Mazda Eunos Roadster - a return to form for Life On Cars

After very reluctantly getting rid of a 1990 Mazda MX-5 last April, Life On Cars writer and Classic Car Weekly news editor David Simister has done the sensible thing - and bought another one.

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Originally published in the 29 January edition of Classic Car Weekly. All rights reserved

Seven cars shortlisted for European Car of the Year 2014

SEVEN very different cars have all been shortlisted in a contest to find Europe’s favourite automotive arrival from the past year.

Judges of the European Car of the Year award confirmed this week the Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Peugeot 308 and Skoda Octavia, which are all family-friendly and focused on value, would be going up against the eco-orientated BMW i3 and Tesla S and the luxurious new Mercedes-Benz S Class.

The winner will be announced at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

End of term report: Mazda MX-5

THE roof has been lowered one last time. The revvy little twin cam engine has been switched off. I have, after nearly two years of small sports car fun, sold my Mazda MX-5.

Due to getting a new job - more on that in a few days, because that's another story for another day - one of the Life On Cars fleet had to go. The MGB GT, despite still being in winter hibernation, is my passport into a world of classic car shows and authentically old-fashioned driving experiences, and even though it hasn't moved in months I'd rather sell my right arm than get rid of the old warhorse. The Rover, meanwhile, has earned its keep by taking a small forests' worth of old wooden furniture to be recycled and taking hundreds of miles of motorway driving in its stride, so it's proved too comfortable, too practical and too useful to get rid of.

So it's the Mazzer, a small, two-seater roadster I bought back in 2011 after years of wanting one on my driveway, that had to go. Which is one of the hardest motoring decisions I've ever made, because I've loved almost every mile it's covered.

It hasn't, don't get me wrong, been plain sailing all the way, after a combination of cheap tyres and tail-happy handling prompted one repair and a split hose prompted another, but once both these issuse had been tackled it's proven one of the most enjoyable cars I've ever owned. If you pick a good 'un and look after it, an MX-5 is arguably one of the best automotive recipes ever concocted - authentically British sports car thrills topped off with bulletproof Japanese reliability!

The Mariner Blue, 1990 Eunos Roadster - meaning it found its way onto Britain's B-Roads as a grey import after starting its life in Japan, but don't let that put you off - has proved a perfectly reliable companion, which just happened to have a soft-top roof you could chuck down in seconds. Which is exactly what I did when I used it on my advanced driving test.

What's more, even in the company of more exotic machinery and grand automotive stages it's never been anything less than sublime. In the company of a Ford Racing Puma, a supercharged Volkswagen Polo G40, a Metro GTi and some stunning Welsh scenery in certainly didn't embarrass itself. It tackled the Buttertubs Pass and felt right at home, and even took the more boring stuff - like motorway tailbacks - in its stride. Not once has it so much as thought of refusing to start.

Would I point an aspiring petrolhead in the direction of an early MX-5's pop-up headlights? Definitely, given it's one of the cheapest routes into the world of authentic, rear-drive sports cars thrills (and, I suspect, a lot more reliable than a similarly priced MGF!). There's plenty of them out there, so choose one that hasn't succumbed to rot and shows signs of being looked after mechanically. Don't skimp on the tyres - particularly the rear ones, where the power goes - because it makes a big difference to how it behaves. Most of all, treat it with respect, but if you do the MX-5 is one of the most rewarding modern classics on the market.

My Mazda was a cracking little car. I miss it already.

How cold is too cold for driving a convertible roof down?

IT WAS somewhere near Bala, as the road climbed ever higher into the mountains, that the temperature really started to drop.

The outside temperature gauge in my friend's Saab - a car built to cope with a harsh winter if ever there was one - had dropped its reading from a toasty five degrees to just above freezing. Thing is, where his car had a powerful heater and a plushly trimmed interior, mine has a floppy roof that goes up and down and as a result the answer to a question I'm sure you've been itching to find out. How cold is too cold for driving around with the roof down?

I was, in the noble interests of Life On Cars research, more than kitted out for the job; whereas I'd happily drive my Mazda MX-5 in the climes it was designed for in jeans and a t-shirt, last weekend I had gloves, a big coat and the heater on at full blast. Logic dictates that tackling a snowy mountain pass with the roof down should be unbearably uncomfortable but here's the truth in the (very) cold light of day - it really wasn't the hellish experience you'd think.

