I did a similar trip in my 2003 NB in France, Spain and Portugal, and in 3 months I didn’t see a single MX5 either. I realised why when I was frying to death in the hot sun while the Spanish were cruising past nice and cool in their air conditioned cars. 
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You can see if your car is Euro 3 or 4 by checking it’s ULEZ compliance here :-
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle/
if it is compliant it is Euro 4 , if not Euro 3.
This problem comes a lot for reducing the size of the file you send.
The easiest way is to take a photo of your reg document, then look at it on your screen, then take a screenshot of the image.
The screenshot image is always a lower file size.
On an iPhone, it will be under albums/screenshots, scroll down the albums page.
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Sounds a brilliant trip. I want to do similar later this year in my ND (promise I always wave to any mx5 )
Glad you had a fantastic time and thanks for sharing. So far, my driving buddy (sadly in a Lotus, not an MX5!) has plotted a route right across France, down past Zurich to the Alps, Altdorf Pass, Grimsel Pass, Furka Pass, Obergoms, Della Novena, Tremola, Oberalp Pass, Lukmanier Pass, San Bernadino Pass, Passo Dello Spluga and then stay over in Chiavenna. Then onto the Italian Lakes and around Italian passes, Passo Gavia, Parco dell Adamello, Passo de Mavignola to name a few, then over to the Dolomites and that’s just Day 5… Aiming to pack in one more day then head home.
Just want to make sure we get a sticker at the Swiss border as a couple of years ago, they were pulling over tourists and fining them £175 for not having one. Great way to make cash.
As far as I am aware, a vignette is only required if you travel on Swiss motorways. This may have changed recently though. Check before you travel!
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That is my understanding. I have bought them in advance before but the ‘admin’ is excessive now. Easy enough to buy at the border, about €35 IIRC. If you decide you don’t need the motorways make sure to set Google Map options to “Avoid Motorways”!
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Austrian motorways also require a vignette.
If we hire a car in Austria eg Salzburg, the car is normally supplied with this paid for. If we hire in Munich, and drive into Austria we must buy a vignette at a motorway service station in Germany- ie before crossing the border.
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I always set mine to avoid tolls rather than motorways, that way if there is a bypass around a town that is toll free you don’t always have to go through the town.
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You can get digital short duration ones online for Austria, in advance.
Last trip we only needed to clip a corner of Austria. We were able to determine that we didn’t need a vignette for the B185/180 IIRC - but one is needed if you use A or S roads.
That said if I am going to do any amount of extempore motoring in Austria I get one, The 10 day one is only about £10.
Happy to be corrected if I have got this A/S thing wrong, my memory isn’t perfect.
Thanks John. Yes I had heard these can be bought on-line. We’ve been skiing Westendorf in the Tirol for many years…… recently we’ve been flying Belfast to Salzburg with Jet2…. historically usually Dublin/Munich with Aer Lingus or Lufthansa.
So we always just pulled into a service station off the autobahn in Germany,and bought the vignette there…… the last place/service station before the Austrian border is “Inntal”. You can obviously wait until the first service station in Austria, but I recall being pulled over & fined before we got there! Or, as you say- the on-line booking is probably easier😉
Flying into Salzburg, means (usually) this is all pre-sorted by the car hire company, since the car is registered in Austria.
You are correct regarding the non-motorways….it is possible to drive “cross country” from Austria to Germany & vice versa, via Kufstein. The road actually runs parallel in places to the autobahn, and no vignette is required.
Best advice is driving a German (or UK) registered car from Germany to Austria, if your route takes you on to the autobahn AT ALL, buy the vignette- as you say it’s relatively cheap ( compared to the fine)
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In Folkestone this morning catching Le Shuttle to Nothern France for a few nights.
Saw 3 other MX5s on the same train must be catching.
Off to Honfleur tomorrow
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