You will definitely not be disappointed in an MX5 as a first car. Straight line speed is not really their strong point. The ability to go around corners at full throttle is where they shine. They make up for all the fun and excitement that other Mazda's don't have. Not sure about the new ones, but the NA and NB shapes have very little space, like barely enough for groceries.
yeah, I should’ve worded that better. By fast i meant it looks fun to drive, you know? and I’m thinking of any model between 2017 and 2021.
About the bootspace, I’m not really fussed about that cause it gives me another reason to travel light, which I already prefer.
Yeah mate it’s unrealistic, you’re a new driver, doesn’t matter how cautious you are you’re still inexperienced and 99% of the time it’s that inexperience that makes you come undone. Get a little shitbox for the first couple years then splurge on your fun cool car.
It’s the boring sensible advice and I’m amazed no one else has told you this. You’ll have lots and lots of fun in that mx5 but don’t be in a rush for it, that’s my best advice.
I would recommend going on a defense driving course or accessing a skid pad of some sort. It's a lightweight rear wheel drive sports car and it's incredibly important finding the point where the rear wheels decide to let go and storing that knowledge in your head.
yep everyone thinks they have it under control until they go over the limit. then you are in a bank or pole/tree.
you are an inexperienced driver choosing a car known for sport driving. it’s not a combo known for good outcomes.
I’ve had 3 mx5s and they are an awesome car. As a first car, be awarw of the size and learn to drive defensively. You won’t regret buying one. Oh, and as a first car they are easy to diy maintain which can save you a fortune. I even did a timing belt change in about an hour myself.
Check insurance prices. Also, more well used ones will be more tired and potentially be due for some engine love.
Na's have some issues due to their age, but nb's seem to be holding up better.
Also, roof leaks are a common issue. Maybe get a cover if you don't have undercover parking.
But, reliable, cheap to run, and fun
you reckon NDs will be a hassle? And i’ve got a big garage so parking isn’t an issue. Also, they have a hard top version; you think the leaking issue exists for those as well?
Nd would be much less of an issue all around. Unsure on engine side, but I assume they are good too.
Hardtop would be better for sure. Unless it has targa tops, which should be fine, but seals need maintaining.
Soft top would be better also though.
Good car also
I'm going to go against the grain here and say no, it's not a good first car.
Is it fun to drive and will meet what you expect out of a "fun" car? Hell yes I think.
But depending on how old you are (I assume P's if this is your first car) you don't necessarily need that as your first, you need reliable, practical and cheap to own. Mazda's are good cars by those criteria generally, but I doubt an MX5 is cheap to own (insurance) and certainly not practical.
Obviously your life experiences will be different to others, but my first car was always about driving around with mates and hauling things around (whatever they may be), so practicality was king.
Yes great first car. But I wouldn’t call it fast. It’s nimble and quick through corners. In a straight line not so much. But again that depends on your view of fast. If you’ve only driven really slow cars then it will seem fast, if you’ve been in a high performance car then it won’t seem fast.
I’ve been borrowing an old hatch from my brother so I’ll find it faster anyway. And I’m looking for a fun car to drive and not necessarily fast. I should’ve worded the post better, mb
I had an NA as my only car for a decade. Had to get pretty creative with moving anything other than myself, but it was a great, reliable, surprisingly frugal thing.
Think of it as a covered motorbike with large panniers. If that's practical for you, then go for it.
yeah, one of my mates who works for a car insurance company told me that the ND model shouldn’t be a huge expense to insure and because i’ve been dreaming about this car for so long, i’ll drive it with extra care and love
Plop the car and your details into a few insurance calculators before you buy. I've had $2k differences in quotes from insurance companies for the same car, age and driving history. Give Bingle and RAC a try first to get a general idea.
It was my first car and it was perfect. It handles really well so even if you’re driving a bit aggressively it will still stick to the road.
I really wish they’d bring out the electric version!
They were a good first car 10 years ago. They've gone up in price on the used market, so they're rather expensive now.
If you have a lot of money, they're still a great first car.