True, the air was very cold that afternoon but the really chilly stuff was being whipped over the Mazda's windscreen, leaving me to enjoy the warmth whirling into the interior from the heater. It's a bit like going skiing, but with the added luxuries of electric windows and a CD player. It was only when I pulled over to take a few photos that the cold caught up with me, because as soon as I got out I was no longer in a cosy car interior, I was hundreds of feet up, in the middle of nowhere in the midst of the cold snap currently engulfing most of Britain.

In fact, being the motoring masochist I am, I was actually enjoying it. There are lots of things I love about Wales, like the unpronouncably brilliant names for the villages and the Welsh cakes on offer in just about every bakery, but best of all they do roads quite unlike just about anywhere else in the UK. Coming across a set of twisty roads draped over some stunning scenery and having a couple of great cars to tackle them in is one of the best feelings in motoring.

So the answer to the question is that it's never really too cold to drop your roof down, as long as it isn't raining - or in my case, snowing - of course. Blummin' freezing but big, big fun.

2012 has been a year of great motoring moments

STRANGER things, I guess, have happened, but I’ll share it with you anyway. As the clocks chime midnight and drunks everywhere usher in a New Year, the most popular Life On Cars piece of 2012 was about the Raleigh Chopper. Which isn’t a car at all.

Still, there were plenty of proper motoring moments – you know, ones involving cars – which I’ve enjoyed over the past 12 months. Here’s ten of my favourites:

1) Doing an advanced driving lesson... in a Lotus Evora S 

2012 marked the year when I took the plunge with the Institute of Advanced Motorists and did their advanced driving course (thoroughly recommended, by the way). I did all of the lessons in my Mazda MX-5 – which was fun in itself – except for the one week when I had a supercharged Lotus Evora S at my disposal. There are probably more sensible choices for what’s basically a driving lesson than a mid-engined supercar, but I used it anyway. Big fun...

2) Setting a blisteringly fast lap time in a Wigan cotton mill 

Literally, as the sharp pain in my hands – shot to bits from fighting furiously with a tiny steering wheel – proved for hours afterwards, but a karting race organised a birthday treat for Yours Truly was well worth it. If you’ve ever fancied flinging a go-kart around a two-storey track crafted from an old cotton mill, give Elite Karting in Wigan a bell. Then again, the three seconds my mate shaved off every lap over mine meant he lapped me twice in our 40 minute race. He still hasn’t let me live that down...

3) Driving a Rover which refuses to give up 

The MGB GT and the MX-5 are undoubtedly the glamour models of the Life On Cars fleet, but when the going gets tough it was always the ancient Rover 214 that’d be called upon – and it delivered, time after time, without a whisper of complaint. In February, it drifted its way across a Cumbrian snowdrift which had defeated a much newer BMW 1-Series, a MINI and a SEAT Leon. Then it sailed right the way across the country to deliver two people and a week’s worth of camping gear safely in Norfolk, and got back again, without a hiccup, and only last month it freed a far heavier Mondeo Estate from a muddy campsite. Not bad for a car costing £300. Rover and Honda engineers of the late Eighties... I salute you!

4) Pitting sports cars against hot hatches in Mid Wales 

We took four performance hits to the utterly wonderful A44 and found four very different ways to get your motoring kicks. Given the choice between a Volkswagen Polo G40 (ultra rare hot hatch from the people who brought you the Golf GTI, with added supercharger whine), a Rover Metro GTi (affordable, rev-happy and goes like stink), a Mazda MX-5 (slowest of the bunch but the only one with rear-drive and the option of driving al fresco) or a Ford Racing Puma (pretty, rare, quick and controversial – see number nine) which would you pick?

5) Going back in time 

Obviously not literally but on the few occasions when I brought the MGB GT to the right road, on the right day, it really was like driving in a simpler bygone age. This heady blend of high-octane petrol, 20w50 oil and Rostyle wheels - which proved a big hit at this year’s Ormskirk MotorFest – provided a nostalgic treat, which is best expressed in moody, monochrome pictorial form. Like the shot you see above.

6) Discovering that you don’t need four wheels to make a great car 

 A couple of people have already asked me how a three-wheeled car with a 1920s body, skinny tyres, a motorbike engine bolted to the front and an absence of any doors, windscreen, windows or roof can possibly be good enough to be named as the best thing I’ve driven in a year that’s produced such hits as the Toyota GT-86. But it just is. Take a Morgan Threewheeler out for a blast down on a country lane on a sunny day – in fact any day, come to think of it – and you’ll know exactly what I mean.

7) Capturing the moment at the Ormskirk MotorFest

The special online magazines made by Life On Cars are, by and large, quite well received (which, given it was only ever meant to be a one-off originally, is a good thing). The edition I wrote with the cooperation of the Ormskirk MotorFest organisers, however, went a bit further than that, being read not by a few dozen or even hundred people, but by thousands of people. I just hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did researching, writing and producing the thing!

8) Driving Britain’s best roads... in an MX-5 

 The Buttertubs Pass is great in any car but when you’re in something as delicately balanced as an MX-5 it feels a little bit extra special (although the bright evening sunlight didn’t help). But even that wonderful moment couldn’t top the occasion when what seemed like a farm track in the middle of nowhere eventually brought us out onto the road between Pentrefoelas and Ffestiniog, which is one of the most spectacular bits of tarmac I’ve ever encountered. To have discovered it any car would’ve been fun but it was even better being behind the wheel of a great little sports car.

9) Discussing whether the Ford Racing Puma deserves its classic-in-waiting status 

Just one of the many pub arguments I’ve had with the small-but-dedicated group of petrolheads who hold Life On Cars’ automotive assertions to account. Other topics to get The Farmers’ Arms treatment include whether or not off-roaders are stupid and pointless, whether a Toyota GT-86 is better than a top-of-the-range MX-5 and if in cash-strapped 2012 MPG was more important than MPH. For these endless hours of entertaining discussion, I thank this small group of people who know who they are.

10) Raising £126 for charidee

Finally, there was the night when Life On Cars and the region’s petrolheads came together to help support a very good cause by taking part in a pub quiz with a difference – all the questions were motoring-related. Even though there was a broken sound system, a very drunk Nigel Mansell fan and a slight mistake in a motorbike question to deal with, the night still managed to raise £126 for the National Autistic Society. You never know, there might even be another one in 2013...

Make no mistake, 2012’s been a great year for motoring moments and Life On Cars will continue giving you a petrolhead perspective throughout 2013. Happy New Year!

Petrolhead heaven in North Wales

TWO rather tidy Rover SD1s, several confused-looking sheep, a charming countryside cottage ironically called The Ugly House and a disused viaduct stuck halfway up a mountain.

These are just some of the sights I’ve clocked on a bit of a petrolhead tour of North Wales, which saw a Mazda MX-5 (driven by Yours Truly), a Ford Racing Puma and a diesel Saab 9-3 (it’s the economy, stupid) pitted against some of the windiest roads I could find in the AA road atlas I’d bought three days earlier.

More importantly, what I saw a lot of on these trips is mile after mile of deserted tarmac, criss-crossing remote bits of moorland in the middle of nowhere in particular. If you’re really, really keen on driving then the words Croeso i Gymru should bring a smile to your face!

Admittedly, the staff at the bar in Betws-y-Coed we always stay at on these trips are probably getting familiar with our faces by now, but I’m always happy to chuck a few quid at the Welsh economy given what we always get in return. In this case, it was heading up the back road towards Ffestiniog, turning a corner and being greeted with a glorious panorama of the countryside stretching out for miles below us, a faint blue sky above us and the Irish Sea somewhere in between.  Staggeringly beautiful scenes like these are what motoring through Wales is all about.

Then of course, there’s the driving itself, which as long as you stay beneath the speed limits and keep an eye out for the real troublemakers of rural driving – sheep and hairpin bends – is truly good fun. At one point on the Evo Triangle (if you haven’t heard of it, Google it) we got overtaken by a souped-up Subaru Impreza, a MINI Cooper GP and a Porsche Boxster S and I don’t think any of us were particularly bothered, because even at sensible speeds we were loving every minute.

These roads were enjoyable even in a diesel Saab (especially if you’ve got the smug factor of overtaking just about everything and getting 50.3 to the gallon while you’re at it) so you can imagine how much of a ball it would have been in a Ford Racing Puma and an MX-5 with its roof down.

I know I’ve said it before but it’s worth saying again - if you like your driving there really are some stunning roads that aren’t a million miles away. Get out there and give them a go – you won’t regret it!

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Alfa Romeo and Mazda announce sports car tie-up

THE successor to Alfa Romeo's achingly beautiful Spider could be one of the most mouthwatering sports cars ever created.

Fiat, the Italian automotive giant which owns the Milanese motor makers, has announced that not only is it working on a new two-seater roadster, but that it's joined forces with Mazda, the makers of the best-selling sports car of all time, to create it. In three years' time, if the two companies play to their strengths, you'll be able to buy a car with classic Italian styling and the fun-to-drive factor of the MX-5.

I saw a mid-nineties Spider being driven along Southport's seafront on a sunny summer afternoon the other day and really, really wanted to be the chap behind the wheel. It never really took off with Brit buyers in the same way the Mazda did, because while the MX-5 had a rear-wheel-drive set up singlehandedly designed for being sporty, all Spider's since the model's '94 reinvention have relied on front-wheel-drive bits from the Fiat Group parts bin. Not that any of that mattered with the savvy souls who did take the plunge, because the reason why you bought any Spider was because of the way they looked. They were and still are, a delight to behold.

So the news that Fiat and Mazda are planning to join forces is brilliant news if you care about simple, small, two-seater sports cars (and, let's face it, chances are if you read Life On Cars you almost certainly do).

Mazda president Takashi Yamanouchi, knows this full well, and said this week: "Establishing technology and product development alliances is one of Mazda's corporate objectives and this announcement with Fiat is an important first step in that direction.

"It is especially exciting to be collaborating with such a prestigious marque as Alfa Romeo on a new roadster based on the next-generation MX-5, which is such an iconic vehicle for Mazda and recognized as the best-selling roadster of all time."

 

The two companies plan to develop two different, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific light weight, rear-wheel-drive roadsters. The Mazda and Alfa Romeo variants will each be powered by specific proprietary engines unique to each brand, although both are expected to be built at Mazda's factory in Hiroshima, where it's made the MX-5 in its various iterations for more than 20 years.

The deal, which is expected to be finalised later this year, also includes the scope for further tie-ups between Mazda and Fiat. Does that mean we can have finally have a follow up to one of the best-looking sports cars of all time, the Fiat Barchetta?

Fear and fun on The Horseshoe Pass

IT WAS with a particularly potent blend of apprehensiveness that I approached one of my all-time favourite roads yesterday.

On the way to the Mini show in Llandudno I ventured onto the wonderful bit of winding tarmac that is the Horseshoe Pass, which after an agonisingly long climb from the picturesque town of Llangollen takes you to one of the most stunning bits of scenery you'll find anywhere in North Wales. Only this time, I was more than a little nervous.


Only days earlier it'd been the scene of a tragic accident in which two people had been killed, which served as stark reminder that while a good road is great fun, it's deadly in the wrong conditions at the wrong speeds, and with it being such a cold day the threat of black ice was never far away. Nor was my weapon of choice for tackling it the best for a greasy winter run; while my MX-5, on new tyres, was no longer scarily skittish, the relative unfamiliarity meant I'd be taking it very easy on the way up.

Yet taken properly I can understand why the bikers love the Horseshoe as much as they do; it really is an awe-inspiring journey. With the Mazda behaving itself I could drop the roof, take in the crisp mountain air, and enjoy what really is some wonderful scenery.


Every year I always pull in at the same spot at the top for the obligatory, badly-taken smartphone snap, and it amazed me how different conditions at different times of year can completely change the same setting. Twelve months ago I ventured up there in my old Rover and was met with wet 'n' wild weather on a dark, grey day, while a few months before that I was in a brand new MX-5 and pulled up in a scene from The Italian Job. Yesterday, in my much, much older Mazzer, the steely blue skies and relentless low sunlight made for a different atmosphere again.

It is an endlessly enjoyable part of the world if you love cars and driving but as I pointed the MX-5's pop-up lights towards Ruthin I couldn't shake the feeling that that car and those roads had so much more to offer.


Roll on summer...

It's back! Part Two

WAY back in 2011 my Mazda MX-5 returned to the road, after being treated to a series of fixes and upgrades.

Unfortunately, the only problem was that the closing days of last December were too dark, too wet and too cold to get any decent pictures, but with it being 2012 I've managed to take a few snaps of my newly-improved Mazzer.

Admittedly most of the bits you can't see, but I'm particularly proud of the traditionalist wooden trim I've had fitted...

It's back!

IT WAS my last enjoyable moment of motoring in 2011, but what a moment it was.

Regular readers will already know that last month I decided that what I needed in my life was a MK1 Mazda MX-5, the one with the funny pop-up headlights and the grinning owners. With a little pub-based help from eBay and a search through the classified ads in The Champion, I came up with a charming G-reg example in Mariner Blue, which despite having just over 100,000 miles on the clock came in surprisingly clean nick and felt tighter than a drum to drive.

Which I've gone on to tell you absolutely nothing about... until now.

The truth is that it's been off the road for the last few weeks because - and I'm not proud to admit it - the car's Camac tyres let me down in spectacular fashion. Since then it's had a few optional extras installed, to follow on from my earlier efforts to fit a slightly more tasteful steering wheel.

The little blue sports car now has the spec to match the looks, with bigger brakes, a stronger rear axle, and new diff and propshaft. Oh, and some much meatier tyres, which still haven't arrived yet, making the drive from Rainford to Southport on the original budget rubber a not-at-all nerve-racking experience!

But then the rain stopped and - seeing as I never decline a chance to get a ragtop's roof down - I got reacquainted with why the MX-5 is still the best selling sports car the world has ever seen. Yes, the car hadn't been run for ages and the idle control was a bit iffy, and that somehow water had made it into the driver's footwell in its enforced holiday and made the interior smell like a damp dog. Worst of all, it was still on the heart-stopping (but sadly not car-stopping) budget tyres, meaning every roundabout was a choice between dawdling, wheelspinning or heading backwards into the nearest hedge.

In truth, it was rubbish because the car badly needs some decent rubber and a bit of TLC, but it was still an MX-5 with the roof down, which is one of motoring's great experiences.

Even I'll admit the little Mazda hasn't been the luckiest car I've ever owned, but maybe it's just that 2011 hasn't been its year. 2012 - and a summer of winding down leafy country lanes on tyres that are actually up to the job - is just around the corner.

My eternal gratitude goes to Ian, Anthony and Gareth Jackson of Parkhill Garage, based in Rainford, for having the patience to put up with my MX-5. I'm not terribly good at plugging things but if you live anywhere near Rainford, give them a ring on 01744 882749 if you need a repair.

Unpimp My Ride

XZIBIT and Tim Westwood would be disappointed. The first thing I've done with my new MX-5 is to look at the bling accessories on offer and decide not to fit them.

In fact I'm almost going the other way, because at least four of the bits added on by previous owners - the alloy wheels, the steering wheel, the gearknob and the front splitter - are all coming off. As you can probably gather from the photo above, I'm going for a slightly more traditional look.

The wheel on the left is the one that came with the car, and while I know plenty of people like that sort of thing sprouting from their steering column I couldn't shake the Sega Rally connotations, so it had to come off. As anyone who reads this column will already know, one of the things I love most about my MGB GT is its wonderfully traditional wooden wheel, which is why I've fitted a very similar one to the Mazzer. It not only looks the part, but feels it too.

I've also swapped the five-spoke aftermarket alloys for the smaller, standard MX-5 ones (which not only look better, and give a softer ride too) but the not-at-all-gaudy blue gearknob is being replaced by something a little more fitting for a retro sports car, and there's some wooden trim on the way to make the interior slightly more sumptuous.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dissaprove at all of modifying cars, but it'd be a dull old world if we all liked the same things and I just think a traditionalist sports car looks better with wood, leather and chrome than boy racer alloys and a Playstation steering wheel. Hopefully the finished result will look as good in the pictures as I imagine it!

