6 Things I've Learned About The ND Mazda MX-5 After 1 Week Of Ownership

We've got a new ND Mazda MX-5 at our disposal until March 2016. I love it already, but there are a few things that I didn't know about it before living with one. Here's what's up...
6 Things I've Learned About The ND Mazda MX-5 After 1 Week Of Ownership

1. "Nice Z4"

6 Things I've Learned About The ND Mazda MX-5 After 1 Week Of Ownership

After being approached by a number of people in car parks and a fuel station, the general consensus is that “it looks a lot like a small Z4”.

I’m sure this wasn’t the look that Mazda was intentionally going for, but when you do line the two cars up from the back, you can’t deny that there’s a definite likeness. The rear-end of the MX-5 is still growing on me, but it’s admittedly not to everybody’s tastes…

2. The NA and ND are near-identical in dimensions

6 Things I've Learned About The ND Mazda MX-5 After 1 Week Of Ownership

It really is amazing that two cars separated by two full generations and 25 years are very nearly the same size and weight. To give you an idea of both cars’ vital stats, the 1.5-litre ND that we’ve got until March tips the scales at 1030kg, is 3915mm long and 1735mm wide. My NA MX-5 (Phil) is 3950mm long, 1675mm wide and weighs (roughly) 1000kg; for an old car, that’s already small and light, but for a new 2015 model with a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating, these dimensions are deeply impressive.

Because of the ND’s dimensions, the 130bhp 1.5-litre engine really makes the car agile as hell, and also makes it feel like it’s powered by a 2.0-litre engine. What’s more, the new car is about 30 per cent more fuel efficient than my 1.8-litre MX-5 thanks to its clever Skyactiv technology and short-throw (and amazing) six-speed manual gearbox.

3. The ND is massive fun, but the NA still takes the win

6 Things I've Learned About The ND Mazda MX-5 After 1 Week Of Ownership

I’ve driven around 200 miles in the new ND through central London, on motorways and on twisty roads where the MX-5 truly comes alive. I’ve loved every second of being behind the wheel, especially the fact that the 2015 car is so much more refined than my ‘95 model (less wind noise and tyre roar, an amazing stereo, an uncluttered dashboard and easy pedal, gearbox and steering weights), but you simply can’t beat the steering feel you get from a hydraulic system (NA) versus electric steering (ND).

In my old car, you feel every lump and bump through the wheel, which is what people refer to as steering feel. By contrast, the ND’s steering smoothes out the road, meaning you’re missing half of the action through your fingertips. Now I’m not saying that the ND’s steering is bad (far from it), I’m just saying that it can’t match the old school. The throttle response in the NA is also more immediate than the ND, which makes it feel keener at low revs.

4. Whoever put those cupholders there was crazy...

6 Things I've Learned About The ND Mazda MX-5 After 1 Week Of Ownership

Now I get that a car needs cupholders. And yes, I know that the interior of the new ND is small and that space is limited. But surely, there must have been a better place to put a set of cup holders than behind both the driver and the passenger (especially if said passenger is short and has to move the seat forward in which case the refreshing beverage is even more difficult to get to…).

What’s more, the cup holders are really shallow, meaning that bottles tend to flop about while driving. Look at Jason Fenske’s face (aka Engineering Explained)…that is the expression of a physical beast who isn’t getting his pro-gain fix.

5. Even less leg room than in my '95 MX-5

6 Things I've Learned About The ND Mazda MX-5 After 1 Week Of Ownership

Because I’ve got short legs, I’m able to pull my left leg back in my 1995 MX-5 when I’m not using the clutch (on the motorway, for example). This means that I’m more comfortable because my stumpy excuse for height isn’t fixed in one position. Tall people, however, cannot do this because their knees are already touching the dashboard so bringing their left leg back would mean they’d be resting their knee on the steering wheel. This is not ideal.

In the new MX-5, not even short old me can pull my left leg back for comfort, and that’s because the transmission tunnel spills massively into the foot well, meaning I’ve nowhere to rest my left leg. Now I know what it’s like to be tall, and it sucks!

