With more than 850,000 examples sold, we sent Rod Ker to find out what it is that makes the MX-5 so popular

Victorious or not, Britain was in a bad way by the time the Second World War ended. Roads falling apart, factories now piles of rubble, raw materials in short supply. Almost as soon as the shooting had stopped, however, our car manufacturers were putting on a brave face and gearing up for production. Thanks to engineers who had looked to the future and found time to divert their attention from the war effort in the past couple of years, some ‘new’ models were announced within days. Most of these were thinly-disguised versions of 1930s designs, admittedly, but there were great things in store.

Notably, Alec Issigonis was already developing the car that became the Morris Minor, and up in Coventry William Lyons and the Jaguar team were planning to amaze the world with a luxury saloon powered by a twin-overhead cam six-cylinder engine. In the event, the fruits of both labours arrived at the 1948 Motor Show. In one corner of Earl’s Court was the revolutionary Minor, while nearby stood Jaguar’s stunner. But it wasn’t a big saloon, it was a sports car, put together in a rush as a way of showing off the new engine.

Having spotted that this story is supposed to be about the Mazda MX-5, you’re probably thinking: ‘So what?’ Well, the point is that the XK120’s unexpected success sowed the seeds for a period in which the vast majority of sports cars came with a Made In England label. Apart from the mainstream Austin-Healeys, Triumph TRs and Spitfires, MGs little and large, Jaguar XKs and E-Types, a host of smaller specialists sprang up, some of which went on to great things. And some of which didn’t. Americans in particular bought our sports cars in huge quantities, while apparently being incapable of making anything similar themselves. And despite various industrial upheavals, we monopolised the market right up until 1969 when Datsun launched the 240Z, which sold like proverbial hotcakes. In fact, a year later second hand examples were worth more than new ones. Luckily, a soft top version wasn’t available, so sales of BL’s ageing MGB, Midget and Spitfire continued to be healthy, even though the company that made them was going downhill fast.

At end of the 1970s Leyland was in crisis and its dynamic new boss, (Sir) Michael Edwardes, had to make some big decisions to have any hope of keeping the business afl oat. It was duly announced that the Abingdon factory, legendary home of MG, had to shut down. The beloved B and Midget would therefore be no more. Meanwhile, in another corner of the crumbling empire, the Triumph Spitfire was also about to be axed. After 1980, the only mass-produced sports car left in the arsenal would be the TR7, as launched to groans of dismay in 1975. Recent decapitation of Harris Mann’s ‘controversial’ wedge styling and the belated appearance of a V8 version gave us some hope, but what were the legions of traditional MG customers going to ruffle their toupees in now?

Quite a few probably bought open TR7s, and a handful managed to get their hands on TR8s before yet another BL crisis resulted in Triumph’s death, but after 1983 there was really nothing similar on the market apart from the Reliant SS1.

EASTERN PROMISE
Typically, it was the Japanese who realised what was missing and acted accordingly, hence the 1989 arrival of the Mazda MX-5. In fact, the idea of producing a ‘Lightweight Sportscar’ had been kicking around since 1979, when an American motoring journalist named Bob Hall suggested it to Mazda’s high command. A year or two later, the notion began to turn into metal but there were some false starts and blind alleys in the development path.

Although Mazda is certainly a Japanese company, much of the R&D tends to happen elsewhere, especially in sunny California. In this case there was also a significant British input (hurrah!), because the firm commissioned to turn ideas into a working prototype was IAD, based in good old Worthing, Sussex. The finished article, codenamed V705, was ready in late 1985 and Mazda’s wallahs flew to Blighty to drive it at glamorous, sun-kissed Chobham – an MoD test facility familiar to anyone who’s looked at the pictures in a car magazine during the last few decades. The initial impression was mixed, so V705 was despatched to America for further consideration, then on to Mazda HQ in Hiroshima.

The decision to go into production came in early 1986. In essence, the car would be like a Midget or Sprite: simple, cheap, cheerful, open-topped, rear wheel drive, with a four-cylinder engine. It also had to be relatively modest in performance, because otherwise younger drivers wouldn’t be able to find insurance at a reasonable price. To keep costs down, the chosen powerplant was the 1600cc twin-cam four-cylinder used in the 323, tuned to produce about 115bhp, and hooked up to a five-speed gearbox controlled by a stubby little lever.

