Hi I have been driving MX 5,s for years and do not want to give up ,but feel due to now having passed the age of 80 ,my left leg would benefit from an change to auto (fortunately I have no problems with getting in and out !! ) I think my NC 3.5 is available in auto but I cannot find any info on the ND ,is this available as an auto ? I assumed it would be with the larger engine
All advice appreciated
Thanks. Dave
The automatic is only available on the RF not the soft top.
Thanks for the info ,I will make a proper enquiry with Mazda as I could not find this info on the web site
Dave
I have owned three automatic MX5s, NC, ND1 and ND2.
The NC was a fantastic car especially when lowered which transformed the handling. The six speed auto in the NC is a very good gearbox and well matched to the 2 litre engine. You can leave the box in automatic mode which works well or change gear manually via either with the gear lever or the paddles and buttons on the steering wheel. I tended to favour the latter method.
The ND has a similar gearbox, again mated to the 2 litre engine. The gearbox is well matched to the engine and very responsive. In the ND manual changes can be made via “flappy paddles” or by using the gear lever. Very responsive with fast down changes for overtaking with the kickdown.
The ND2 is very similar to the ND but with noticeably more power and more revs available.
All the autos have a sport button which you can engage to explore the upper rev ranges.
In the UK automatic MX5s were only imported with the folding hardtop in both the NC and ND and with the 2 litre engine.
If you do buy an automatic NC or ND I don’t think you will be disappointed.
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Thanks again for these practical replies I ,(like many other MX5 owners) know nothing about the autos falling into the old adage that sports cars should be manual change, which has of course may have been true 50 years ago but modern technology appears to have changed all that
Dave
One thing to be aware of is that the automatic is considerably higher geared than the manual. The MPH per 1,000RPM in each gear are shown below so you can appreciate the differences.
Manual: 6th=24.5, 5th=19.0, 4th=15.3, 3rd=12.0, 2nd=8.2, 1st=4.8, R=5.2
Auto:— 6th= 33.6, 5th=27.4, 4th=19.6, 3rd=13.9, 2nd=9.5, 1st=5.5, R=6.2
Originally I started looking at auto ND2’s, but for me there were to many compromises, not least being the dim witted gearbox (compared to my last BMW with ZF8 anyway)
Iirc the auto axle ratio is shorter to compensate for the long 5th and 6th gear.
With the auto the top two gears are very much overdrive ratios. However, the first four gears give a good spread with almost 70 mph achievable in second gear and 95 in third. I took my ND1 on a circuit (Andreas circuit in the Isle of Man) and it was genuinely fantastic (nobody overtook me).
The eight speed box used in BMWs is better but then the BMW isn’t an MX5 and I know which one I prefer.
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