Hi there, apologies if this appears to be a similar thread but this is more focussed. We have narrowed the choices down to either the original Panasonic battery supplied from MX5 spares or the new technology calcium battery ‘Lion’ branded from Carparts4 for less. Both are similar priced but what would be considered the better option?
Any reason for Panasonic being well reviewed? thanks
Given that they last for 10 years - why not use the Mazda standard battery? I am always amazed people want to bother with non-OEM items like this when the cost saving per year is tiny.
Lion batteries are cheap and nasty, terrible lifespan and poorly made. Stick to the better known brands!
We had one ordered to work through ECP and they received it straight back!
Panasonic every time !
Thanks though I think you must have looked at the wrong Lion branded battery, it is £93.60 as opposed to £99.60 and designed specifically for the MX5. It has calcium cells the that claim to have voltage retained even after a year of none use.
Yes and to date there is one battery, the Panasonic that we know lasts ten years and you are defending a battery that you have never used and it has no real history.
If you think it is that good why bother asking people here.
The advertising info for the Lion the unit must be correct after all!
AFAIK There is only one brand of Lion battery (I could be wrong) but either way, the Lion battery we received was terrible…
And the Lion battery was only £10 cheaper than the equivalent Bosch one! (MkV Golf supplied by EuroCarParts)
Carprats4less and Eunocarparts are one and the same.
With both , you have to look hard at whether the items are legitimate brands,
or whether Mr Singh at Eunocarparts has brought in more tat from India, for example,
all that stuff that he has labelled with German sounding names.
The primary advantage of calcium batteries is that they retain their charge for much
longer than the older lead-acid type. The disadvantage is that once they have been allowed
to go flat, it’s in the lap of the gods whether you can get them back.
If I was already in the mind of spending £100’ish on a battery, I wouldn’t waste time
considering the Lion battery: I would just go out and find the genuine MX5 Panasonic
at the best price I could.
It was not realised that the panasonic battery lasted 10 years, ours certainly didn’t, amazing, very helpful, thank you!
It is usually because of new technology being a possible improvement over the old, not the cost, thank you!
Thank you, there were two Lion batteries on the website, the comparison on the price was to reflect it not being the cheap one but of similar price to the Panasonic.
Personally I would stick to the existing Panasonic until Mazda themselves tried, tested and used any “New technology” batteries, they’ve got a huge R & D budget, I haven’t, only one car.
10 years? My Panasonic battery is 16 years old now and as good as ever.
Gra
Thank you for your comments, we will go with the panasonic.
Dating a Panasonic:
Factory fit, circa 1993. The paint spot denotes fitted at the factory:
Mazda UK replacement, circa 2004
2015 Mazda Europe replacement (Autolinkuk)
