Guest Report post Posted September 4, 2015 EVO have a reasonable rivals video of the two up now:-https://youtu.be/wC4xAArXCTYThanks for posting Jeff,Notice how he mentions that the MX5 comes with a LSD, yet says nothing of the 86's Torsen diff??Also, the Mazda is not 40hp down, it's probably more like 20 hp. Mazda are conservative with their figures whereas I feel Toyota have been a little generous with their claim of 197 bhp.. more like 175 as we all know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squadrone Rosso 82 Report post Posted September 5, 2015 Good test. With slightly stickier tyres, the 86 would have mullered the MX but the fun factor would have diminished. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted September 5, 2015 I thought it was a realy good comparison test, shows they are quite close and obvious rivals really. Especially if you compare the top MX5 with the Primo. Actually Nigel, I'm pretty sure he said both have an LSD. I'm glad Mazda have upped their game though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ade 517 Report post Posted September 5, 2015 I do love the banter on this forum. Where would the world be without SpecK. I personally think the new MX5 is a bit soft looking. The original concept got me interested but they softened it up too much for me... I shall try one though... Nige on the Cosworth Engine Dyno Cell the stock engine came out at ~190hp. Don't ask me the exact conditions but I assume roughly 1atm pressure at 20-25C ambient. Abbey gets around 160hp at the hub on a dynapack, so 190hp sounds about right with ~30hp drivetrain loss. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deacon 1357 Report post Posted September 21, 2015 Bit of an update to this. I got to spend Saturday on another Mazda event (with Keith and Will) and did about 130 miles-ish in a 1.5 sport. There were a few things I'd like to add from what I'd originally said about the new MX5.On the original mazda event I just had the roof down all the time so I have now had chance to see what it's like with the roof up. The good - the roof mechanism is VERY easy to use. The bad - with the roof closed it is a bit claustrophobic in there and I wouldn't be able to wear a helmet in the car with the roof up as I only have about an inch from the top of my head to the roof.A few other negatives threw themselves up too. There is literally no storage space inside the cabin. I put my phone in the tray near the AC and that was it. The cup holders fill the cupboard behind you between the seats and if you use the cup holders they block the opening of the cupboard. The cupboard between the seats is basically filled if you put the key in it. I don't like driving with my wallet in my back pocket but there was literally nowhere to put it - I had to just hand it to Nicola to hold. I could see the lack of any storage being a bit of a pita on a daily basis.Next the steering. It has a horrible dead spot around the centre where basically you can turn the wheel a few degrees either way and nothing happens. But then once you get past that it seems to 'catch-up' the steering it had missed and the extra lock you've added. There were a couple of times at the start of the day I could easily have clipped a curb or a roundabout as I was caught out by this and had added too much lock to overcome this deadness.My other big gripe would be that the peddles are offset to the right. The dead peddle is where the clutch should be in relation to the seat. On a short drive it's not a major issue but as the day wore on I did find it getting a bit uncomfortable.I also had the back end out twice - once unexpectedly and once provoked - I felt it slides easier than the 86 does which surprised me (that may be because I've got used to the semi-track tyres on mine though). I can see it could catch a few people out though especially in bad weather as these two slides were on bone dry roads in 20 degree heat.I did still really enjoy it though and can still see me owning one at some point even if it's not quite all as rosey as I'd initially thought! 1 Lauren reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted September 22, 2015 I have to agree with most of what Jeff said there except for the back end bit, didn't step out once, even I thought it would in certain situations, e.g. booting it with full lock didn't make the back end chirp a bit unlike the 86 and even on a slightly too fast bend which ended with a bit of trail braking to get around it again no problems.I did want the 2.0 Sport but sadly they didn't have any left so had to jump into a 1.5 Sport instead. It was quick off the line and loved to be rev'd but it did quickly run out of puff, proper light that setting off was quick but not quick enough to give me any confidence in overtaking, especially with Jeff behind, a lot of the times it felt like only 1 of us would make the over take so during my drive time, only really over took 1 car on a pretty long down hill straight.As Jeff mentioned, steering wasn't great, it felt like it turned in well but there was no feel at all in the wheel and what caught me out to begin with was how little auto centring the wheel had, had to quickly correct the steering otherwise I'd end up driving the wrong way. What I also didn't like the was that the steering wheel felt pretty large and for some people, the lack of telescopic adjustment might be a problem for some people.What I really didn't like the most was the ride, done get me wrong, it soaked up the bumps and everything nicely, but because of the soft suspension, the car waddled a lot, the car really liked to rock about that when coming out of a corner and you are trying to straighten the steering wheel, it often felt like the rear was still trying to roll over which felt a bit weird and unsettling.I too didn't like the pedals, it felt a bit cramped in there and awkward to toe heel, might have had something to do with the gas pedal was hinged at the bottom while the brake (and clutch) hinged at the top, I just