I like either of these but cannot decide on which is the better buy as I’m not sure exactly what the differences are between the two. I think they both have the 2.0 lt engine and come in Velocity red. I believe the Sport Black has a few more fittings in black rather than colour coded or chrome. My wife does not like the Kuro stripes but I have said those can be removed. I think they both offer cruise control and 6 speed boxes. Not sure about traction control, or suspension differences though?
Personally, I favour the Kuro as I think there were less of them made?
Basically they are very similar in spec. Both have almost no chrome.
main differernce on the outside - Kuro’s have stripes. Exhaust tips and rear diffuser Sport black doesn’t although ther were some unusual stripes fitted to some sport blacks
Inside Sport blacks are predominately black with some white stitching. Kuros are grey with red stitching Silver dash, steering wheel trim and style bars.
Both have cruise control and 6 cd’s
Stand a velocity red Kuro and sport black together. The Kuro is the better looking car and attracts a lot of interest (leave the stripes on they are far more boring without them!). I own one though and would say that!
Sport blacks come in velocity Red, White and green. In my opinion the Green is easily the best of the three. Might be hard to find one as I believe there was only 100 made?
I love the green Sport Black ( and also the blue Sport Graphite).
However, I bought a black Kuro as I really like the light grey interior and silver dash panel I also like the Kuro’s stripes but originally thought I might remove them. To my surprise my wife persuaded me not to as she loves the stripes ( I thought she’d hate them).
Comes down to taste really they are essentially the same car with some minor interior styling changes but there is one main difference.
Kuro is a special Edition
Sport Black is a Limited edition with numbered cars. It also has a bit of a back story was created on the back of the GT Concept and the Jota Race car with the Black styling, it was a the turn for the MX-5 also to better styling and editions over previous ones.
As editions of the mk3 styling wise go, with the darker styling internally than the Kuro, I think it has to be the one to go for long run, the lighter seats will need more management! Personally I think it is second only to the 25AE in the mk3 to have, but as I say it’s what you like?
I had not considered the 25 AE in the same breath as the SB and Kuro but I imagine thats its spec is probably better than the other two? It is certainly a younger car but it does have the lighter coloured seats which as has been stated , need more TLC.
The green Kuro is certainly striking and does have additional rarity factor.
I’ve also been reviewing the new MK4 reports/videos and it seems this variant has gone back to the MX5 roots and produced the best handling version yet.So, would it be fair to say these SB/Kuro and 25AE will not perform and handle as well as the latest variant and therefore not offer the most pure driving experience.
I’m enjoying the debate.
As for which one will hold its value best - well thats another story…
What you have to remember is they are both just ‘special editions’ its just that sport blacks have a number stuck on them when they arrived in the UK. They were both ‘limited’ in the number that was available. Both have a bit of back history as the Kuro was released to coincide / echo the orange GT-Concept Goodwood festival of speed car in 2012.
Hardtop Kuro’s are actually slightly less common than sport blacks. Externally the exhaust tips and diffuse,r that were used on the 25AE edition, enhance the appearance over the sport black. However these are just cheapish bolt on items that you could easily add. In my opinion the Kuro has a more stylish interior than ‘all black’. Iain is absolutley right though the seats do need a bit of care. However so long as you keep wiping them over with ‘product’ every few washes they stay looking good. If you are not the type of person who doesn’t do that dont even consider buying a Kuro!
Of the Mk3’s it comes down to personal choice. I lean towards the sportier looking Mk3’s so rate the Kuro highly but prefer the 3.75’s front end. Therefore 25AE’s are great but with 750 there I liker the rarity of my Red Kuro a little more. Sport blacks, Graphite’s and Recaro’s (if you can find one) are also worth a look.
The Kuro in red (1/200) is certainly the rarest of the group. I’ve had a look at the usual sources for second hand cars just to “straw pole” whats out there right now. I did put a limit on milage of 35K and colour red but found the following… 4 x Sport Blacks, 8 x 25th AE and 1 x Kuro. So I suppose that backs up the numbers of each that were produced. Maybe there are a lot of 25th AE cars because of the Mk4 being introduced? Most of those 25 AE cars are actually low milers so it might be people unloading whilst they are still attractive options - which they are I suppose.
I always prefer to buy privately - MX5’s are so reliable are they not. So let me know if you hear of a red low mile Kuru for sale!!
Not much difference in numbers for any of the Kuro’s or Sport Blacks. Red Kuro’s there’s just 120, Less Black Kuro’s at 80 and Green Sport blacks 100. Recaro editions are the rarest with just over 50 available.
There were 750 AE’s so are going to be lot more common/easy to find a low mileage example. A number of owners are probably moving onto mk4’s
I found a local Red Kuro with just 7K on it the other day, for one of the fellow members in NWM area, but they dont (as you say) come up very often. A bit like Rocking Horse … You may have to wait and be prepared to travel a bit to get one.
I set up call alerts on various used car websites to find mine and had to travel up to Doncaster from Wolverhampton to get her.
Limits your chances of finding one if you only go private. There were four 2.0l out there recently for sale, that would have fitted easily under your 35K criteria (torbay 6K, Beccles 7K and Northampton 18.5K). Might be worth you doing another search? Also a few others if you were prepared to consider dropping down to the 1.8 soft top version.
No cars are bullet proof but they are usually very reliable cars. Your going to be very happy with whatever you end up with.
Just to throw in my ten pennyworth - I bought a 2.0 black Kuro hardtop recently. I didnt like the stripes at all (mature female) and had them removed very easily.
No regrets, certainly no damage in removal. But it is definitely a question of taste and many on here disagree with me. But as I said, I think the stripes look good on red and white, but not on black.
I didnt look at Sport Black. I just wanted the 2.0 coupe sport tech spec but with lighter seats and NOT GREY paintwork!
If you go on the Roadster website as suggested above, you can see the original sales brochures for the cars. Just watch out with the 1.8 Kuro, there were a few things it didnt have that the 2.0 litre one did. I think bilsten shock absorbers is one I remember.
My pale leather seats were dirty when I first saw the car, the dealer has cleaned them and they are, genuinely, immmaculate. I asked a lot on here about keeping the seats clean and people’s experience, and I was easily reassured. Just give them a wipe and some leather cleaner now an again and any marks can definitely be removed. I think they definitely add a touch of luxury to the look of the car.
I love the look and the drive of mine - but have to say the sport black also looks very nice.
Mine was 32K mileage with 3 months left on the manufactureres warranty 1 lady owner and FMSH and cost £12K. 2013. If that helps! To see a picture of a black kuro without stripes, look at my Newbie entry of a week or so ago.