The next-gen MX-5 Miata thread
- Thread starter homeforsummer
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- 27,163
- United Kingdom
- 12,389
- Betelgeuse
- Beeblebrox_237
I think both the MX-5 and 124 look great. The Fiat is a little awkward in photos because it's easier to see the slightly odd proportions, but in person I'd say it hides them well and looks excellent.
- 3,793
- 4,762
- Houston, TX
- 11,327
- Marin County
I really, really hope Fiat makes a 124 notchback coupe. I don't even remember the last time you could buy a 3-box sports car in the US...probably the S14 Silvia/SX. I'm so temped by this car...especially seeing as how the US spec model comes with 160hp in base trim which can easily be increased to well over 200hp with just a dyno tune. If they do make a notchback coupe, I'll trade both my Mazda and Boxster to get one. I might still do if they even release a removeable hardtop that looks like the rally car's.
- 48,819
- Australia
Maybe the brakes have been swapped for a bigger brake kit?Odd considering the regular cars are 4-lug.
- 4,762
- Houston, TX
CodeRedR51
Premium
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- Australia
That's why I guessed those particular OZs may be 5-liug only. I think Super Turismos can be had in 4-lug, but unsure of the ones on these 124s.
- 15,316
- TRAPPIST-1g
- ProjectWHaT
I got to sit in the RF yesterday. The rear visibility isn't that bad.
- 27,163
- United Kingdom
Was driving around in one earlier in the week.
Liked it more than I thought I would. Styling works far better as an Abarth than it does as the Fiat. It's still not as well-resolved a design as the Mazda but it's definitely a shape that works better in the metal.
Drives well too. The engine's quite fun to use. Does nothing below 2k rpm and not as enthusiastic at the red line as the Mazda is, but in the mid-range it's stronger, which is just where you want it to be strong to exploit the chassis. Exhaust makes a silly (fun) noise, but sadly this doesn't really seem to persist all the way to the red line. Chassis feels ever so slightly different: little more weight to the steering, slightly more front-end bite, and less scuttle shake.
Still no steering feel though, which is still the worst thing about this generation of MX-5. I wish the Fiat's interior was a little more Fiat-ish too - the bits of Alcantara are nice, but it doesn't feel different enough from the Mazda.
And I'm still not quite sure it justifies the £29k starting price when you can get the Mazda , which doesn't feel a great deal slower overall and doesn't really drive any worse.
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- United Kingdom
About £28k at launch in 1999. At the same time, a top-end MX-5 was about £19k. Much bigger performance discrepancy between those two than there is between the Abarth 124 and 2-litre MX-5 at the moment so the S2000 justified that difference a bit more.
Real bargain when it came out was the Mazda RX-8, which was £22k in 2003. A top-spec MX-5 was still £18k then. Though these were the days when the Elise was also only £23k rather than the £30k it's leapt to since. That Mazda can sell a 2-litre MX-5 for £21k today (and a 1.5 for £18.5k) is pretty impressive, given the way the market is.
- 10,828
- Belgium
- bramturismo
Sat in the MX-5 today at the Auto Salon in Brussels. For me it's too small. I thought I could adjust the seat, but it was already at its lowest, and furthest back, position. With the roof on my head barely fit into it.
I'm 1m87, so I'm not that tall. It's a very good looking car, but for me it's just too small.
I'm 1m87, so I'm not that tall. It's a very good looking car, but for me it's just too small.
- 27,163
- United Kingdom
That's over 6ft, which does seem to be something of a cut-off point for this latest model, though how comfortable you find it also seems to depend on body proportions. Some of my 6ft+ colleagues fit in fine, yet others shorter than that struggle. For me (I'm about 5'8") it's pretty much the perfect size, though I'd prefer the seat to be mounted a little lower, which has been a problem with all MX-5s bar the NC.