6. You can fit a Christmas tree in the boot

6 Things I've Learned About The ND Mazda MX-5 After 1 Week Of Ownership

When there’s a will, there’s a way, and in the case of buying a Christmas tree, I simply chucked it in the boot and proved to people that the MX-5 is practical. However, had I been in my NA MX-5 I’d have been able to look even more baller by throwing the roof down and making great use of the big parcel shelf behind the seats which would have swallowed the tree whole. In the new car, you get zero space behind the rear seats, and that’s a disappointment. There’s also no glove box in the ND.

Stay tuned for loads of written updates, videos, pics and much more on the new ND MX-5. And let us know what you want to see from our time with Junior.

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Comments

kyl_er34

Glad to see some mad feedback

12/15/2015 - 12:18 |
34 | 0
Freddie Skeates

I’d never noticed it at first, but ND MX-5 and Z4 similarities cannot be unseen!

12/15/2015 - 12:30 |
148 | 0

Fast clownshoe vs hairdrier confirmed!!!

12/15/2015 - 13:53 |
22 | 2

Just look at the MX-5 NB and the Z3, these are also very similar. The “Taste of Generation” (Dunno how to call it) is incorporated in every vehicle and by comparing them, you will always spot the same design choices

12/15/2015 - 13:56 |
2 | 0
Julien Dumartinet

The tranny tunnel is only a problem on RHD versions. Just as in the NC.

12/15/2015 - 12:41 |
38 | 0

If you guys drove on the right side of the car that wouldn’t be an issue.

12/15/2015 - 17:09 |
8 | 4

I’ve thought ecactly like you :D

12/15/2015 - 19:23 |
4 | 0
SkylinePowaaah(Miata Squad)

The problem with the ND is that it has the same dimensions as the NA .Because of that Mazda had to get space for all the safety stuff and so on by making the interior smaller.Otherwise the ND had been bigger than the na, not new and old 911 dimensions but close to that.

12/15/2015 - 12:46 |
0 | 0

And the area around the shifter is larger because they have put more insulation. In my 1990 NA MX-5 the shifter always gets warm to the touch after driving for a little while. Ive never driven a NA where the shifter doesn’t get warm.

12/15/2015 - 13:35 |
0 | 0
TheNOISYCar

1 Downside: you’ve got nowhere to put your hairdryer

12/15/2015 - 12:56 |
70 | 2

Hairdryer?????

Dude. It’s an MX-5.

You just take the top down and do 30 MPH for a few minutes.

12/15/2015 - 13:27 |
54 | 0

what if the cupholders are not cupholders but hairdryer-holders…? ;-)

12/15/2015 - 13:38 |
118 | 0

Maybe Mazda getting fed up by people that called MX-5 is hairdresser car.

12/15/2015 - 14:31 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Nr. 5 RHD Problems

12/15/2015 - 13:28 |
14 | 0
Ben Anderson 1

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Its the same on both sides.

12/15/2015 - 14:18 |
0 | 6
thebensho

Wanna talk about steering feel? My NA has rack-and-pinion. You always know exactly when you’re about to oversteer.

12/15/2015 - 13:32 |
8 | 0
Anonymous

I’m kinda over the whole idea of super over sensitive “steering feel” as being a particular positive thing when talking about electronic vs. hydraulic. I don’t need to feel every stone, that stone is immaterial to my driving experience. So is that bump - by the time I feel that bump it means I didn’t see it. If it’s a bumpy road… I can feel it through the chassis.

What I want is a reactive steering wheel that feeds back just the the tensions - I want to know what the tires are doing and nothing more. I don’t need anymore, the chassis and my other senses should be doing that.

Hydraulic steering is going away in pedigree classes for that reason - it’s simply time to move on.

Not going to be a popular opinion… but hey.

12/15/2015 - 13:33 |
20 | 6
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I guess it’s just a matter of caring about feeling everything or being ok with feeling just the necessary (as you mentioned). I think it’s just a matter of taste or connection with the car :)

12/15/2015 - 13:52 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

What’s the head room like compared to the na

12/15/2015 - 13:35 |
0 | 0
Alex Kersten

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Pretty damn similar.

12/15/2015 - 13:59 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

You can hang up cupholder on the passenger side. It’s quite ok if you driving without a passenger :) tried :)

12/15/2015 - 13:35 |
54 | 0
BMWfan

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

GEEEEEEENIUS

12/15/2015 - 14:46 |
2 | 0