Any-one got a marvellous MX5 ?

[nickso]

Yes looks ar subjective and the MG has won design awards around the globe, where as the Mazda has not. The plastic boat comment was not invented by me but is a fairly standard remark about the MX5 styling, so I would humbly suggest that you are in the minority.
[/quote]

Design awards eh? neither car is drop dead gorgeous but in my own opinion the MG is fugly and the mazda is not. guess we will have to disagree on that one but I very much doubt the MG would be seen as prettier car than the MX if you asked the masses.

I have driven a lot of MX5s and MGF/TFs and no the MX5 doesn't handle like an armchair - never said it did.

Of course if you want to cruise in an arm chair then the MX5 is the way to go.

yes you did.

But , like for like, the MGF and even more so the MGTF handle better. And yes the MG is heavier, but as you agreed still manages to have the edge on performance. I don't have the MX5 Mk1 figures, but I doubt that they beat the MG as I have never seen a report where like for like cars were compared in a silly Top Trumps way that the MX5 performance was better.

again i disagree with the handling but again perhaps that is a little subjective. iI would suggest the edge on performance once the weight difference is taken into account will be next to nothing, neither are blisteringly fast after all.

As for your final riduculous statement about Brits - well what can I say. Brittain is the largest soft top market in Europe and per population in the world - so youd think we have some idea of what soft top to buy. And by what yardstick do you regard unreliability? Jeremy Clarkson hysteria? Well Top Gear is a great entertainment programme and Jezza is very funny, but a car show it aint so like him and the mad press what they say has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

BMWs strangulation and Phoenix 4s cost savin Project Drive did a lot for the bad quality image of MGR, but your comments are just way wide of the mark.

britains car buying status means nothing, we both know most MX5's and MG's get bought and driven by people who are not car enthusiasts at all. most are just cars for girls and will buy just about anything uninformed as long as it looks good to them.
if we are talking about an overall better package and therefore better car i just don't see MG offering that with chocolate engines, electrical issues and dodgy build quality. then look at the MX5's almost bullet-proof reliability. you have already highlighted the MG's engine issues in another thread, yet a mistreated MX will display none of these issues.

I agree top gear is irrelevant.

 

[DJM]

Design awards eh? neither car is drop dead gorgeous but in my own opinion the MG is fugly and the mazda is not. guess we will have to disagree on that one but I very much doubt the MG would be seen as prettier car than the MX if you asked the masses.

As I said before YOUR opinion is not mine - or for that matter the masses. Drop dead gorgeous either car No, but for me the MG is pretty and classic where as the MX5 is at best plain Jane. But as we have both said subjective so let it lie.

I have driven a lot of MX5s and MGF/TFs and no the MX5 doesn't handle like an armchair - never said it did.

Of course if you want to cruise in an arm chair then the MX5 is the way to go.

yes you did.

No I didn't. I said if you want to cruise the MX5 will be more comfortable - the suspension on the TF is hard. Note my statement in this thread

They [MX5s] are certainly more comfortable to drive over a longish period of time particularly on our rubbish roads due to their softer suspension

again i disagree with the handling but again perhaps that is a little subjective. iI would suggest the edge on performance once the weight difference is taken into account will be next to nothing, neither are blisteringly fast after all.

Having driven a lot more of both than you (by your own admission) I can honestly say the MX5 is OK, just not quite as good as the MG. Neither are a Caterham or an F1 car, but both are acceptable. As you say, neither are blisteringly quick - just cheap fun driving - IIRC the prime reason they exist.

britains car buying status means nothing, we both know most MX5's and MG's get bought and driven by people who are not car enthusiasts at all. most are just cars for girls and will buy just about anything uninformed as long as it looks good to them.

Well try telling that to the masses on the relevant MX5 and MG boards around the world - most of whom fall neither into your disparaging girls or implied hairdresser category. Yes, a cheap fun style car - which either could be regarded as will attract those who care nothing about cars but only image - we need look no further than those who by BMWs as a status symbol for example. But so what, does that change it abilities - of course not. You are in danger of using Clarkson's "Cool Wall" categorisation

if we are talking about an overall better package and therefore better car i just don't see MG offering that with chocolate engines, electrical issues and dodgy build quality. then look at the MX5's almost bullet-proof reliability. you have already highlighted the MG's engine issues in another thread, yet a mistreated MX will display none of these issues.

This just shows you know absolutely nothing about MGs and not much more about MX5s - especially if you are deluded enough to think MX5s are bullet proof.

Anyway, I really didn't want to hijack Yottie's thread so I think I'll let it lie now as you have an opinion - which you are entitled to - but it is so extreme that anything I say factual or simply opinion you appear to be unable to accept. The long and the short of it is both cars are perfectly good roadsters and represent pretty good value for money. On the performance side the MG shades it - fact. Looks are subjective. Reliability the MX5 shades it - but not by much as the things that go wrong with the MX5 cost a great deal more to repair than those with the MG. So you pays your money and takes your choice.

 

[yottie]

Well, when all's said and done I love "Maisie", the forecast is good for Thurs Frid this week so on both days I'll be out on the North Yorks Moors with my top off ! I drive a Golf GTi for every day use, now if only Maisie had that gearbox. Any-way it was great to hear every-ones opinions.

 

[DJM]

Well, when all's said and done I love "Maisie", the forecast is good for Thurs Frid this week so on both days I'll be out on the North Yorks Moors with my top off ! I drive a Golf GTi for every day use, now if only Maisie had that gearbox. Any-way it was great to hear every-ones opinions.

As long as you love it that's all that matters mate. Hope the sun shines and you enjoythe moors. Me I'll be stuck in a carp tin top hire car travelling to the west county on business.

 

[nickso]

Well try telling that to the masses on the relevant MX5 and MG boards around the world - most of whom fall neither into your disparaging girls or implied hairdresser category. Yes, a cheap fun style car - which either could be regarded as will attract those who care nothing about cars but only image - we need look no further than those who by BMWs as a status symbol for example. But so what, does that change it abilities - of course not. You are in danger of using Clarkson's "Cool Wall" categorisation

out of the some 800,000 mx's sold and the some 117,000 mg's sold I think it's safe to say the majority were not bought but internet enthusiasts. they may well now be in the hands of said enthusiasts when the "hairdressers" move on.

all cars are bought as a status symbol of sorts, some can afford better status symbols than others.

please stop comparing my opinion with that of top gear presenters, i have already said it's irrelevant.

This just shows you know absolutely nothing about MGs and not much more about MX5s - especially if you are deluded enough to think MX5s are bullet proof.

having owned an mx5 for 5 years and had to replace one O2 sensor and a pair of springs i feel able to comment on it's reliability. it is you who is deluded if you think the MG is "shaded" on reliability. you only need to look to the internet forums to see how poorly built and unreliable the MG is, particularly if it's not well looked after. it seems everyone but you knows they have major flaws.

perhaps we had better leave it here as I don't see you seeing any sense soon.