- 8,196
- Drayton Bassett, North Warwickshire
- Duffers999
- Clark Duffy
@homeforsummer I still remember a few years before I started driving that junior hot hatches like Clios etc. were ~£15k and bigger hatches like Focuses/Civics etc were £20-25k. Now it seems since then everything is £5-£10k more expensive.
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Generally stuff has pretty much kept pace with inflation. The MX-5 is a case in point, as it's actually slightly cheaper in real terms now than it was in 1989. But the prices being charged today are pretty fair given the levels of performance too - £30k for a Focus RS that does 0-60 in under 5sec and gets down a B-road quicker than pretty much anything else on sale is pretty good in value for money terms.
I suppose the moral of the story is that some cars will always seem ludicrously expensive, others will always seem good value, and most will sit somewhere in the middle rising at the same rate as other consumer goods.
- 23,800
- Philippines
Indeed.
Looking at what's out in terms of laptops, phones, cameras and cars right now... the expensive stuff is great, but still way out of reach.
But nowadays, adjusting for inflation (or "how many lunches do I have to skip to buy this thing"), the cheap stuff is amazingly powerful and capable compared to what we used to work with in the past.
I started working digital publishing with a computer with a tenth of the processing speed and onboard storage of my current cellphone, which cost bugger-all. And that same phone boasts a 13mp camera (my first digital work cam was just 3mp, and we used that for published pictures!) as well.
With cars, it's awfully easy to bemoan how heavy cars are getting, but stuff like the new Civic gives you what was previously Type-R or Si level performance with Accord-level space and modern luxuries at a reasonable price.
The MX-5, on the other hand, is the fastest it's ever been. And now that people have cracked the SkyActiv and are tuning them, I'm betting that we'll be seeing it get closer and clsoer to S2000 levels of performance as time goes on.
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Now, somebody get to work on the steering please!
- 11,327
- Marin County
Went to look at some 124s at the local fiat dealership. They look pretty great in person. Very wide for it's height, giving it pretty exotic proportions when seen straight on...like a pint-size viper. I think its a nicer design overall than the Mazda, despite the Mazda being much more contemporary. I like the Fiat despite its retro-sentimentality. If my Porsche continues to give me heart-ache, I am going to strongly consider a 124. I bet a 124 (even the base model) with very minor modifications (exhaust, tune, dampers) would give an S2000 a very good run for it's money.
- 27,163
- United Kingdom
I've never driven an S2000, but even the Abarth 124 feels only marginally quicker than an ND MX-5, and I expect the Mazda is a fair bit off the pace of an S2000.
Easy to extract more power from turbo stuff of course, and the 124 is at least fairly light, so there's definitely potential.
- 11,327
- Marin County
If the Abarth 500 is anything to go by (and it should be because the engine and turbo are the same) than the 124 should be able to put down more than 200hp to the wheels with very minor mods. By comparison, a stock S2000 is nearly the same @190-210whp. The Abarth is quite a bit lighter though. Hence my post.
- 8,191
- Southern Louisiana
- GTP_Kent
Just looked up the Miata RF on Mazda's website... They must be insane to think 31-33k is reasonable. I know they don't have a ton of competition in the market but from a value POV I just can't see that car being worth it.
Am I missing something?
At any rate, I sure hope they put more into the car with the next gen if they are going to stick with this 30+k Miata idea.
Am I missing something?
At any rate, I sure hope they put more into the car with the next gen if they are going to stick with this 30+k Miata idea.
- 23,800
- Philippines
Not driven the S2k, but I've driven against one. I reckon that in terms of power, the S2K and ND are relatively even at low speeds and engine rpms, but on the highway past the limit, the S2K has a significant advantage. But not as big an advantage as it had over the NC, which I think was closer to the S2K size-wise and stiffness-wise, though it definitely lacked the Honda's straightline performance.
I'd still trust the handling of the ND more than the Honda's or the NC's... it's a car that flows with the road better than most anything else. Track tests seem to bear this out, as it seems to be quicker than the regular S2k around twistier tracks.
