The tyre issue is an important one. They can make a huge difference. Pressures too.
I recently bought some budget tyres for my slower FWD Suzuki. I put them on the back but it was all over the place in the wet and felt as if I had a slow puncture.
I swapped them round and put the half worn, more expensive tyres on the rear and the car was transformed. I still can’t work out why that could be.
My Eunos lost 90% of its twitchiness with better quality tyres with rubber less than 5 years old.
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My RWD car (NC) gets driven harder than my FWD car, even in the wet. I trust it better than the FWD car. Of course it is set up for this and with some decent tyres. All within mine and the cars capabilities of course, judge the road conditions 
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Hi all. Interesting subject. I own an NC 2.0l sport upgraded by BBR to 200 bhp. I have also previously owned an NA & an NB plus many other both FWD & RWD cars. All three MX5’s were brilliant in wet & slippery conditions, they always ‘told’ me when I’d reached the limit & was about to do something daft. Don’t ask me what that is, it’s just a feeling through your hands on the wheel & your ■■■ on the seat developed over 50 years of driving. In answer to the original query, until you are completely familiar with your car’s eccentricities, (&. they’re all different, even if it’s a different car but the same model), don’t push it! Once, & only once, forgot about a mini roundabout in the NB, resulting in a sideways exit 
. Car behaved as it should, np, lesson learnt 
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In a nutshell, that’s it. My verbose version…
Brake and/or accelerate only in a straight line. ‘Balance’ your speed around bends - you should feel the balance in the car, with both ends sharing the work and neither end ‘hanging on’.
Aim to be gentle with steering, brake and accelerator - all the time. Never tailgate. If you leave a decent safety space, you might not even need to brake when the car ahead slows down.
Aim to arrive at every hazard at the right speed. Look well ahead and plan. I honestly think about half of drivers don’t really use the accelerator properly to control their speed, hence their brake lights constantly flashing even when driving at a more or less steady speed.
Take great care if there is any possibility of ice. There is really no safe speed for it.
You perceive that your Polo has more grip. It probably hasn’t. Its rear wheels aren’t driven, so you can’t break traction at the rear with the accelerator. It you get slip at the front, you will instinctively lift off a bit and/or increase the lock slightly, which on your Polo will correct the problem in most cases. Pretty well all FWD cars understeer anyway and the handling, within reasonable limits, can be described as fail-safe.
Finally - MX-5’s really like having a matched set of tyres. Having the same grip at each end will keep the built-in handling balance. Having less grip at the rear will create a tendency to oversteer.
Years ago I bought a Mk2 with Barum tyres on the back, and one Kumho and a Firestone on the front. All had reasonable amounts of tread. Without exaggeration it was a handful on a damp roundabout at pensioner speeds (I’m a pensioner). I swapped the wheels and tyres, and on four new Vredesteins the problem disappeared completely.
If you need to fit new tyres for winter, consider some all-seasons. I think you will be surprised at the improvement if you have been using a mixed set.
My driving style wears front and rear tyres fairly evenly, even so I move the wheels around occasionally to even it out. Some people get much higher wear on the rear, and end up with low tread at the back. Bad. If the wear is mismatched, put the best tyres on the back.
Take pride in your driving. Roadcraft is a good book
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My best advice is to fit tyres suited to the conditions. A good set of winter tyres transform the handling of any car in cold wet conditions. Temperatures below 7 degrees C is specified as cold by tyre manufacturers.
It just so happens that I’ve got a set of four steel winter wheels in black for sale (14”) to fit a Mk1/2. I’ve sold my NB so won’t be using them again. The wheels have excellent Goodyear Ultragrip 8 tyres with plenty of tread (they only did one season). Any takers let me know £150 asked.
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Agree with all of this. In my many years of driving in winter have seen many cars stuck on ice and snow expecting to get moving again by reving the ■■■■■ off the car when slow and gntle is what is needed
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Well, You Did Ask Us 
Maybe Join the Can of Worms aka MX5 O.C.
Everything You Need to Know or Don’t Want to Know About the MX5
Brill Value For Money
Also Great Banter & Humour and Knowledge & Understanding on e.g.
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Not on Commission Here
But Found the Site Priceless for my MX5 NB 2.5
You Never Told Us Which Model You Have
Anyway…Glad You Got Your Answer
Kindest
Love the form and i got some cracking answers and a few interesting storys.
