I think that the time is approaching when I will be able to dispense with the practicality of my ‘daily’ hatchback, and, as my left leg is unreliable, I’m considering replacing the hatchback with a 3.5 or 3.75 NC Powershift .
I’d therefore be grateful for any reflections on the ‘driveability’ of the Powershift system, particularly in comparison with other marques’ auto systems. My current car has VW DSG, which is very good, and I’ve owned Jaguar, BMW and Toyota auto cars which have all had very acceptable systems; however, I’ve noticed that some of the motoring press have been sniffy about the NC system, but wonder if that’s just because they disapprove of an auto box in such a car.
Also, has anybody had a BBR (or similar) upgrade done to a Powershift?
My wife had a 2011 mark 3.5 MX-5 2.0L Powershift coupe for over four years, as a company car (lucky girl to have such a good boss, and lucky me because it was our only car at the time, and I got to drive it too !).
Like you, she had been having left leg problems, driving 25 miles to work every day - into Bristol - which is why she chose the automatic version. We both thought it was fabulous. If you needed to, or like us just wanted to be lazy from time to time, you could just let the car do its own thing - which we thought it did extremely well. But if you wanted to play, you could use the flappy-paddles and change gear like Jensen Button or Lewis Hamilton - great fun ! You also had the option to use the gear stick to change manually.
OK, so yes, it was a bit thirstier - we got about 31 mpg on average, but it was very kind on the rear tyres, as lighting them up on take off was rare - we figured that it was a smoother power transfer. Compared to a friend, who had a manual MX-5, and had to replace his rear tyres every ten thousand miles, we thought it was a good trade-off.
When the company car had to go back at the end of the lease period, we decided on a more practical VW Scirocco as its replacement. Good idea in some ways (now we can take our hedge trimmings to the skip - you try that in an MX-5 !), but we missed the facility to go topless so much, we hunted around for another Powershift MX-5 to have as a second car (no mortgage now you see !), but as they’re as rare as hen’s teeth, we had to settle for a manual one instead.
So, in my opinion, I shouldn’t worry about what the mags say about the MX-5 Powershift - to us it was a godsend.
I’ve been a long time admirer of auto boxes having migrated to a Lexus is250 Auto. The auto on the Lexus is sublime and almost seamless in changes.
Having established we wanted to replace Sal’s car with a Mk3.5 PRHT Roadster we too started considering the Powershift variant. Got one too!!
In fairness, the press reports I read were rather favourable.
Sal absolutely loves it and would not change for anything. Must admit I’m rather taken with it too. I’ve no bad comments to lay against it at all.
In traffic busy towns it’s a godsend…love it.
It is slightly thirstier than the manual Mk2.5 (around 36 mpg) we had before, but that does not bother me in the slightest. We are averaging between 31 and 33 mpg across all types of driving.
Get out and have a go in one… don’t think you’ll regret it.
Thank you all very much for your replies, which are very encouraging as regards the desirability of the auto in the NC.
Zpat - I suspect that I would be perfectly satisfied with the power of the standard 2L too, but am just curious to see if anyone has upgraded a Powershift in case I get tempted to go for a bit more.
Chris Phillips - Yes, as you say, the Powershifts are rare ; PVC in Essex appear to have cornered the market - Lord knows where they get them all from.
Sploosh- I’d love to test drive one, but the rarity makes that a bit difficult. As I’m not (quite) yet ready to buy, I wouldn’t want to waste the time of anyone selling privately, so I’m waiting for a reasonably local dealer to get one in.
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to report on your experiences of the Powershift.