While the Midget and MGB may have been the inspiration, Mazda definitely wouldn’t have been satisfied with such a primitive chassis, so the MX-5 came with double-wishbone suspension all round, with a novel aluminium central spar connecting the engine and differential. While the old Lotus Elan also had a backbone, it would be a mistake to think the two had much in common, apart from pop-up headlights.

Ironically, at about the same time as the Mazda was being unveiled at the 1989 Chicago show, Lotus finally launched the New Elan, which surprised everyone by having front wheel drive. Comparisons were inevitable. The Lotus was faster, especially in turbo form, and had handling that almost seemed to defy the laws of physics, but the Mazda was probably more fun to drive. It was also cheaper, although the difference in Britain was smaller than it should have been, because the UK importer pitched the MX-5 at nearly £15,000, about twice the going rate in America. This didn’t seem to put people off, however, and the car was an instant worldwide hit. As we know, the little Mazda in its various forms went on to become a firm fixture in the shopping list of all those disaffected MG and Triumph customers, establishing it as the best-selling sports roadster of all time; official.

FAMILY AFFAIR
So who buys an MX-5? Almost anyone who doesn’t want a boring tin box is the answer, although there’s no doubt that a good proportion are people who like traditional classics but who wish to avoid the rusty, unreliable downside.

For instance, the black one seen here was for several years the property of someone who had owned a succession of British sports cars since the 1960s. Spitfires, Sprites, Midgets, Triumph TRs, Lotuses, TVRs, MGBs – you name it, he’s probably run it at some time. But more recently this same slightly older gent, who it can be revealed is Donald Ker, my uncle, had gone a bit soft and succumbed to a couple of hatchbacks.

Efficient and economical though they were, these euroboxes were hardly a substitute for the carefree ragtops of his distant youth. So, after briefly toying with and rejecting the idea of buying a ‘real’ classic again, the ersatz Eastern version sprang to mind. As mentioned, Mazda priced UK MXs high from the beginning, and depreciation rates were always low, so the model has never really qualified as cheap to buy. Even the arrival of thousands of imported Eunoses (Eunosi? Eunoseri? Eunoseroses?) has somehow failed to depress prices much, with the result that genuinely good early cars still cost over £2000. And don’t expect them to get much cheaper, because the Mk I might easily appreciate, if it isn’t already, simply because lots of people prefer the looks to the later models.

It’s often said that Japanese imports don’t benefit from the extra rust prevention treatment given to UK models. This point is disputed by those who claim that this myth was spread around by those who had a vested interest in keeping prices of ‘official’ cars high. You also have to consider whether a car that has spent its life on wet, salty roads will be in better condition than one that’s done perhaps a third as many miles on dry roads.

The jury’s still out on that subject, but in most respects there’s no great drawback to having a Eunos instead of an MX. Indeed, it may be to your advantage because Japanese home market cars usually come with all sorts of extras not available here. Air-conditioning is one benefit – quite rare on any vehicle outside the executive class in the first half of the 1990s. There are those who may wonder why anyone would want such an effete piece of nonsense in an open sports car. But let’s be realistic, there are times when even supertuff he-men prefer to drive with unsteamed windows. On a hot day, it’s also refreshing to be able to blow ice-cool air around the cabin.

Having heard that he’d bought it, my first encounter with Uncle Don’s Eunos happened on a cold day with an occasional burst of drizzle thrown in for fun. Being wimps, we left the hood firmly in place during the early miles.

Open or closed, you will appreciate that the MX is easy to climb into (anyone who’s ever tried to enter or exit from a current-type Lotus Elise will appreciate this!) and has a snug but not cramped cabin. The Mk I’s retro interior has been accused of feeling and looking a bit cheap, and it’s true that some of the plastics used don’t ooze quality, but it’s surely more practical stuff in an open car than leather and wood. The only piece of forest that suffered in the making of this particular car’s interior was the bit for the Nardi steering wheel rim.

LUST FOR POWER
For a low-slung roadster, the view out is generally quite panoramic, spoiled slightly in this case by a yellowing plastic rear window. Hoods can be replaced easily enough, so no great problem. Just remember that while the later 1998-on model may be a bit lardier and less pretty, it does have a glass back window. Mk II hoods can be fitted to Mk Is, incidentally.

