Mk1 mx-5 safety

Well they have savety belts and the engine in de front and a open roof ;)

Just tell her its very savety , show her how many people say this is perfect first car , and get one

About as safe as any old open top buggy with seatbelt and an airbag that’s as potent as grandmas honkers.

This is the euro ncap for mk2 with airbag and abs. Surprisingly good. However if you roll it, would be a completely different issue.

A mk1 with no abs or airbag however would probably score a 1. really not safe at all.

They’re not really safe, especially by modern standards. Installing a proper roll bar will help you greatly in the unfortunate event of a roll over.

If you’re particularly worried, go for a later model with airbags.

The thing is, if you went and got an old hatchback as your first car, they likely won’t be all that great either. The old MX-5s aren’t dangerous as such, they just don’t offer modern protection.

Alternatively, just don’t crash!

Get an NA8 if you have passengers often (cause passenger airbag)
Get a rollbar
And after that it’ll be just as safe if not safer than any alternative you could be considering.
Also, it’s not that fast and handles exceptionally, so unless you run red lights for fun you shouldn’t crash it.

Do you live in america?

Did go through the same requirements as you:
Less than 100hp
ABS
Airbags
Low maintenance costs
Low insurance

After some searching, we found the mx5 na, that is now in my garage.. ABS, Airbags, Low insurance, everything. It’s perfect! :D 1997 90HP model..

But now I want to modify it. Which is bad. No money and soon to be a student at a university. RIP me..
It’s one of the best first cars though, imo :)

TL;DR Mk2 is more convincing safety wise, rollbar could be more dangerous than no rollbar

Just got an MK2 as a first car, since that model you can defend safety-wise: Crumple zones got introduced, airbags, abs. As for the window: it can take rollovers at low speed, but at high speed a rollbar is required. HUGE downside of a rollbar however is that during a rear end collision your head will flop up and backwards, most likely leaning over the seat if you’re a bit tall and getting obliterated by the rollbar if there’s one. A tall bucket seat prevents this and a helmet helps a bit, this is why rollbars are used in racing. Now considering that 33% of traffic casualties are from rear-end collisions and only 3% from rollovers, you can see that a rollbar could actually be counterproductive. This is why I’m personally not sure at all if I’m going to install one for street use.

I’d strengthen the body if you care about safety, by installinf some sway bars, and a roll cage. If worried air bags then maybe an older model would be better.