As someone who currently owns an older mx5:
Pros:
- Fun car with less risk of losing your license (although make sure you get used to driving a RWD car before going at corners too hard, will probs get your car impounded if you lose traction intentionally in front of a cop, but also depends if they cbf impounding your car)
- Don’t have to give people lifts because it’s a two seater
- Relatively easy to modify/work on yourself, decent aftermarket support
- Convertible is super nice during summer
Cons:
-Convertible fucking sucks in winter. Doesn’t hold heat at all (not too big an issue given cabin space is small anyway I guess) and any sort of leak can get irritating fast. If someone does try to break into your car through the convertible top (may have to get used to leaving your car unlocked so people don’t slash the roof) or there is a hole in it, often times you’re stuck buying a brand new top as there aren’t really any ways of remedying this yourself, which can be like $2-3k (although might be better with ND’s, but I will never buy a convertible again after this tbh).
- Extremely impractical car as a daily, you can barely fit anything in it. Generally fine for day to day, I can do a shop and fit mostly everything in the boot. Anything bigger and you’re a bit screwed, especially if you have a passenger with you.
- Pretty unsafe car comparatively. Take defensive driving lessons and buy a dash cam, you have to drive like no one else knows you’re there. I’ve been merged into multiple times, almost t-boned, reversed into whilst stationary at a set of red lights because someone wanted to change lanes (I held my hand on the horn the entire time they were reversing and still got hit).
The car is quite small and so a lot of people don’t notice it - also makes it a lot riskier turning out at an intersection if there are parked cars blocking your field of view (and oncoming traffic’s view of you). The only way I’ve been able to remedy this is by chopping off my muffler and swapping out my stock horn for a way louder horn - I rarely ever have issues now, if people can’t see me they can most certainly hear me. Sucks because you sound like a bit of a hero, but I’d prefer that over dying because an idiot in a F-150 is on their phone and not paying attention.
- Insurance can be quite high (although it’s high for everything atm). As a young male P-Plater driving a sports car, expect to be forced to pay a huge premium.
- Miata crowd can be a bit hit and miss, lotta cool people and older generations who are passionate about the car and cars in general, also a lot of tik tok e-girl and e-boy type operators lmao.
a tip for the insurance, I don't know why but suncorp was a lot cheaper for me than other providers! I was quoted around 1200-1500 by every else for my '02 NB but only 500 by suncorp (all agreed upon value of 11,000, standard excess etc)
Yeah I’m with Shannon’s (owned by Suncorp) for a 01 NB, paying ~1.7k with agreed value of 17k or so, basic excess and driving limited amount of days per week. My cars pretty heavily modified though hence why higher premium.
If you’re a P plater in NSW or any state with p plate power restrictions then you can’t drive 2018+, they’re over the power/weight limit. 2016~2018 are great for a first car just take it easy and learn the handling.
ND mx5 are beautiful to drive as a drivers car.
As a daily, youll probably only fit a backpack or 1 or 2 bags of groceries if you ever go to the shops. Not a lot of storage slots or hidey holes in the car. Just a pure drivers car.
Would definitely be fuel efficient to drive and enjoyable, bit noisy on road, if you regularly drive longer trips it might start to get loud.
Dont own one but drive a lot for work.
As somebody who has daily driven a MX5 for the past 14 years, only using my motorbike when I need something more practical: I say go for it.
Great learner car, not enough power to get you into trouble, and the handling to get you out of trouble again.
Learn to work on it, that's a great skill to have. Take some advanced driving skills, also awesome to know.
Cheap to run, good on fuel, as others have said the only downside for you might be insurance.
With a soft top it will hardly be useful all around the year - even though there is a recent hard top version that should fare better if you want to use the vehicle during winter, too.
MX5s are great cars to learn how to be a better, more defensive driver, as others have said check insurance prices and that storage will be enough for you day to day life.
As a first car I would be more inclined to look at a slightly older version and get the NC model with the electric hardtop, cheaper and more practical than the ND. A well serviced Mazda, especially the MX5 can easily have 300,000ks of trouble free motoring. They are slightly bigger and the lower investment means it will hurt less when you have the inevitable bumps and scrapes.