When i posted i did expect it a little
I have a 2008 mk 3 2lt sport.
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I got caught out big time being just too fast at the start of a winding downhill stretch in the mountains on a trip from Zurich to Interlaken. The road got tighter and tighter, I daren’t brake but just kept turning the wheel tighter and the car (2013 Trophy) stuck to the road like glue. I was sweating at the bottom. It was a typical Swiss spec car with every racing whistle and bell imaginable along with a full set of very sticky winter tyres. I cannot recommend winter tyres enough. They cost a fortune but saved my bacon several times. I am not sure being RWD helped or hindered but the car behaved brilliantly.
Watch out for aquaplaning, particularly on motorways and dual carriageways, where you may find you’re boxed in to your lane when a stretch of water suddenly appears in front of you.
Sometimes the car in front spots it first and has room to change lanes to avoid it, you may not be so lucky if you have someone at your side.
Yes, I totally agree about reading the conditions/driving within your limits, etc, but the scenario I’m describing above can catch out the best of drivers even when they’ve tried to be sensible, so just keep it in mind.
Here’s some advice on the topic: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/winter-driving/understanding-aquaplaning/
Thanks Sherman For Your Excellent Post Which Got Many Of Us Chatting and I As a Member of About 3 Yrs Leant Stuff from Fellow Members & Visitors in the Process
As You Can See…We’re Still Talking About Your Topic …That’s How Sad Many of Us Are as MX5 Devotees 
Drat…So Wanted to Tell My Story Of Being Caught Out in My Old Renault Clio 1.4 en route from work in Bradford the middle of the West York Moors in Sudden Snow and Untreated Roads and Having to Bounce Her Into the Verge to Stop Myself Going Over Sheer Drop Cliffs getting back home to Keighley…Have Learnt a New American Word to Describe that Experience
“Cheese and Rice”
Thanks Again For Your Post 
As someone who came to the MX-5 earlier this year after owning and driving exclusively FWD cars for 35 years, I do understand the OP’s concerns - I had the same ones.
I can tell you now that my RWD 5 has far more grip and traction than my FWD Golf that preceded it - although breaking traction was far less dramatic than it is in the Mazda, being as it was just fairly benign understeer.
That being said that I’ve only had a couple of low speed ‘twitches’ in my 5, which were easily caught. (although I’m not sure if it was me or the car’s traction control that caught it!).
PS…Thanks For Finally Letting Us Know Which MX5 you have as the Design Changed Quite a Bit from the NA and NB to the NC that you have
It Means More Experienced NC Owners Can Afford You Advice So Maybe Not Mark Your Issue as Solved Yet as More Members Could Contribute Now We Know Which Vehicle You Have
Best
The issue with losing control on public roads is usually lack of space: the sliding vehicle would hit the curb or another vehicles even as the driver/electronics are attempting to catch the slide.
The solution is thus to minimise the chance of a slide altogether, and, beyond paying attention and taking advanced driving courses, and skid training, the best option is to put quality tires on your car.
I personally run Michelin cross climates all-year round in my NC. They are winter tires but since the car is so light, I barely see any wear despite running them in the summer as well.
Even so, you also still need to check whether you wear you rear tires faster than the front ones, as THAT would result in an oversteery balance. Replace the rear tires more often as required.
Finally, the best car control technique for driving with limited grip that no one usually talks about (so, beyond slow speed, smoothness, paying attention, etc) is to seek to apply as little steering lock as possible when turning (also valid for FWD cars). However, the skill is best learned with an instructor, as there is more to it than just being careful with the steering.
Don’t forget to enjoy your mx5
Some interesting replies.
Anyway
Fit decent tyres.
Make sure the wheels are all pointing in the right direction.
Seat time.
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Op could really benefit from some advanced driving training with either the Institute of advanced driving or ROSPA. (Royal society of prevention of accidents)
I think the ROSPA test is a better one as to remain a member you have to retake your test every 3 years.
Get a copy of “Roadcraft”… and read and study it. Ir is split into chapters and unless you can answer the questions at the end of the chapter you have not understood it
No one should be getting a twitchy car on any roads, i would suggest it is down to the driver as to why a car behaves in a particular way, then the choice of tyres fitted, then mechanical break down to cause problems good luck
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Most modern cars now have traction control of some sort and the traction control for older RWD cars is your right foot. Adjust yourself to the road conditions, it’s that simple.
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