advise you to wear a hat when driving "sans top", the small air dam to the rear of the cockpit helps slightly, but at speed you will have whip marks all down your cheeks if you don't restrain your wayward locks.

When you, reluctantly, come to put up the soft top for the first time you will wonder if it is ever going to close. The material of the roof needs some "slight" stretching, so much
so that it may be worth your dignity to close and open it a few times before you journey out. I made the mistake of putting the top up for the first time in Sainsbury's car park and made a complete fool of myself after an amazingly cool entrance. After a few times, though, the action becomes so smooth you may be able to perform it one handed while still sitting in the driver's seat. Dropping the top is an extremely simple task, the work of three to five seconds, depending on whether you lower the roof, or let it drop.

When driving long distance, long legged people, such as myself, may find their right leg aching a bit. This is, I believe, due to the lack of support under your leg as you drive. This in turn is due to the seat being so close to the pedals, there isn't all that much room if you want the seat inclined back at a comfortable angle.

This minor point aside, I would quickly recommend this vehicle to anybody wanting a two seater fun car. Driving through sunlit country lanes, with the top down and your favourite music blasting out of the speakers is an experience not to be missed.

I could tell you about the heated rear window, with the hard top and soft. I could tell you about the heater, electronic windows and mirrors. I could tell you about the small boot and the slightly ugly clock. I could tell you about all of these things, but if you want to hear about them, you don't want an MX-5, you want a Mondeo.

If you want to drive fast, with no roof and you want a car that's more reliable than a Lotus Elise and less expensive than a BMW Z3, buy an MX-5, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Summary: