[Hat]

Clarkson reviewed the MX-5 roadster-coupe in yesterday's sundy times:

Quote:

As the reputation of all the most exquisite cars continues to be embrowned by the nation’s footballers, those who try to combine extreme wealth with a splash of discretion and good taste find themselves in a bit of a quandary.

In the olden days, if you were to turn up at a party in a Ferrari or a Maserati, women might imagine that you were the Aga Khan. Today, however, they will cower in a cupboard all night, fearful that if they come out they will be roasted in front of a jeering mob who’ll record the event on their mobile phones and, in the morning, upload it all to the internet. “I have a Ferrari” is code for “I am a rapist”. Or, worse, “I am Kerry Katona”.

The solution, then, for wealthy people who are not rapists or Kerry Katona is to buy a car that simply isn’t on a footballer’s radar. A car that manages to be expensive and comfortable, and possibly even quite fast, without shouting, “Look at me.” A fatboy car.

The Bristol Blenheim is a fatboy car. So is the Mercedes SL. Then you have the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur, the Jaguar XJR, the Range Rover – but emphatically not the Sport – the BMW 7-series, and the car I was given for Christmas. A 37-year-old Mercedes 600 Grosser.

And so we must now leave the olden days when cars worked only if there was some warmth in the month, and look at the complete opposite of the 600 Grosser. The Mazda MX-5.

When I first encountered the new version of this modern classic, I reported that it was a better-looking, more practical version of something we all loved anyway and that you should all have one. And you all responded by buying something else.

No, really. The new MX-5 is like the new Ford Mondeo and the Subaru Legacy Outback. It is one of those cars that’s absolutely brilliant . . . and nobody buys it. You never see one on the road.

Fearful, therefore, that I’d missed some crucial aspect of the car – a spike in the driver’s seat, perhaps, or a snake in the glove box – I decided to have another look. And there’s nothing; not even a preposterous price tag. The new soft-top Mazda starts at just £15,730.

So what’s the problem? I’ve given the matter some serious thought and I’ve decided what the car missed most of all was the mark. I liked the way the old car had few luxuries, because that made it light. For the same reason it had a canvas roof you raised and lowered by hand, and I liked that too. But actually, the fact is most of us would prefer some creature comforts and a roof that moved about using electricity. We may have been drawn to the idea of an MX-5 but actually we all went out and bought a convertible Vauxhall Astra instead.

Well, Mazda has obviously realised this too because the new 2 litre Roadster Coupé I tried has a superfast electric metal roof, a surround sound Bose stereo, and a button on the dash that says “Media”. God knows what it did.

All of this must be terribly galling for the engineers who struggled to make the new car only 22lb heavier than the old one. To find the marketing department adding stuff is probably enough to have them all disembowelling themselves but the fact is this: it doesn’t make a jot of difference.

The engine still feels unsullied by cotton wool damping and active exhaust tuning. The gearbox still snicks. The handling is still deliciously front-engined and rear-drive. You still feel hemmed in behind the wheel and the plastics appear, correctly in a car of this type, to have been fitted to shroud various wires and rough edges. Not as a surface you feel inspired to lick and caress.

The MX-5, then, still feels simple and sprightly and lively. It still feels basic and honest and wonderful. It’s still a bacon sandwich made with good bread, good butter and good meat. Only now it has a splash of HP sauce.

It is an epic car, this. A car for fatboys who are still thin.

[minicabrio]

He's always liked the MX-5, and I do too

If I wasn't so tall I'd have one... unfortunately there isn't much I can have without looking utterly daft.

[mad brummie]

no, i was thinking of one too until i sat in Hats with the roof off and my head was clean over the windscreen!

[Martin L]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hat (original)

Clarkson reviewed the MX-5 roadster-coupe in yesterday's sundy times:

Very nice review

Everything he states is exactly the reason why I'm geting rid of mine

"....plastics appear, correctly in a car of this type, to have been fitted to shroud various wires and rough edges. Not as a surface you feel inspired to lick and caress."

I want to lick and caress the TT dashboard

It's not that I don't love my MX-5, I truely do, it my best car yet! I do even feel guilty about cheating on her, but I think I've now reached the age where comfort and luxury are taking more of a front seat
I now know exactly how Aiden feels

[Washy]

some leaked official pictures of the M3 convertible doing the rounds. Complete with the DCT box...apparently the DCT improves the fuel consumption of the car....

[Shamster]

Quote: Originally Posted by Martin L (original)

What colour blue is it? Is it Mauritaus, petrol or Deep Sea?
I love the Deep Sea and will probably go for that with light grey interior.

Is this "worry" about the leather really an issue that people have been biotching about on the forums? I actually really like the alacantara and might just stick with that trim

How much do you think the TTS will be?
I've got a feeling it'll hit the V6 sales. I can't really see what price they can sell it at apart from one similar to the V6.


PCP is a no-no. Good for cheap monthly payments but you lose a lot of capital as you don't get your intially largish downpayment back.
I've always paid cash until the MINI as straight finance was cheaper then interest saving rates.
Not sure how to fund the TTR at the moment. I'll need to see again what finance deals are like at the time.

I think the one I've got is mauritious blue. - but not sure - it's not the really dark one though .

TT-S prices are being released towards the end of the week to dealers. My guess is a base price of £35k - if it's less it will be a pretty good deal. It'll never have the growl of the V6 but the power will still be there. Specced up I reckon it will be round the £40k mark with a few reasonable options.

The leather is a combo of people whingeing (i.e me ) and others who aren't too bothered about it. One of the things that mine is in for is the leather. But think of the R8 owners - their seats are the same as the TT

There has also been an issue with seat belts not retracting properly on roadsters - there is a fix for this - you should be ok as current builds don't seem to have that problem. The demo I've got at the mo is fine.

[AidenL]

Chris, petrol V8, God help me in this day and age !!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by CooperID (original)

I've been told that under 'normal' driving conditions 20mpg is not difficult to achieve... which I'd be delight with tbh

I wonder I think some people are getting 12mpg out of the S5 in town

Quote: Originally Posted by Martin L (original)

What colour blue is it? Is it Mauritaus, petrol or Deep Sea?
I love the Deep Sea and will probably go for that with light grey interior.

Is this "worry" about the leather really an issue that people have been biotching about on the forums? I actually really like the alacantara and might just stick with that trim

How much do you think the TTS will be?
I've got a feeling it'll hit the V6 sales. I can't really see what price they can sell it at apart from one similar to the V6.


PCP is a no-no. Good for cheap monthly payments but you lose a lot of capital as you don't get your intially largish downpayment back.
I've always paid cash until the MINI as straight finance was cheaper then interest saving rates.
Not sure how to fund the TTR at the moment. I'll need to see again what finance deals are like at the time.

I'm thinking maybe Deep Sea Blue too, or even Sprint Blue, or is it too gaudy?

Martin, deals I'm looking at are same cost of ownership over 3 years - so either clear the remaining balance by higher monthlies, or lower monthlies with same balance - 5.7%, seems sensible to me to keep the monthlies low if the overall cost is the same?

Deal is done, order is confirmed anyway, delivery end April latest

[Pobsey]

Quote: Originally Posted by northandy (original)

When do you get your 1er ?...

Feb 1st

[AidenL]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pobsey (original)

Feb 1st

Congrats again Rob

Thats quick !!

[Pobsey]

Its an ex demo so its already there just cant have it until then as the volvo goes back feb 1st

[NeuroBeaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hat (original)

i've had PCPs previously - good ones & bad

Oh dear - I'd recommend avoiding having that in future.

Phencyclidine (PCP) was initially developed as a surgical anaesthetic (an NMDA receptor channel blocker), but was quickly abandoned due to poor specificity which caused recovering patient to suffer unacceptable side effects such as hallucinations and thought disturbances. The drug then gained popularity as a 'recreational' drug and was widely abused - in drug culture it is sometimes known as 'Angel Dust', 'Hog', and a few other strange and inexplicable pseudonyms that could only have been thought up in the weird and interesting mind of a drug abuser.

In the early days of PCP abusers turning up at clinics suffering horrendous side effects, they were often mistakenly diagnosed with schizophrenia and given treatments appropriate for schizophrenic patients. Remarkably, they showed improvement! Following this discovery, heroic scientists had a good hard think about how they were going to apply this new-found knowledge and the PCP-damaged brains of 'junkies' were examined for correlations amongst those of schizophrenic patients - thus enabling us to identify key regions of pathology within the schizophrenic brain.

Today, the drug is still abused on 'the street' (*sigh* ) but now has a place of pride in any schizophrenia researcher's laboratory.* So next time you think of treatments for schizophrenia - spare a thought for the naughty little drug that enabled so much of our understanding in this field: phencyclidine.

* Except amongst those researchers who believe studying ketamine abusers is more relevant. As if...

So to re-cap... taking phencyclidine (PCP) is not a good idea. You'll end up with symptoms resembling schizophrenia - which aren't pleasant. Mmmmkay?

Your friendly neighbourhood brain guy,
Andrew.

[mad brummie]

Andrew is off on a tangent again!!

[Goonery]

Quote: Originally Posted by mad brummie (original)

Andrew is off on a tangent again!!

I think theres a link between PCP and LSD though.

[northandy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Goonery (original)

I think theres a link between PCP and LSD though.

last time I had LSD was the early 90's











in my Mk3 escort RS turbo

[Shamster]

Quote: Originally Posted by AidenL (original)

Chris, petrol V8, God help me in this day and age !!!!



I wonder I think some people are getting 12mpg out of the S5 in town



I'm thinking maybe Deep Sea Blue too, or even Sprint Blue, or is it too gaudy?

Martin, deals I'm looking at are same cost of ownership over 3 years - so either clear the remaining balance by higher monthlies, or lower monthlies with same balance - 5.7%, seems sensible to me to keep the monthlies low if the overall cost is the same?

Deal is done, order is confirmed anyway, delivery end April latest

I would go with sprint - you've specced it up a fair bit anyway why stop there?

[Shamster]

Well - TT-S prices have been released today - I reckon they're not bad considering what you're getting, standard spec and performance wise - looks like it will handle even better too:

The TT Owners Club