Here’s an ND review I recently came across that is the best I have discovered yet. As a long time MX5 owner (new NB for 3 years, new NC Roadster for 14 years, new ND2 bought last May) I think this review is the most honest and he hits all the points with it.
Long story short, the ND2 is a FAR better car than any earlier MX5 except for one minor point - the electric steering rack on the ND is slightly less ‘talkative’ than the hydraulic one on the NC. That’s exactly my opinion of these cars as well. It’s quite a long video but it’s well presented and well worth a watch.
Steering ‘less talkative’ ??? It’s practically mute. I assume the review’s author has never driven a Lotus , or a host of other cars , especially pre EPAS .
The point of my thread is, how does it compare with an NC? If I’d wanted an unreliable impractical expensive and leaky albeit superb handling Lotus I’d have bought one (I can easily afford it). You seem to entirely miss the whole point of MX5 ownership.
Agree. Worst thing about the car, but no worse than the last few BM’s I’ve had, and at least there’s no ‘sport’ button which only increases weight and has no affect on feel.
I’ve managed just over 8 degrees of castor on mine, which does marginally improve the feel, but not by much.
It’s a good thing that the seat of the pants feel is pretty good, which sort of compensates.
That’s disappointing indeed.
I already find my NC’s steering to be too deprived of feel, so I am surprised to see someone say that the ND’s is worse in that respect.
That could be a deal breaker for me.
The Mini Cooper S I also drive regularly has a more communicative, and meatier, steering than my NC!
EPAS is widely used acronym for Electric Power Assisted Steering . I can recommend google if you’re stuck in future .
Delighted you can easily afford a Lotus .
Commenting on one mildly disappointing aspect of the MX5 is ‘entirely missing the whole point of …ownership’? Really ? I must be missing something - any hints what it might be ?
There very few impartial reviews by sponsored driver/reviewer/journalists. I rate Chris Harris as one of them but he doesn’t really do everyday cars (although some time ago he did review the stock NA)
Usually owner’s are fanboys and overinflate their personal experience.
Listen to self proclaimed experts… naaa
As for opinion I can’t judge as well as a race driver how the steering should feel like, all i know my NC as a package works well. Cant really tell whether its better than an Elise/Exige to drive cuz I haven’t driven one. However I can tell you one thing. My mate has an Elise and even if i may squeeze in that thing I won’t be as comfortable to drive as I am in my NC. So it makes no difference to me… I’m happy where I am while I’m driving my car.
So if I’d owned an ND and i couldn’t tell whether the steering is bad or worse than an NC or earlier cars, I’d personally check what they do to the stock nd cars to prepare them for the various mx5 race series. If its good enough for them its probably just fine as is.
I have an ND2. I drove an NC whilst mine was having some work done. The steering on the earlier car is frankly night and day better than on mine. The electric rack is numb and it’s the worst part of a great little package.
You get used to it but driving them back to back really highlights the difference.
It may be that with manual steering being a dim memory to an increasingly diminishing percentage of the driving population that video-game level steering feel is more acceptable now than in years (decades?) past, and auto manufacturers are simply reinforcing that trend.
So it seems it a known characteristic of electric power steering that it offers inferior feedback, but in these days of video game playing that might be acceptable. If that’s Mazda’s thinking I think they made a boo boo. Purchasers of MX5s want the ‘involvement’ that feedback gives.
None of us really know exactly what to expect when driving a new car for the first time, and relying on reviews is very unreliable because we are all different and are delighted/disappointed by different things. If you want to know the truth there is one simple way to find it, take a good long test drive and see if it suits you personally.
Yup, that’s what I did. I mentioned the slightly less talkative steering to the salesman who of course denied it! However, one has to maintain a sense of proportion. The ND’s steering IS slightly less sensitive than the NC’s but we’re talking a tiny difference. It didn’t for one second impinge on my decision to swap my NC for the ND2. The ND2 is without doubt the best MX5 yet. I love mine, electric rack and all!
Me too - and it does feel less inert with PS4 tyres and some fettling from Paul Roddison . EPAS tends to ruin feel , which is why some firms(eg Lotus ) are continuing with hydraulic PAS , which is marginally less efficient but much more talkative. And a young driver brought up on EPAS cars would get sensory overload on an old 911 , or a Caterham of any vintage . What I do find surprising is that even a modern Focus has better feel than an ND …
We all rely on other peoples opinions too much these days. Don’t be put off buying something just because some ‘expert’ has a view of what’s important to them. Make your own mind up. Steering feel is only one part of the whole experience and every element is subjective. … how does the car make YOU feel ? Now that’s important !
BTW swapping my ND for a Focus next week … (joke) …
I use my own judgment but I am happy to be guided by journalists whose opinion I trust , as they have far wider experience than me and drive so many cars that valid comparisons can be made. People like Matt Prior, Steve Cropley and Andrew Frankel . Most of us just get used to shortcomings and cease to notice them until we drive something different. I am not of the Michael Gove school in dismissing expert opinion .
But I don’t take many breathless YouTube fan tributes to any car very seriously - some of the MX 5 content is simply woeful.
I love my ND2 but I second @John_Aston opinion on its steering and @vinny1 initial comment - it’s bad, lifeless. Incidentally I had owned an Elise for 9years and I am still nostalgic. While I appreciate the immense practicality of the MX5 - its steering could certainly be improved.
An amazing example of EPAS is the one in the GT86 / BRZ. While not at Elise levels of feel, it was very, very good.
The GT86 was a car that I loved and that on track was even much more fun than the MX5.
Not so much on the road - due to fixed roof and an engine whose notorious torque dip wasn’t fun at mid-range.
In the end, the MX5 is a fantastic compromise. If they just improved that steering feel …
This Swiss chap (a racing driver apparently) is very critical of the steering on his 1.5 ND1. To the extent he says it has no self-centering effect having to be steered back to straight ahead after a bend. Well, my 2022 ND2 2L isn’t like that at all. The steering wheel does self-centre and after a bend you can let it run through your fingers as it does so. Maybe Mazda have improved it on the ND2 or maybe the 2.0 Sports Tech (mine) has better geometry.
I love my ND2 and the slightly less steering feel really is slight - it’s a still a great handling car.
Pretty sure Mazda changed something in the steering when they launched the RF, I think later soft tops also got the change, My RF is OK for feel, but it’s not like the Caterham I had before, and to be fair the Caterham isn’t as good as the 205 GTI I still have.
The early ND’s steering was pretty awful and the self centring was almost non-existent which didn’t matter much on good B-roads - because you were rarely following a straight line - but was a major problem on motorways and dual carriageways because you could never relax, you literally had to steer the car to keep it going in a straight line. The improvement between my ND1 and ND2 is night and day; still not perfect, which I think is the one downfall of electric power assistance, but streets better than before.
… (joke) …