found my heel either didn't press the gas pedal properly or it would clip/catch the trim around that area.What I also found awkward was the position of the door in relation to the drivers seat, I think the door is positioned too far back while the seat was too close to the curved bottom rear edge of the door if that makes sense, made it feel like I had to stretch/lean back to get out of the car (though could just be me not being able to get out of the car very gracefully....probably not flexibly enough for the car ). The seats were nice and supportive though and loved the speakers in the head rest for your phone etc.Having never really driven a convertible before, it was nice to poot around the towns/villages with the top down but it wasn't great at high speeds, still a fair bit of wind and what not even with the rear deflector screen so not really sold on convertibles, plus there's just not enough nice weather for it, but it was refreshing and a nice experience while dreading to think what proper winter would be like. The car sounded nice, not much noise from the engine at all, primarily exhaust note which wasn't bad actually, but not really loud enough for my liking. But what I did like was the gear stick, nice short crisp gear changes with a pretty low bighting point.To me, would work great for a boring daily drive where you are taking not a lot with you or no one else, not really my cup of tea as a weekend car, not extreme or dramatic enough for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deacon 1357 Report post Posted September 27, 2015 I had the chance to spend a day with a 2.0 sport yesterday at the Derbyshire dales event. And it's left me very confused.I was invited to the initial launch event and drove a 1.5 sport for about 40 miles and loved it (car had done about 25 miles). I was the invited to the local dealers launch event and drove a 1.5 sport which again I loved (again about 20 miles on it when I drove it) and a 2.0 sport which I wasn't so keen on - the ride seemed very harsh for a standard car and the engine reluctant to rev. I did about 10 miles in each car on the dealer launch event. I was then invited to the Aylesbury event and spent a day in a 1.5 sport doing about 130 miles and left very disappointed as I reported earlier due to numerous issues that I hadn't noticed before like the major dead spot around centre in the steering, etc. This car had done about 2500 miles. This week I went along to the Derbyshire dales event as my girlfriend had been invited and drove a 2.0 sport and loved it. The ride seemed much better than the previous 2.0 and the engine reved freely. There was also no dead spot around centre on the steering. This car had done about 2000 miles and I did about 110.So I've driven 5 new MX5's for about 300 miles in total - 3 have been really good and 2 pretty poor. I was looking to get one right away but have decided I'm going to hold on to my 86 for a while longer (I decided this last week after the disappointing 1.5 drive). The issue I really have though is that the cars seem like a lottery some excellent and some really poor and I must admit this has put me right off. I'd be gutted if I ordered one and got a duffer when I know some of them are so good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted September 27, 2015 Yeah, such a shame we couldn't get the 2.0 as would have like to swap with you but since we both had the 1.5, didn't really bother thinking about swapping to see if both were as bad but still found our 1.5 to have a bit of weird steering feel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicebiscuit 655 Report post Posted October 2, 2015 Interesting vid here... http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/video-best-sub-%C2%A330k-drivers-cars-testedDisloyal though it may sound, I think the MX5 makes the GT86 look a little expensive. Or to be fairer, the MX5 looks ridiculously cheap.It's clear the MX5 rolls more, but still looks fun. It potentially puts the GT86 in its own niche for people who want a bit of track focus, need occasional back seats, or just hate ragtops.Good to see that they both trash the mini and Clio though...And given I need the seats, I don't care anyway! :-D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Duff 79 Report post Posted October 2, 2015 (edited) It potentially puts the GT86 in its own niche for people who want a bit of track focus, need occasional back seats, or just hate ragtops. Or who are over 6 ft, particularly as this country doesn't lend itself to top down for most of the year, and while the lowness of the 86 means I suspect I look something of an ungainly prat getting in and out of it, at 6 3" I honestly never feel too big once sat inside (albeit with the seat right back), I honestly don't think the same would be true of the teeny-tiny MX5! Edited October 2, 2015 by Captain Duff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted October 2, 2015 Oh what I also forgot to add, the car needs a bloody digital speedo, I couldn't read the speedometer properly, not because the scales are completely off and tiny like the 86 but because the angle was slightly off and me being a reasonable height, if it looked like I was doing 30mph on the speedo, I would actually be doing more..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicebiscuit 655 Report post Posted October 3, 2015 I like the digital speedo in the 86, but I don't understand why they bothered fitting the daft analogue one. I'm sure they could have thought of something more useful to put there...There's another 85/mx5 video here...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/comparison/2015/mazda-mx-5-vs-toyota-gt86-track-battle-of-the-rwd-handling-kings/ 1 Keethos reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Camilz 15 Report post Posted November 8, 2015 I saw one of the new mx-5's on the m25 yesterday, gotta say they look fantastic in person! However I still think the toyobaru looks better Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
