MR2 v MX5 v MG F

unkel

py2006 wrote:

I did a quick look at cbg.ie and your talking 20,000 for a 91 reg.

You're looking at the wrong model

The SLK was introduced in 1996 and is the first car in the world with a retractable hard top

Ratchet

or you can just buy this little jap rocket which will make you smile everytime turbo kicks in.

ds20prefecture

unkel wrote:

The Honda S2000 is the only true sportscar of all the cars mentioned (although top speed same as merc and 0-100 less than a second quicker - to put things into perspective) but it is likely to be way out of your league to buy and insure...

Oh I think the Lotus Elan turbo could be classed as a sports car, even if it is FWD.

py2006

Ratchet wrote:

or you can just buy this little jap rocket which will make you smile everytime turbo kicks in.

Thats a nice mx5, is that your one?

Ratchet

it's suzuki cappuccino

not mine , was driving one just recently. great fun rwd rocket

parts are very expansive


http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/user_reviews/readReviews.aspx?deriv=8477&model=868&id=17625

py2006

Ratchet wrote:

it's suzuki cappuccino

not mine , was driving one just recently. great fun rwd rocket

parts are very expansive


http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/user_reviews/readReviews.aspx?deriv=8477&model=868&id=17625

Ahhhh, my bad! :rolleyes:

unkel

ds20prefecture wrote:

Oh I think the Lotus Elan turbo could be classed as a sports car, even if it is FWD.

Aye I missed that one. Able wee car but the price has always been wrong. Cost as much when introduced in the states as a 911 :rolleyes:

py2006

If only I could find an MR2 for about 17,000

Borzoi

py2006 wrote:

If only I could find an MR2 for about 17,000

It will be hard to find a good convertible at this time of year - most sellers will hold on untill after our so called summer. It took me about 8 months to find mine, at the right price, age, condition.

That was a over 4 years ago though, and though soft tops are more common, they're still not very common

py2006

Borzoi wrote:

It will be hard to find a good convertible at this time of year - most sellers will hold on untill after our so called summer. It took me about 8 months to find mine, at the right price, age, condition.

That was a over 4 years ago though, and though soft tops are more common, they're still not very common

8 months????? I would die!!

Ernie Ball

unkel wrote:

The Honda S2000 is the only true sportscar of all the cars mentioned

Define 'true sportscar,' your holiness...

Delta_ie

How can you NOT call the s2000 the only true sportscar there?

First the engine has about 240bhp and redlines at 9000rpm and all that from a 4 cylinder 2 litre engine, that I think is hand finished by Honda on every model.
Then the chassis has perfect 50:50 weight distribution with double wishbones, coils and an anti-roll bars, and a 6 speed transmission.
Then in the interior you got that pretty nice digital dash.

I am not saying that the other cars don't have elements of the s2000 but it is faster than the three cars mentioned above, plus I think it looks the best.

But out of the three cars mention it would have to be the mx-5 for me.

Also not trying to speak for unkel just giving my opinion...

bp_me

Delta_ie wrote:

How can you NOT call the s2000 the only true sportscar there?

First the engine has about 240bhp and redlines at 9000rpm and all that from a 4 cylinder 2 litre engine, that I think is hand finished by Honda on every model.
Then the chassis has perfect 50:50 weight distribution with double wishbones, coils and an anti-roll bars, and a 6 speed transmission.
Then in the interior you got that pretty nice digital dash.

I am not saying that the other cars don't have elements of the s2000 but it is faster than the three cars mentioned above, plus I think it looks the best.

But out of the three cars mention it would have to be the mx-5 for me.

Also not trying to speak for unkel just giving my opinion...

Of course, that 240hp is only if you are running on unleaded 98 (or better). Something which is getting harder (or almost impossible) to find.

Delta_ie

Ya, but you are still looking at 200hp+ with 95, the drop in power is not that large on a production NA car.

Ernie Ball

No question the S2000 is a better performing car than the others (at twice the price, mind). It's a leap from there to say that it's the only 'true sportscar' of the group. The others are also 'true sportscars' by any reasonable definition.

py2006

hey guys, stick to the topic here.