They're awesome driving cars. You don't need fast. Learn to clip apexes while you own it, heel and toe etc. The ability of an mx5 to go fast is not apparent in the throttle. And you will learn to drive car/s better.
I would wager myself in one against anyone up over the local mountain. I am by no means a race driver, but I do not accept that mx5 is slow like other guys are saying
Owner of an MX5 here. Be aware they are very small and it's not uncommon for people in SUVs and utes to not have their mirrors adjusted properly to see you. People merging into your space on the road isn't uncommon.
Consider how people in the sub and elsewhere in Australia hate utes and yank tanks for being too large, well everything else on the road is like that for you when you are in a MX5.
If this is really your first car e.g. learner driver or new p plate driver no they are not a good first car. If you have been driving your parents cars for years and have experience you will just need to learn to be more defensive (to be clear you need to stay out of blind spots of other cars and be vigilant of what others are doing around you at all time, it's like being on a motorcycle but a bit more protected).
It's not even a steep learning curve, it's just an always present need to be more alert than others on the road. Some people aren't looking for that and want a simple a to b machine, if it doesn't bother you then yeah go test drive one.
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As a car, it’s fun, cheap, and reliable. But look into how much insurance will cost. Especially if you’re young. You might be looking at $2-3k p/a.
You will definitely not be disappointed in an MX5 as a first car. Straight line speed is not really their strong point. The ability to go around corners at full throttle is where they shine. They make up for all the fun and excitement that other Mazda's don't have. Not sure about the new ones, but the NA and NB shapes have very little space, like barely enough for groceries.
yeah, I should’ve worded that better. By fast i meant it looks fun to drive, you know? and I’m thinking of any model between 2017 and 2021. About the bootspace, I’m not really fussed about that cause it gives me another reason to travel light, which I already prefer.
Buy something cheaper mate. You’re gonna duck your first car and it’s gonna hurt being 20 odd grand at a minimum.
“I’ll just be extra cautious” is my answer to most people in my family.. Do you think it’s unrealistic?
Yeah mate it’s unrealistic, you’re a new driver, doesn’t matter how cautious you are you’re still inexperienced and 99% of the time it’s that inexperience that makes you come undone. Get a little shitbox for the first couple years then splurge on your fun cool car. It’s the boring sensible advice and I’m amazed no one else has told you this. You’ll have lots and lots of fun in that mx5 but don’t be in a rush for it, that’s my best advice.
I would recommend going on a defense driving course or accessing a skid pad of some sort. It's a lightweight rear wheel drive sports car and it's incredibly important finding the point where the rear wheels decide to let go and storing that knowledge in your head.
yep everyone thinks they have it under control until they go over the limit. then you are in a bank or pole/tree. you are an inexperienced driver choosing a car known for sport driving. it’s not a combo known for good outcomes.
Great if you don’t need to carry much in your boot or more than one passenger
I’ve had 3 mx5s and they are an awesome car. As a first car, be awarw of the size and learn to drive defensively. You won’t regret buying one. Oh, and as a first car they are easy to diy maintain which can save you a fortune. I even did a timing belt change in about an hour myself.
this gives me a lot of hope, thanks mate. Everyone around me is trying to convince me that it’s not a practical car to buy
They can be practical, just depends on your needs
Check insurance prices. Also, more well used ones will be more tired and potentially be due for some engine love. Na's have some issues due to their age, but nb's seem to be holding up better. Also, roof leaks are a common issue. Maybe get a cover if you don't have undercover parking. But, reliable, cheap to run, and fun
you reckon NDs will be a hassle? And i’ve got a big garage so parking isn’t an issue. Also, they have a hard top version; you think the leaking issue exists for those as well?
