The Mazda MX-5 is twenty years old this year and as a result we can all afford one.
A breath of fresh air in the stale motoring 90s, the MX-5 was and is a purist’s car, with chipper styling and no-nonsense handling. This car was designed to be the new MG and in many ways that is what it became.
The earliest are now available at around £1,000, which makes them an exciting alternative to a Fiesta for young enthusiasts. The latest ones have all-electric metal folding roofs and are perfect for empty-nesters, while the £3,000- £5,000 Mk2s are spot on for a mid-life crisis.
What they all have in common is a sense of freedom: Open roof, tight little gearbox, direct handling. Go on, join the party.
1997-2005
Optional six speed gearboxes became available and slowly the options on MK1 became standard on Mk2. Power steering, for example became standard and automatic gearboxes became options. The 1.6 engine was dropped.
Used Car Expert pick: A 2003 1.8 with average mileage of 45,000 will be £5,100 - £6,400.
2005 - Present
Chunkier in style, but also laden with gadgets and safety equipment. The 1.8 is underpowered on motorways and dual carriageways. But still an absolute hoot on anything that bends. The 2.0 of course, is more even better as an all-rounder.
Used Car Expert pick: A 2006 2.0 Sport car, just out of warranty with average mileage of 24,000 will be around £9,000-£11,000
James Ruppert’s Bangers & Bargains
Hyundai Coupe
Who would have thought it? The chances of Hyundai building a class competitive coupe’ would seem to be fairly marginal, but they took the competent Lantra as the basis, dressed it up in some attention grabbing bodywork and Porsche no less, tweaked the whole package. The result is one of the most remarkable and surprising coupes to be built in the ‘90s.
Hyundai gets off to a head start for the simple reason that it looks the performance coupe’ part. Looking good enough to drive is just part of the coupe’s brief, because it actually has to be good enough to drive hard. The great news is that the Porsche magic touch on the chassis, co-operates fully with the eager 2.0 litre 16V engine. The secret seems to be in the steering set-up, which is usefully sharp and very responsive. Hardly overpowered, the Hyundai manages to explore its limits in a safe and fun filled manner and you can’t ask for more than that, especially as the insurance group is so reasonable.
You can’t say exactly the same for the tepid 1.6. We don’t like to use ‘hairdresser’ clichés at Used Car Expert, but the smaller output coupe is certainly undemanding. Apart from buying a 1.6, another way of spoiling your fun with a Hyundai coupe’ is to get one with the lazy four speed gearbox. It’s efficient, but really takes the edge off what little performance there already is. No, buy a 2.0SE with manual transmission and you will have fun and a good resale prospect for those who know their sporty bangers.