I'm all about Mazda MX5's and Toyota MR2's at the moment.

ambro25

I drive that:



around Dublin. Just reg'd it IE last month. '98, 1.8i, 130 bhp, 44 kmiles.

Absolutely the bestest car ever, IMO - and I have had some (other currently is a 2.0 Impreza, and I have also owned a Delta Integrale, amongst others of note). Still on same set of tyres 3 years and 12k miles on, passed first NCT last month with flying colours with just a dust/polish/oil change since last service 6k miles ago... it's just...well, how to put it... hard to described in words, simply: it justs puts a smile on the face no matter what! Kids adore it, pulling factor is in the cosmic range (ignore the hairdresser-type comments - only jealous people, BUT BE READY FOR GRIEF once you drive around in that, you just wouldn't believe the hardship in that respect).

I've test-driven the MG, MR2 (in yellow, which didn't help) and battled with those and a few Elises on European M'ways.
_The MG I found uninvolving (but it was a stock version, perhaps the MG-'tweaked' one (MG-Z or somesuch) is fun?)
_The MR2 was fun but a LOT less practical than the MX5 (inasmuch as you can say anything's practical about these), storage-wise and it felt more 'plasticky' (though my MX is walnut dash/leather, a bit biased admittedly) + wind buffering was more severe AND car does not keep you as warm in mid-season when top is down.

Pissed on any of them in 'brawls', and bettered a fair few of the Elises, which admittedly accelerate harder, but the 1.8i MX has 'longer legs' (135 mph speedo - scary thing with roof down and no helmet, I tell thee ).

I could go on and on and on... well, that's my input

Ernie Ball

ambro25 wrote:

Pissed on any of them in 'brawls', and bettered a fair few of the Elises

If you 'pissed on' either an MR2 or an Elise with your MX5, it's only because the person driving the other car didn't know what he was doing. Both of those cars have superior acceleration and straight-line speed to the MX5. The MR2 is 3/4 of a second faster than the 1.8l MX5 going 0-60 according to Road and Track magazine (7.3 vs. 8.0). The Elise would be at least another second faster than that. The MR2 is half a second faster on the quarter mile than the MX5 (15.6 seconds v 16.1). For what it's worth, it also has much shorter braking distances (60-0 in an incredible 115 feet vs. 150 feet for the MX5).

I can accept that there is not a lot of difference between the MR2 and the MX5 and I take the point about practicality. But I think every review you'll find will confirm that the MR2 outperforms the MX5 as a pure driving machine.

ssh

I'd definitely weigh in in favour of the SLK... I've had a 230K for 6 months now. It's very fast, looks great with both the roof up and down (which I can't totally say of the Mx-5), handles incredibly well, has a hard-top that is automatically folded into the boot in about 25 seconds. By merc standards, it's quite light too. It's a wonderful car, the only bad thing I can say about it is the automatic transmission, but that's just my preference.

I'm sure you could get one over from the UK for 16 or 17k all in.

py2006

ambro25 wrote:

I drive that:



around Dublin. Just reg'd it IE last month. '98, 1.8i, 130 bhp, 44 kmiles.

Absolutely the bestest car ever, IMO - and I have had some (other currently is a 2.0 Impreza, and I have also owned a Delta Integrale, amongst others of note). Still on same set of tyres 3 years and 12k miles on, passed first NCT last month with flying colours with just a dust/polish/oil change since last service 6k miles ago... it's just...well, how to put it... hard to described in words, simply: it justs puts a smile on the face no matter what! Kids adore it, pulling factor is in the cosmic range (ignore the hairdresser-type comments - only jealous people, BUT BE READY FOR GRIEF once you drive around in that, you just wouldn't believe the hardship in that respect).

I've test-driven the MG, MR2 (in yellow, which didn't help) and battled with those and a few Elises on European M'ways.
_The MG I found uninvolving (but it was a stock version, perhaps the MG-'tweaked' one (MG-Z or somesuch) is fun?)
_The MR2 was fun but a LOT less practical than the MX5 (inasmuch as you can say anything's practical about these), storage-wise and it felt more 'plasticky' (though my MX is walnut dash/leather, a bit biased admittedly) + wind buffering was more severe AND car does not keep you as warm in mid-season when top is down.