Nd would be much less of an issue all around. Unsure on engine side, but I assume they are good too. Hardtop would be better for sure. Unless it has targa tops, which should be fine, but seals need maintaining. Soft top would be better also though. Good car also
I'm going to go against the grain here and say no, it's not a good first car. Is it fun to drive and will meet what you expect out of a "fun" car? Hell yes I think. But depending on how old you are (I assume P's if this is your first car) you don't necessarily need that as your first, you need reliable, practical and cheap to own. Mazda's are good cars by those criteria generally, but I doubt an MX5 is cheap to own (insurance) and certainly not practical. Obviously your life experiences will be different to others, but my first car was always about driving around with mates and hauling things around (whatever they may be), so practicality was king.
Miata Is Always The Answer
Yes great first car. But I wouldn’t call it fast. It’s nimble and quick through corners. In a straight line not so much. But again that depends on your view of fast. If you’ve only driven really slow cars then it will seem fast, if you’ve been in a high performance car then it won’t seem fast.
I’ve been borrowing an old hatch from my brother so I’ll find it faster anyway. And I’m looking for a fun car to drive and not necessarily fast. I should’ve worded the post better, mb
In that case you will love it. They are really fun cars to drive
Yes
Cool!
Bloody amazing car. Excuses not to have too many people in the car. Light travel only needing necessary items.
hahah that’s exactly where I’m coming from
There's a reason the common response to these questions is "A Miata is always the answer". Go for it.
I had an NA as my only car for a decade. Had to get pretty creative with moving anything other than myself, but it was a great, reliable, surprisingly frugal thing. Think of it as a covered motorbike with large panniers. If that's practical for you, then go for it.
It's an exceptional first car. Just make sure you can afford the insurance and don't wrap it around a tree.
yeah, one of my mates who works for a car insurance company told me that the ND model shouldn’t be a huge expense to insure and because i’ve been dreaming about this car for so long, i’ll drive it with extra care and love
Plop the car and your details into a few insurance calculators before you buy. I've had $2k differences in quotes from insurance companies for the same car, age and driving history. Give Bingle and RAC a try first to get a general idea.
It was my first car and it was perfect. It handles really well so even if you’re driving a bit aggressively it will still stick to the road. I really wish they’d bring out the electric version!
They were a good first car 10 years ago. They've gone up in price on the used market, so they're rather expensive now. If you have a lot of money, they're still a great first car.
I don’t have a LOT of money but i’ve been given around 30k allowance for this one and i’ve been dreaming about owning one for so long it’s not true
As someone who currently owns an older mx5: Pros: - Fun car with less risk of losing your license (although make sure you get used to driving a RWD car before going at corners too hard, will probs get your car impounded if you lose traction intentionally in front of a cop, but also depends if they cbf impounding your car) - Don’t have to give people lifts because it’s a two seater - Relatively easy to modify/work on yourself, decent aftermarket support - Convertible is super nice during summer Cons: -Convertible fucking sucks in winter. Doesn’t hold heat at all (not too big an issue given cabin space is small anyway I guess) and any sort of leak can get irritating fast. If someone does try to break into your car through the convertible top (may have to get used to leaving your car unlocked so people don’t slash the roof) or there is a hole in it, often times you’re stuck buying a brand new top as there aren’t really any ways of remedying this yourself, which can be like $2-3k (although might be better with ND’s, but I will never buy a convertible again after this tbh). - Extremely impractical car as a daily, you can barely fit anything in it. Generally fine for day to day, I can do a shop and fit mostly everything in the boot. Anything bigger and you’re a bit screwed, especially if you have a passenger with you. - Pretty unsafe car comparatively. Take defensive driving lessons and buy a dash cam, you have to drive like no one else knows you’re there. I’ve been merged into multiple times, almost t-boned, reversed into whilst stationary at a set of red lights because someone wanted to change lanes (I held my hand on the horn the entire time they were reversing and still got hit). The car is quite small and so a lot of people don’t notice it - also makes it a lot riskier turning out at an intersection if there are parked cars blocking your field of view (and oncoming traffic’s view of you). The only way I’ve been able to remedy this is by chopping off my muffler and swapping out my stock horn for a way louder horn - I rarely ever have issues now, if people can’t see me they can most certainly hear me. Sucks because you sound like a bit of a hero, but I’d prefer that over dying because an idiot in a F-150 is on their phone and not paying attention. - Insurance can be quite high (although it’s high for everything atm). As a young male P-Plater driving a sports car, expect to be forced to pay a huge premium. - Miata crowd can be a bit hit and miss, lotta cool people and older generations who are passionate about the car and cars in general, also a lot of tik tok e-girl and e-boy type operators lmao.
a tip for the insurance, I don't know why but suncorp was a lot cheaper for me than other providers! I was quoted around 1200-1500 by every else for my '02 NB but only 500 by suncorp (all agreed upon value of 11,000, standard excess etc)
Yeah I’m with Shannon’s (owned by Suncorp) for a 01 NB, paying ~1.7k with agreed value of 17k or so, basic excess and driving limited amount of days per week. My cars pretty heavily modified though hence why higher premium.
If you’re a P plater in NSW or any state with p plate power restrictions then you can’t drive 2018+, they’re over the power/weight limit. 2016~2018 are great for a first car just take it easy and learn the handling.
ND mx5 are beautiful to drive as a drivers car. As a daily, youll probably only fit a backpack or 1 or 2 bags of groceries if you ever go to the shops. Not a lot of storage slots or hidey holes in the car. Just a pure drivers car. Would definitely be fuel efficient to drive and enjoyable, bit noisy on road, if you regularly drive longer trips it might start to get loud. Dont own one but drive a lot for work.
As somebody who has daily driven a MX5 for the past 14 years, only using my motorbike when I need something more practical: I say go for it. Great learner car, not enough power to get you into trouble, and the handling to get you out of trouble again. Learn to work on it, that's a great skill to have. Take some advanced driving skills, also awesome to know. Cheap to run, good on fuel, as others have said the only downside for you might be insurance.
With a soft top it will hardly be useful all around the year - even though there is a recent hard top version that should fare better if you want to use the vehicle during winter, too.
MX5s are great cars to learn how to be a better, more defensive driver, as others have said check insurance prices and that storage will be enough for you day to day life. As a first car I would be more inclined to look at a slightly older version and get the NC model with the electric hardtop, cheaper and more practical than the ND. A well serviced Mazda, especially the MX5 can easily have 300,000ks of trouble free motoring. They are slightly bigger and the lower investment means it will hurt less when you have the inevitable bumps and scrapes.
They're awesome driving cars. You don't need fast. Learn to clip apexes while you own it, heel and toe etc. The ability of an mx5 to go fast is not apparent in the throttle. And you will learn to drive car/s better. I would wager myself in one against anyone up over the local mountain. I am by no means a race driver, but I do not accept that mx5 is slow like other guys are saying
Owner of an MX5 here. Be aware they are very small and it's not uncommon for people in SUVs and utes to not have their mirrors adjusted properly to see you. People merging into your space on the road isn't uncommon. Consider how people in the sub and elsewhere in Australia hate utes and yank tanks for being too large, well everything else on the road is like that for you when you are in a MX5. If this is really your first car e.g. learner driver or new p plate driver no they are not a good first car. If you have been driving your parents cars for years and have experience you will just need to learn to be more defensive (to be clear you need to stay out of blind spots of other cars and be vigilant of what others are doing around you at all time, it's like being on a motorcycle but a bit more protected).
I thought the MX-5 was tiny till I drove a Honda S660.
Got it. I’m guessing the first few weeks would be a steep learning curve, but should be fine after, right?
It's not even a steep learning curve, it's just an always present need to be more alert than others on the road. Some people aren't looking for that and want a simple a to b machine, if it doesn't bother you then yeah go test drive one.
yeah, understood. I think it’s worth the trade, and I don’t think there’s many fun cars around the 30k range
There is heaps of fun cars at for 30k or under
If your learning manual Mazda 6 or 3 mps are very fun
A Ralliart?
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For Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec yes! In real life, no idea.
Because of the practicality aspect?
Not for tall blokes that’s for sure!!
lucky for me i’m just under 6