2/ Good ones are several £1000 more than an MX5 of the same year.
3/ To all intents and purposes they don’t offer a significant amount of extra interior or boot space.
This is why I’ve been considering Merc SLK and Audi TT which have both without being much bigger externally. I thought about Chrysler Crossfire at one stage, what put me off is the cheap tacky plastic facia, different sized front & rear wheels and the rear end which looks like a dog squatting for a ■■■■ . The more I think about it the more I believe there isn’t a sports car made that would satisfy my needs, or not within budget. The only alternative is a 2 door hot or hottish hatchback.
I had a crossfire quite a few years ago, I loved it! The 18"/19" wheel configuration left you with tyre goo and inflator, just like the majority of cars now, including the 5’s. Agree about the tacky plastics though, the lid for the cubby in the centre console just breaks when looked at. The OEM single DIN sat NAV was useless, however, the car went like stink and I actually loved the distinctive styling of it. Never had the convertible version and the rear load cover on mine was/is a factory option and expensive. I had the brown leather/plastic interior with silver bits, as said, I liked it they will all be getting a bit long in the tooth though now?
If you are wanting a proper sports car and not just a quick car or a cruiser then there are only three candidates in my book - a Boxster, Cayman or Elise . Plenty of specialists dealing in older Porsches and someone like Paul Matty can help with Lotuses. Early Elises are affordable , but have stopped losing value - more uncompromising than a Porsche , let alone an MX5 . But to drive…
We were in a similar position a while ago. We had an S Type Jag as well as the 5 and my wife decided she wanted a sports car (that wasn’t a 5). We looked at all the options that fell into our 7k budget and came down a shortlist of Z4, Boxster, SLK, 350Z and the TT. (The Cayman is just too far over our budget)
We quickly ruled out the 350Z and the TT because we wanted a soft top and I’ve always believed that if you want that then you should choose a car that was designed as a soft top not a coupe with the roof cut off. Besides the TT is as common as muck. If anything is a hairdressers car it’s that one.
The SLK is more of a boulevard cruiser than a sports car so that got taken off the list which just left the Z4 and the Boxster.
We found a suitable Z4 locally and went to take it for a test drive but when I got behind the wheel I found it disappointing. The electric power steering has no feel at all. After having the NA for so long I’ve got used to having communicative steering and the Z4 just didn’t have it. The best comparison I can come up with is that it’s like the difference playing a driving game with a force feedback steering wheel and a basic non-assisted one.
We went from there and test drove a Boxster which we fell in love with and bought. The steering has all the feel of the MX5 but with more than double the power.
You don’t say what your budget is but we paid 6700 for our Boxster with a full dealer service history and 87k on the clock.
My budget is, or WAS £7000 max. However, after reading owner’s reviews and opinions on here I’ve come to the conclusion I’m better off sticking with the MX5.
Why? I wouldn’t be able to sleep easy with an Audi, Merc or Porsche and would always be waiting for something expensive to go wrong. Other than that, I don’t like the shape of the Audi TT convertible, neither do they offer any useful advantages over mine.
The TT Coupe’s looks appeal more and have more boot and interior space but I’d miss being able to drive with the top down.
A Merc SLK series 2 would be ideal, they have the boot and interior space, a folding roof and there’s a few low mileage ones on the market within budget. I don’t mind them being a ‘Boulevard cruiser,’ what does put me off are their numerous electrical problems and rear subframes rusting out costing £4000 to replace. .
So that’s my mind made up, MX5 forever, for better or for worse. Thanks everybody for your replies and suggestions.
I sold my 2010 NC Miyako and bought a ND 2ltr Sport and regretted it ever since, sold the ND after 12 months, so on the look out for a good early 2 ltr NC Sport.
Have just bought a new Honda Civic Type R, great performance and handling with plenty of room.
Yup the styling is a like it or hate it situation, took me a while to decide whether to buy or not, but really like the car.
In black its not so ‘in your face’ as some of the brighter colours. Once driven you would not want anything else as a usable hatchback with plenty of grunt.
Still need an MX5 in my life though, you can’t beat an early morning drive with the roof down, just hope I can find a good early 2ltr NC Sport.
I love the Type R, and having had the previous two models would have had this one but it became apparent to me that at 70 y.o.a I should perhaps become less of a “boy racer”. Pity really but I suppose it was time for me to have more “fun time” than “brown trouser moments”. I agree about the colour too! My two were in “Milano” red, which suited them, but black is definitely best for the latest model, it makes it much more “awesome”.