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Is Mazda’s MX-5 really the ideal car for first-time parents? Who cares, just get one!

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Author: | Updated: 30 May 2014 11:08

It had taken the best part of three decades and impending fatherhood for me to realise that I need a two-seater sports car in my life.

Admittedly not the most opportune time to begin obsessing about getting a drop-top roadster on the driveway but this was a hunger which grew more insuppressible by the day.

Each morning, I’d gaze on green-eyed as several MX-5s would sail by, fittingly, in the opposite direction. It didn’t matter if they were ridden with rust, Eunos import or not, blighted by gaudy racing stripes or a mouldy diseased soft-top; they were all beautiful.

It had reached a point where I was letting them out at junctions, even if I’d already let a car go; all just to have an envious drool. Every evening would include at least one session perusing monthly MX-5 lease rates.

Is it really a good idea to swap a family-friendly diesel-sipping Polo for an MX-5? Of course!

Pricey realisation

With our first child just months away, the missus had fervently vetoed the prospect of swapping my family-friendly diesel-sipping 57-reg Polo for an MX-5, on the grounds that it offers just enough boot space for a fun-size Mars bar, let alone a baby buggy.

But even she had finally come round to the idea, perhaps realising that a quieter life awaited if she just let me vent my passion, double my fuel spend, pay seven times as much in road tax, and eventually come round to my senses in time.

All this MX-5 lusting was borne from its aesthetic appeal, aided by the giddy gushings of fellow Twitter and Instagram users. I hadn’t actually driven one and yet I was dead set on owning one.

I had gawped and hankered for one of these cheeky roadsters for so long, could it ever live up to the dream? They say you should never meet your idols but I brushed aside that advice and got hold of a third gen model to find out if it was everything I’d imagined.

Loveable

Our test model – a 2-litre 160PS Sport Tech petrol (£23,095) – could scurry to 62mph in 7.9 seconds with a 136mph top speed. That what you’d get in BMW’s entry level Z4 which costs more than £4.5k more (£27,740), while you’ll get to 62mph marginally faster in Toyota’s GT86 (7.6s) and Audi TT 1.8 TFSI (7.5s).

At a squeeze longer than four metres, the MX-5 is the runt of the litter, around 20cm shorter than its rivals and the most compact in every direction. With a kerb weight of 1248kg, it’s the lightest too. Small is beautiful though and its dinkiness makes it all the more loveable.

Roomier cabins can be found in Peugeot’s RCZ and any of the MX-5’s immediate competition and at times I was wondering what Mazda expected me to do with my left knee during long motorway stretches with the central console bulging into leg space a bit too much.

The cabin isn't the roomiest

Find personal leasing rates for the Mazda MX-5

Dignity

Just 150 litres of boot space doesn’t sound like much either but it was enough to eat up a modest weekly shop as well as two full size guitars.

Despite having the slightest dimensions in its segment, the MX-5 is joint least efficient with the GT86, returning 36.2mpg on a combined cycle at 181g/km CO2. (VED Band I - £220 for 12 months road tax). That mpg is very achievable with a light right foot but if running costs are a major factor, the RCZ offers 44.1mpg at 149g/km (VED F - £140) and is the most affordable at just over £22k.

The MX-5’s simple design collects more lines with each generation but it is still the most straight-forward looking roadster out there; again to its credit.

Getting inside with dignity intact is the first trick any MX-5 owner needs to master. That 13cm ground clearance and 1.25metre vehicle height means you have to be bendy but once seated, it’s refreshing to realise how manual and minimal the controls are.

The MX-5 is still the most straight-forward looking roadster out there

Find business leasing rates for the Mazda MX-5

Stiff

Without much dashboard space to play with, the immediate and self-explanatory buttons are perfectly laid out. The sat-nav infotainment system falls short of expectations with cheap flat buttons and lazy touchscreen response. There are worse out there but the system desperately needs updating for the fourth gen car, due 2015.

It took a good 40 miles (that’s one day’s commuting) to get used to the MX-5’s general rigidity. For a car frequently praised for its handling, the steering felt a lot heavier than anticipated while the short-shifting six speed manual gearbox was significantly stiffer.

Sitting about six inches above the road surface gives the MX-5 this uncanny ability to make a Nissan Micra seem as imposing as an Audi Q7 and with the roof up, the lack of visibility can be nauseating at times. Getting that roof down takes about 15 seconds from initial unhinging to complete foldaway and you have to be at a complete halt.

All these qualities are easy to adapt to quickly and it’s hard to dislike the MX5 for any of its flaws due to how much fun you can have in it.

Chucking it in to bends never gets tiring and although the MX-5 isn’t the most powerful roadster, you feel as if the MX-5 gives back as much as you put in and working the engine to squeeze out a level of performance that satisfies is so rewarding.

The big question

So would I still lease one?

Yes, it’s perfect for a new father because there’s ISOFIX in the passenger seat and Mini Simmy will love the wind blowing through what little hair he has.

Putting the top down first thing in the morning is exactly what you need to wake you up after an night of next-to-no sleep.

Where exactly baby’s mummy sits is a bridge we’ll have to cross when we come to it…

MX-5 at a glance:

We like: Fun on a tap, gorgeous simple design
We no like: Cramped interior isn’t the most comfortable, outdated sat-nav

Length: 4020mm
Width: 1720mm
Height: 1255 mm
Wheelbase: 2330mm
Boot space: 150 litres
Petrol engines: 1.8i 126PS, 2.0i 160PS, 2.0i Powershift 160PS auto
Diesel engines: N/A
Top down: 15 seconds, complete stop
Fastest: 2.0i Sport Tech 160 – 7.9secs, 136mpg top speed
Cheapest: 1.8i 126PS - £19,995
Priciest: 2.0i Powershift 160PS - £23,695
Most fuel efficient: 1.8i 126PS – 39.8mpg, 167g/km CO2
Rivals: Toyota GT86, Peugeot RCZ, BMW Z4, Audi TT

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