We got our MX5 ND roadster 3 weeks ago and are very very pleased with it. We are planning some long trips abroad on it touring and camping for anything up to 4 months at a time. The problem as ever is storage space. We also travel extensively on a motorbike and can (and have) packed for multi-month camping trips in USA, Canada, Europe, and Africa. I honestly thought that what I could get on and in my bike would easily fit into the MX5. It doesn’t, well it does but so tightly there is no room for anything else we might pick up as we travel - like a bag of groceries. We had 5 days in Scotland last week to test it out and my wife ended up with stuff all around and under her in the cabin.
It looks like we need a boot rack. Taking two small clothes bags out the boot would free up enough space for all the extra odds and end needed en-route and leave the cabin mostly clutter free. I have never had a boot rack on a car before but can imagine they are not without their issues, like: limiting rear vision, obscuring the High Level Brake light (illegal?), adding wind noise, damage to boot lid, difficulty opening boot and of more concern damaging the electric boot release/lifter, and finally possible interference with the hood mechanism.
The 50 litre one in practice is pretty capacious, I believe there is now a 75 litre one.
I’m hoping to avoid using it for a trip to Lake Garda later this year (not camping) as it could be a faff when stopping en route - we’d have to detach it and put it in the car, but that probably applies to anything on a rack too.
It really is waterproof, we used it on a trip to Scotland in torrential rain for about 5 hours. One tip, cover the boot contents with a plastic sheet - if you do get very sustained rain like that, it wicks along the webbing straps into the boot.
Yeah I considered a boot bag but I reckon if anything is definitely going to rub scratches into the boot lid and rub paint off the edges this is it. Its probably OK for occasional and shorter trips but for long term more or less continuous use I cant see it lasting. I know from our motorbike travels the only really waterproof stuff for long term use is heavy duty roll top dry bags - Lomo are the best value there are. Dry Bags & Boxes | Lomo Watersport UK. Wetsuits, Dry Bags & Outdoor Gear.
In terms of leaving stuff on the car, it may be different for car vs motorbikes but I have never had anything tampered with on the bike - bags on racks, tank bags, soft panniers etc all unmolested as long as you take reasonable precautions (like not leaving unattended for hours down a quiet street, or overnight in hidden corner of a car park).
Seen a few comments stating that the boot lid is aluminium, so, with the Mazda boot rack and case fitted you can only add another 10kg weight. I think the rack is shown on MX5 Parts site and the description might confirm my thoughts.
yes the bootlid is aluminium and the Mazda rack has a limit of 10kg. The other racks I am looking at have a limit of 20kg for the Revo rack and 15kg for the Cabrio one. I think it’s do with how and where the weight is spread.