I regularly visit the Canaries, Balearics, Madeira; hiring small compact hatchbacks to tour around in. The mountain road networks appear to have had a lot of updating, are entertaining to drive on, and would suit an mx5, not that i’ve tried one. I am currently in Gran Canaria for the first time, and the road network here is seriously twisty - just have a look at a road map of the island! The mountain roads are in very good condition, but the width of the road is very random, often just allowing two cars to pass with little room for error, particularly on the tightest of bends of all places. Many of the approaches to a bend have a multitude of tyre skids on the tarmac, and every crash barrier there is scuffed. The classic GC 200 western coastal road is now being decommissioned as being too difficult to maintain. We drove some of the sections that are still open, before they are closed for good. I suspect the sense of exposure for a passenger in an mx5 would be significant on that road though! Perhaps not so for the driver, whose eyes are permanently glued to negotiating the next bend, and unaware of the consequences of an error.
Have only seen one mx5 so far.
E5 petrol at 90p a litre!!!
If it is I have yet to find it 
This was an interesting post hmmm 
I would say it is down to individual drivers and abilities behind the wheel i guess no Yes or No answer 
TDA
God yes . I love the views from Bealach na Ba , for example, but endless tight bends are tedious . I’ve done some Alpine passes and the same applies - I can’t enjoy 100metres of straight , in 3 rd for a second and down again for the next bout of arm twisting .
On both road and track I’ve always loved those long fast bends - all fingers and toes , not the arms and elbows tedium of hairpins . At Cadwell in my Seven,the thrill was 100mph + entry into Coppice, not the arms crossed , 25 mph hairpin.
Rented an MX-5 several times in Lanzarote. Some great twisties in the north centre of the island Vroom!Vroom!
MX5 as a rental car? That’s thinking outside the box 
It depends! I remember riding the Stelvio in 2011 on a Ducati ST4S which was a tourer and not that nimble. Loads of camper vans & hairpins. Not particularly enjoyable but memorable. The two St Bernard passes on a Ducati Monster were brilliant. Having driven our current ND extensively in the Pyrenees earlier this year my answer would probably be no BUT it depends on the type & level of traffic at the time. We drove on so many brilliant roads which we pretty much had to ourselves and for those occasions, my answer would be an unequivocal NO! However, if you are on a potentially fantastic road but stuck behind an HGV or large campervan then probably YES! Roads that follow a river gorge are particularly frustrating because you will have a sheer rock face on one side and a deep ravine on the other and very few opportunities to overtake. All you can do is accept the situation and enjoy the scenery if not the drive so much! In summary, if the road is largely traffic free then no, if congested then probably.
The really tight stuff isn’t particularly enjoyable whether on a bike or car in my experience as you can’t see the whole bend in one look so you are essentially having to guess part of the bend. Its novelty soon wears off.
Better than being trapped in the school run mind!
Speak for yourself dearie!
I don’t think too twisty is the problem. Too narrow and/or poor surface concerns me more.
The compound curves where there is no straight between transition are my favourite.
We have a short stretch just outside our village which was a favourite when I still had my bike, but is
still enjoyable in the MX5. Get the first apex wrong and it just keeps getting worse!
Once saw a programme on designing roller coaster rides, and getting the perfect ride the quote was something like “ fast and smooth with non-stop action, filled with surprises, and never a slow moment or pause to regain one’s composure until the final brake run” unfortunately road users usually get in the way 
OP here. If I was to have an opportunity to drive an mx5 on the canary islands, not that i have, it would be Lanzarote and La Gomera. Really enjoyed driving in Lanzarote on the open, quiet roads and i reckon anyone would enjoy driving an mx5 there. La Gomera is a more serious prospect, but has recently upgraded all the mountains roads. They have widened the roads a little to remove pinch points, and the bends offer reasonable forward sighting, with few ‘blind hairpins’, and it is so traffic free because so few tourists go! It is not unusual to drive around for half an hour or more, and not meet another car! When we go, we hire a car in Tenerife and take it across on the ferry. Not all rental companies allow this, so don’t know if it would be possible to hire an mx5. Going again next May (4th time), so maybe - just maybe?
When we used to go abroad a Fiat Panda was always our choice of hire car. Such a fun car.
Even ten years ago we almost bought a little turbo jobby. What a hoot on a test drive through the twisties it was. Bought a very sensible Kia Picanto instead. Rock solid with a seven warranty but a dead car as far as driving pleasure was concerned.
We did did the (Mille MIglia famed) Raticosa Pass in a Panda 1.2 , running , I think , 145 tyres . It was a hoot ,but we were troubled by rather more understeer than Moss and Jenks had encountered in their Mercedes 300 SLR
This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.