All the early models came with a 1598cc twin-cam four, but in response to widespread lust for more power, a 1.8-litre (actually 1839cc) was available from 1993. The quoted bhp figure only rose by about 10 per cent, the main advantage being an extra dollop of torque at lower revs, making the speed more accessible. Inevitably, though, the bigger engine wasn’t quite as sweet as the 1.6-litre. Fired into action, long-stroke four’s tone is quite gruff and not entirely smooth. You might call this sporty character, and Mazda certainly went to a lot of trouble to make the car feel and sound right, but somehow you just don’t expect this sort of thing on a Japanese car! At low revs the backing track is reminiscent of an Alfa twin-cam, and no doubt the long-running Spider was among the models used for inspiration.

Another way of looking at it is to make a comparison with the MGB’s ancient ohv lump. Rest assured that the MX-5 sounds and feels a lot more sophisticated -- the higher the revs, the more the difference shows. That shouldn’t really be a surprise, of course, because the B-series has a late-Forties heritage and was originally intended to power a plodding saloon, before eventually being modified and expanded to 1800cc to go in the MGB.

While we’re making odorous comparisons, something else that feels more sophisticated is the suspension. The Mazda’s ‘classic’ double wishbones all-round set-up is a world apart from the MGB’s primitive system, especially at the back end. Even the most ardent Octagonalist would have to admit that a live rear axle located by a couple of cart springs and damped by lever-arms isn’t perfect.

Funnily enough, though, this Mazda, running on wider MazdaSpeed wheels and lower profile than standard rubber, probably didn’t ride as well as a B on its trad high-walled rubber. Well, not at low speed, at least, when the tyres are responsible for filtering out minor surface imperfections and the bumps aren’t violent enough to make the suspension work hard. It’s therefore possible that in some ways you might prefer driving an MGB around town, although some will find the steering harder work (the vast majority of MX-5s have PAS).

TOP DOWN
Rain doesn’t touch you in a moving convertible, so once the heater had started to pump out some warm air there was no excuse not to lower the hood. This takes seconds in an MX: undo two catches on the header rail and swing it backwards. To be kind to PVC, it’s advisable to unzip the rear window and fold it flat onto the rear shelf first in cold weather, though.

The weather might not have been perfect, but the little Mazda is transformed with the top down. In that respect it’s exactly the same as any classic British roadster. MX-5s aren’t rattly with the roof in place, like a ragtop Triumph or MG, but they were so obviously intended to be used in open mode. All the unpleasant sounds are left behind, leaving the swish of the wind and the rasp of the exhaust.

Once over the low-speed jitters, the ride improves. In fact, nearly everything gets better as speed rises. The MX-5 has won plenty of handling contests in modern car mags, not because it’s incredibly fast round a racetrack, more because it’s so controllable and fun on real-world roads. The key here is rear wheel drive, balanced weight distribution being an additional ingredient that tends to be the happy result of putting the engine at the front and the driven axle at the back. You don’t really appreciate just how good it is until you get straight into something else.

MX-5s quickly established a reputation for bulletproof reliability. You simply open the door, get in, turn the key and go, until the tank needs refilling, the only maintenance necessary being an occasional check on fluid levels and tyre pressures; 200,000 miles without major work is common, but it’s wise to change the cam belt and pulleys at 60k intervals.

Long ago, I came to the conclusion that an MX-5 should be the next car I buy instead of yet another old British banger. And in 2009 it finally happened, when Uncle Don unfortunately had to give up driving. Sadly, the Eunos had to go, so who better to take over?

Nine months later, I’m very pleased to have kept the car in the family. A new hood is on the shopping list, but apart from changing the oil and filter absolutely nothing has needed attention. If all classics were this dependable, we’d have a lot less to write about.

SPECIALISTS

• MX-5 Owners Club 0845 601 4231
• David Manners 0121 5444040
• Scimitar International 0845 345 2384
• MX-5 City 0845 2300 856
• Everything MX5.com 01708 754882
• Dandy Cars 0845 450 4589
• MX-5 Heaven 01305 268149
• Paul Sheard MX-5 01260 279 797
• Autolink 01489 877770
• Hayward Rotary 01302 726763

Published in the Spring 2010 issue of Classic Car Mart.

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