Girl Power?
The Mazda MX5 is a girl's car isn't it? That's what one local journalist believed, before he took a spin in the new model. Here speaks a convert.
Up until now I have to confess that the Mazda MX5 is a car that has managed to completely evade my radar. I was vaguely aware that it had a legion of fans, was reputedly great fun to drive, was reliable and held its resale value very well. Whenever i've been offered the chance to drive one for the magazine found a million and one reasons not to. The fact is I see too many red ones driven by women with matching lipstick and nail-varnish. With it's friendly face and cuddly curves I considered it something of a "girl car".
All that changed the minute I saw the press pack for the all-new model in showrooms from November. The MX5 has had a number of tweaks to the styling in recent years but nothing that got me terribly excited and nothing that would make me choose it over, say, an MG TF. The new model, however, has been madeover so successfully that i can see it going straight to the top of the two-seater roadster chart and staying there for some time.
The most striking cosmetic changes are to the wheel arches. They now curve high over the handsome 17 inch alloys my top of the range 2.0i was sporting. They flare sharply from the steamlined body and this, combined with the loss of the "coke bottle" waste give the car a much more purposeful and muscular look. The streamlined look remains but the lines are simpler and , roof up or down, it is a great looking car.
Delivering a lightweight roadster had highest priority during development of the new Mazda MX5. As a result, the third-generation version of the cult roadster is only 10 kg heavier than its predecessor (depending on version). This modest weight gain is achieved despite having larger wheels, more powerful engines, an extended standard equipment package and a strengthened body shell.
Thanks to the gram strategy diet, the latest two-seater retains the true aura of Mazda's original nimble, responsive handling roadster, a sports car whose rear-wheel drive transmission and powerful, frugal four-cylinder engines are still sufficient to deliver truely exhilarating performance. The soft top is still manual like before - so Mazda could avoid the heavier solution here of an electro-hyudraulic retractable top.
Having spent a couple of hours behind the wheel i can confirm categorically that the car has lost none of the "fun factor" it's famous for. Zoom, zooom, and indeed, zoom.
Mark Anderson writes for North East exclusive magazine. Story donated courtesy of SG Petch.
Up until now I have to confess that the Mazda MX5 is a car that has managed to completely evade my radar. I was vaguely aware that it had a legion of fans, was reputedly great fun to drive, was reliable and held its resale value very well. Whenever i've been offered the chance to drive one for the magazine found a million and one reasons not to. The fact is I see too many red ones driven by women with matching lipstick and nail-varnish. With it's friendly face and cuddly curves I considered it something of a "girl car".
All that changed the minute I saw the press pack for the all-new model in showrooms from November. The MX5 has had a number of tweaks to the styling in recent years but nothing that got me terribly excited and nothing that would make me choose it over, say, an MG TF. The new model, however, has been madeover so successfully that i can see it going straight to the top of the two-seater roadster chart and staying there for some time.The most striking cosmetic changes are to the wheel arches. They now curve high over the handsome 17 inch alloys my top of the range 2.0i was sporting. They flare sharply from the steamlined body and this, combined with the loss of the "coke bottle" waste give the car a much more purposeful and muscular look. The streamlined look remains but the lines are simpler and , roof up or down, it is a great looking car.
Delivering a lightweight roadster had highest priority during development of the new Mazda MX5. As a result, the third-generation version of the cult roadster is only 10 kg heavier than its predecessor (depending on version). This modest weight gain is achieved despite having larger wheels, more powerful engines, an extended standard equipment package and a strengthened body shell.Thanks to the gram strategy diet, the latest two-seater retains the true aura of Mazda's original nimble, responsive handling roadster, a sports car whose rear-wheel drive transmission and powerful, frugal four-cylinder engines are still sufficient to deliver truely exhilarating performance. The soft top is still manual like before - so Mazda could avoid the heavier solution here of an electro-hyudraulic retractable top.
Having spent a couple of hours behind the wheel i can confirm categorically that the car has lost none of the "fun factor" it's famous for. Zoom, zooom, and indeed, zoom.
Mark Anderson writes for North East exclusive magazine. Story donated courtesy of SG Petch.
2 Comments:
I liked the car's predecessor. In the U.S., the car was called the "Miata". It has since taken on the MX5 name.
By Gunnar Heinrich, at 3/07/2006 03:23:00 AM
Really! I didn't know that the name had changed over the pond :-(
Can't seem to remember reading or hearing anything about that. I don't understand the need to do this as it's just going to cost Mazda more to re-market the car.
I remember them changing it in Europe where it was called the Eunos, the same name as in Japan.
By Tomauto, at 3/07/2006 04:23:00 PM
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