It's amazing how a few bits bought relatively cheaply can take your classic from The Fast and The Furious to Heartbeat in an instant.

Forget the midlife crisis, the Mazda MX-5 is a brilliant sports car

MY MIDLIFE crisis has arrived at least a decade early.

That's the reckoning of my Facebook friends, reacting to the news that I've bought what I reckon is a seminal small sports car. After a lot of saving up and careful searching, I've finally got myself a Mazda MX-5!

Regular readers will remember that last week I failed in my pub-based exploits to buy an early MK1 on eBay (thanks for all your tips and suggestions, everyone who emailed in) but in the end I found what I was looking for in the classifieds of this very newspaper. A tidy blue roadster which, despite having clocked up over 100,000 miles in its 20 year life, felt tight as a drum to drive.

I've already braced myself for the armchair pundits' argument; the MX-5, lots of you have already told me, is either a girl's car or a flashing belisha beacon alerting other road users to an impending midlife crisis. Luckily, I have my ripposte ready to go, and it comes in the form of a question to all you MX-5 cynics. Have you actually driven one?

If you have then you'll have felt the finesse of its handling, revelled in the go-kart responsiveness of its steering and enjoyed what I reckon has always been its best feature; the flick-of-the-wrist gearchange. The first time I drove two years ago, is forever etched into my memory as a masterclass of how well a good car can handle.

True, these are features you'll find fitted to my MGB as standard, but the difference between a British sports car and a Japanese one is that the latter is built properly. MX-5s, in a nutshell, are fun sports cars that work properly. That's why it is by far and away the world's best selling sports car and why every car maker on Earth has copied it; if it wasn't for the MX-5 there wouldn't have been an MGF, an SLK or a Boxster.

When I was lucky enough to take a brand new one into the wilds of Wales last year, I fell in love with it, and that's why I decided to take the plunge and actually get one all of my own. Will it be better to drive, to own, and to live with than the Minis I'm used to? I look forward to letting you know.

If a midlife crisis is anywhere near as much as fun as an MX-5 is mid-corner on some twisty mountain road, then bring it on.

I still haven't found what I'm looking for

LAST Sunday night I did something very stupid. I should have heeded the warnings. Cars, drink and mobile phones are a dangerous combination.

Luckily, I'd had just the one pint of Guinness so I realised when I'd had a lucky escape. I sauntered sadly back to the bar, ordered another and stuck the change in the jukebox. As I dipped my lips into the creamy froth I contemplated what I'd very nearly just done; I'd very nearly bought an old sports car over a pint with a smartphone.

Again.

The problem, your honour, started a couple of months ago when I realised that what my life was missing was a Mazda MX-5, the little soft top sports cars you see being driven around in the height of summer with their pop-up headlights and their grinning owners. So I sold the Mini and started saving up. Eventually, the day came when I realised I'd earned just about enough to get a tidy little runner.

That's how, over a quiet pint, a mate whipped out his smartphone, fired up eBay and introduced me to a world into which I've never previously ventured; buying cars on eBay. He had just the thing for me - a nice, clean MX-5 with 85,000 alleged miles on the clock, and mine for just £660. As long as nobody else outbid me in the minute the auction had left to go.

"£750," I chirped confidently. "Nobody's going to offer more than that with a minute to go."

But they did. Some smug so-and-so immediately offered £770. It was getting tense, and I was lost in the cerebral buzz of it all.

"£800. Thirty seconds."

The bargain MX-5 of the century was mine. Then it wasn't. The smug so-and-so chipped in with £820. The final 15 seconds were fading fast.

"£850," I nodded to my smartphone-wielding mate. "I'll give you the money for it tomorr..."

"Sorry mate, it's gone", my mate replied with a sympathetic expression. "Someone's got a bargain for £820."

And that was it. I'd either missed it or survived a close call with destiny. Either way, I'd just tried to buy a car on the other side of the country, completely unseen, with a smartphone and a pint of Guinness Extra Cold to guide me.

I escaped buying an old car on eBay and realised my lucky escape. I celebrated immediately with another pint.