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MX-5 #3
MX-5's suit the way I drive, the roads I drive on and what I actually want from a car. 'I like cars that are small light and nimble, all the things that I am not'. An expression from the front page of this site, which sums up the car and me perfectly.
It doesn't have a load of power, but this one really has more than I expected and I'm really quite happy with that. The ride is excellent on our terrible roads. The handling is playful with low limits so you don't have to spank it to get it moving around. This also could be down to it being fitted with some classic TDFs (Landsail on the front Horace on the back, I kid you not). But still, it's entertaining. Balance is impeccable. It's just an overall package of rightness, as they've always been.
Having not driven a Mk3.5 to this point, I think I was most impressed with how much it felt like an old MX-5 to drive. I genuinely wasn't expecting this as the Mk1-Mk2.5 cars were all essentially the same car with facelifts. The Mk3-3.75 are a whole new car (40mm wider and longer) with a whole new engine. But Mazda hasn't forgotten what makes an MX-5 great and for that I must applaud them. Indeed I think I actually prefer this to my old mk2.5.
That's not to say it's perfect. The interior plastics are very hard and it's obviously had some less careful owners in the past as it's got a few scuffs and scratches on it that I can't do anything about. It's one of those things, most people just don't look after their cars which befuddles me when you spend so much on the things. But it's not bad.
Likewise the exterior had a few marks and scratches, but they're something I can actually deal with and that's why this page has been a little late arriving. A solid day cleaning and polishing has got the exterior back to top condition and looking more like one of my cars.
Overall I'm chuffed to bits. I gelled with the car almost instantly. It felt like an old friend, which makes sense as it's my third now. I really should learn that these are just the ideal sports car for me and be done with it really. That said, I'll miss not having a barge. I do also like having a nice big luxury car to waft around it when the mood takes me. Thankfully not two days later my dad bought a lovely Jaguar XF which I'm insured on. Handy that ;)