Pissed on any of them in 'brawls', and bettered a fair few of the Elises, which admittedly accelerate harder, but the 1.8i MX has 'longer legs' (135 mph speedo - scary thing with roof down and no helmet, I tell thee ).

I could go on and on and on... well, that's my input

Wow, thanks for the response dude!

I saw 3 MX5's yesterday, each of them had 2 women in them! It got me thinking "Oh god, I cant be driving one of them, the abuse I would get". So I started leaning more towards a '00 MR2 which is quite costly at approx. €20,000.

But I have to admit the MX5 is classier looking. The MR2 is more sporty looking or something. Its really nice and all but not sure I can afford it.

I guess I am still undecided.

prospect

py2006 wrote:

Oh god, I cant be driving one of them, the abuse I would get".

How 'girly' is this?:

http://www.tuningshop.co.uk/acatalog/MX5__Hero_5_Styling_.html

Ernie Ball

prospect wrote:

How 'girly' is this?:

http://www.tuningshop.co.uk/acatalog/MX5__Hero_5_Styling_.html

Slightly less girly than this:

prospect

Ernie Ball wrote:

Slightly less girly than this:

LOL

And what exactly is wrong with it ??

In all fairness, paint ANY car pink and it'll look pathetic. I mean who does that?

py2006

prospect wrote:

How 'girly' is this?:

http://www.tuningshop.co.uk/acatalog/MX5__Hero_5_Styling_.html

I didn't think that one was too girly

That pink barbie piece of crap certainly is

Ernie Ball

OK. How about this one then?:

Ernie Ball

prospect wrote:

LOL

And what exactly is wrong with it ??

In all fairness, paint ANY car pink and it'll look pathetic. I mean who does that?

The real question is: what is it about that car that makes people want to paint it pink?

A challenge: find me a picture of a pink S2000 or Mk 3 MR2 on the web.

Dades

Ernie Ball wrote:

A challenge: find me a picture of a pink S2000 or Mk 3 MR2 on the web.

Was this not in your driveway this morning...?

prospect

Ernie Ball wrote:

The real question is: what is it about that car that makes people want to paint it pink?

A challenge: find me a picture of a pink S2000 or Mk 3 MR2 on the web.

Deviating from the point a bit, but i get where you are coming from.

But lets face it. The MK1 MX-5 is a modern classic. It is THE BEST SELLING SPORTS CAR EVER - NO EXCEPTIONS. There is a reason for this.
Fine, I will not even begin to argue the performance stats regarding 0-60 or 1/4 mile times, compared to an MR2 or especially an S2000.
(But lets eliminate the S2000, it is in a different category. I mean if we are going to cross price brackets, sure why don't we include the 911 turbo ec. etc.)

My arguement for the MX is that it is, beautifully designed, extremely reliable, reasonably pratical, well priced, fantastic to drive, and without doubt the best handling car i have ever driven (perfect 50:50 front rear weight distribution).

With regards to Girly image, i think all small sports cars have that image. MR2 (particularly the current model), MX5, MG, SLK, Z3, Z4, Megane Coupe, 206 Coupe and on and on and on... They all have the girly image!

But i don't care, because unlike any other i have driven, every time i drive the MX i have a beeming smile because of its charm, involvement, response, handling, performance and I just love rear wheel drive
A truely, truely, fantastic classic.
In fact, i think i'll go for a spin right now, ha. Oh no, wait, i brought the bloody Megane in today

Ernie Ball

The Atheist wrote:

Was this not in your driveway this morning...?

My precious!

Dades

prospect wrote:

With regards to Girly image, i think all small sports cars have that image. MR2 (particularly the current model), MX5, MG, SLK, Z3, Z4, Megane Coupe, 206 Coupe and on and on and on... They all have the girly image!

I agree - no one more than the other IMO. (Actually maybe the 206 is more girly...)

But the image is only in the eyes of those who don't have one, but secretly want one.

Sports cars are small - cabrios are great fun - what are ya gonna do?