Mazda MX-5 purchase advice: Gender neutral | STERN.de

The Mazda MX-5 is a perfect women’s car – also for men. Because anyone who drives it once is thrilled. The MX-5, which has been causing more motherhood than adrenaline rushes from the outside with its flip-up headlights since 1989, was and is a real fun mobile. One of the main reasons for this is the combination of a real roadster feeling with a lightweight design and the joyful rear-wheel drive. Whether the number of black tire circles in parking lots has increased with the increasing increase in performance from the first generation to the current generation, including numerous special models, is speculation, but perhaps not a coincidence. How the almost four-meter-long success story on four wheels came about is more likely.

When, in March 1979, at the end of an interview with then Mazda Head of Development Kenichi Yamamoto, the American motor journalist Robert Hall was asked what he thought would be missing from the Mazda program, he said: “A light, small, inexpensive roadster. Like the earlier MG. However, it should start in the rain. ” Then he gets up and sketches the car he has described on a blackboard – the idea for the MX-5 is born. A few market research studies later hardened the belief that there is certainly sufficient demand. But all research and studies are not as convincing in their sum as a single business trip by the Mazda chief technology officer in a Triumph Spitfire. A few hours later on the winding roads near Japan’s Hakone Lake and the MX-5 is no longer a mere idea. It’s a project. More precisely, the P729 project, which Masakatsu Kato is taking on. After an internally advertised competition between the Japanese and the American design studio founded in 1981, in which Robert Hall was hired as an employee in the founding year, the Americans take over the lead over the project. The result: the first prototype, named V 705, was presented to the project manager on September 17, 1985 in his production facility in Worthing, England.

After Masakatsu Kato has been replaced by Toshihiko Hirai due to an internal change of position at Mazda, the third 1: 1 model at the time will be transferred to the headquarters in Hiroshima for final acceptance. The American team’s fear of their original design is great – and justified. Because the finishing touches are now in charge of project chief designer Shunji Tanaka who is not afraid of major changes. After almost 100 days, the fear is gone, because the end result will come. The next step is to find a name. And here too, according to rumors, an American has the brilliant idea. So it happens that the MX-5 comes onto the market in Hong Kong and North America under the name Miata, which means something like reward. In Japan everyone knows it to this day as the Eunos Roadster, which is also the name of the Mazda sales organization that was founded especially for the MX-5. The MX-5, on the other hand, results from the prototype series, which at the time included an MX-02, MX-04 and MX-06. The zero has been left out because it is easier to pronounce.

The production vehicle was presented to the general public for the first time in mid-February 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show. Series production starts that same month. In Europe, the agile Japanese can be seen for the first time in 1989 at the IAA and the Geneva Motor Show. It went on sale in Europe a few months later in the spring of 1990. Initially, a 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder petrol engine with 110/115 hp from the 323 GT was used worldwide for propulsion. The first generation is produced almost unchanged for around eight years – including a small model maintenance, the biggest change taking place in the area of ​​motorization. In addition to a further 1.6 liter engine with 90 hp, which is to form the new entry-level engine, a 131 hp 1.9 liter engine is also available.

After 431,506 units, the second generation rolled out in March 1998 for, like eight years earlier, 35,500 marks. However, the pop-up headlights have given way to almond-shaped headlights. The middle generation is experiencing a total of two facelifts and a 146 hp special edition, with which the 200 kilometers per hour mark can now be cracked. By 2005 Mazda will be able to sell 291,123 second-generation MX-5 vehicles – 51,000 of them in Germany alone. In January 2007, the third generation received a sister variant, the Roadster Coupe, with an electrically foldable hardtop roof. After twelve seconds, the view of the sky is clear without affecting the already very small trunk. Mazda is the first manufacturer in the world to place the soft top behind the seats and not in the trunk. MX-5 customers can currently choose between two engines with 126 and 160 hp as well as two types of transmission for the 2.0-liter four-cylinder top engine.

In the meanwhile 32-year-old career of the little athlete, his external dimensions have changed only slightly. In 1989 it rolled out of the production halls with a length of 3.98 meters and a width of 1.68 meters, only a few centimeters have been added over the years. The same applies to its parade unit, the curb weight. Mainly due to the increase in security systems and modern technology, its weight of just under a ton, especially in the youngest generation, has only just slipped over the ton mark. If the soft top of the first generation can still be opened manually up to almost 60 km / h thanks to the removable rear window, this will be made much more difficult from April 1998 by a permanently installed and heated glass pane.

If you are looking for a classic of tomorrow today, you don’t have to surf the net for long, because the range is wide and good. The Mazda MX-5 is known in all generations for its solid quality. You can’t go wrong with the engine, body or electrics. One of the hot buying tips is the first generation MX-5 NA – often blue, red, silver or white. Particularly hot, however, as a “Limited Edition” painted in British Racing Green. Ideally particularly chic with a beige interior. Despite its almost biblical age of almost thirty years, the Nippon runabout is still a lot of fun today. With 85 kW / 115 PS and a weight of less than a ton, the MX-5 is anything but underpowered. However, the 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine is a real barrel organ. Almost nothing works below 4,000 revolutions, after all, the crankshaft whirls loosely up to 6,500 rpm. If it is absolutely necessary, it can also be a few more revolutions. Thank goodness the gearshift with the short gear lever is crisp and so the gear game is also fun.

If you are looking for a used car of the first generation, you should opt for a European model, because the American versions with the name Mazda Miata can bring expensive spare part surprises because many parts of the European models do not fit. There are beige-brown leather seats on request with boxes in the integrated headrests. You can’t go wrong with the engine either, and the 90 hp variant after the facelift has barely less pepper than the 115 hp starter model. The 131 hp version is really hot and difficult to drive at the limit, which makes the one-ton roadster dangerous, especially on wet roads. Caution: there are many EU imports on the market – often from Italy – that have neither airbags nor ABS. Better keep your hands off, because security is a priority, especially with such a small joker. If you find a good used car that only has a problem with the paintwork, the roof or the interior, you don’t have to worry. Skilled hobbyists can even change the single-layer PVC roof themselves, and covering the interior is anything but expensive. The same applies to painting. A better fun roadster in better quality for less money is hard to come by. A first-generation MX-5 NA and 66 kW / 90 PS starts with less than 150,000 kilometers after the facelift for around 6,000 euros. The successor MX-5 NB is even cheaper from 1998 and starts at around 4,000 euros. A fully equipped MX-5 NA with 131 hp with double airbags, ABS and possibly even air conditioning costs less than 60,000 kilometers but already over 16,000 euros.