5 Reasons Why Owning A Mk1 MX-5 Has Ruined Every New Car That I Once Thought Was Fun

I’m only a few weeks into MX-5 ownership and there are already valuable lessons that this car has taught me. The most salient lesson is that this little Mazda (aka the world’s best-selling roadster) is the most fun car I’ve ever owned. Here are five reasons why:

1. Look at that face

The Mk1 MX-5 is the happiest car you’ve ever seen. It smiles, it has pop-up headlights and it darts around from left to right like a little dog. Everybody (and I mean everybody) who looks at the car smiles. I’ve lost track of the times that small kids have pointed at the car from the back seat of their parent’s ride. And when I push the headlights button in the dashboard, the look of joy on their faces when the lights go up and down is hilarious; this car just came alive and said hello to them - imagine how amazing that must be for a kid who wasn’t expecting it!

2. The MX-5 community is awesome

I’ve owned loads of cool and crappy cars over the years, but none of them have had a car community as good as the MX-5’s (for me at least). I’ve already made new friends, have been offered loads of help and advice and went on my first MX-5 meet the other day. The thing I’ve noticed most about the community, however, is that when you pass another MX-5 on the road, headlights will flash and hands will be waved: ‘Hello stranger. You own an MX-5, I own an MX-5. Let’s be road buddies.’

In new cars - Morgans, kit cars etc excluded - you don’t get that same appreciation that what you are driving is as special to the person who’s behind the wheel of another similar car. It just goes to show that MX-5 ownership is as much a lifestyle choice as it is a box on wheels.

4. It's a giant Meccano set

One of the biggest perks of owning a car like this is that you can think of it as a giant Meccano set. Parts are inexpensive to buy, easy to get hold of and simple to fit. There are countless YouTube and online tutorials to help you fix and upgrade parts and always someone close by who can help. Fixing up an MX-5 is another way to bond with the car and makes you feel good even if all you’ve done is change a rocker cover gasket and upgrade the spark plug leads.

5. Driving it is always fun. Always, always, always!

My car is a UK-spec 1.8 with 130hp from the factory. Because it’s 20 years old, however, I think a figure of 110hp is more likely (I won’t know for sure until I get it on the dyno in a couple of weeks). Despite it being woefully underpowered and about as slow as a fart to get to 60mph, it’s more fun than most modern cars with three times the amount of horses.

The reason is its short-throw gearbox, low seating position, non-electric steering and immediate throttle response. These are things that cannot - for the sake of safety, engine downsizing and red tape - be replicated in a mass-produced modern car.

As an example, I have a Seat Ibiza FR long-term test car as my daily. It’s got approximately 20-30hp more than the Mazda, is also faster, cleaner and safer. By modern standards, it is a great car with a sublime chassis and it has loads going for it. But as a car to get your rocks off with, the MX-5 has taught me that I was wrong to think of it as ‘fun’. The throttle response is slow (that turbo lifestyle), the pedal weights are as light as air and the seating position is too high to really feel the road underneath. Fun cars need to be low, light and must let you do the driving.