Mom's new car- 2006 MX5
 

After selling my mom's 300SDL a couple months ago she got a velocity red Mazda MX5 last weekend... nice, very little car. It was one of those limited edition ones with 2000 miles on it, has a different red paint and some chrome trim here and there, plus some extra body panels and interior trim. 2500# curb weight and 170 hp/140 tq from the 2.0 makes it the fastest car i've ever driven... not saying much since that has been corollas, accords, and my beloved 300D. It pulls pretty good and revs pretty damn fast. The soft (cloth) top is designed really well, extremely quick to lower and raise while you're in the car.

This is the first stick shift car I've driven (6 spd manual) and after I took some lessons in my friend's old Ford Exploder I'm fairly competent but could use some more practice. At least im not stalling it or making it buck anymore... havent attempted a hill start or anything, but I did back it out of the garage up our driveway (live on a slant). The thing that got me most about the car is the steering response, there's absolutely no play in the wheel and off center it is nice and stiff but eases up as you turn the wheel (very quick steering, takes a lot less than 3 turns of the wheel to reach lock). I havent messed around with many corners but it seems like a very nimble car. I fit very well (5'11" 180 lbs) and am very comfortable in it. I know some people here have experience with Miatas, so let me know.

No Miata or MX5 experience to speak of. But a 40 something mom in such a cute little car will pique the interest of many here, I expect.

:mad: hahaha... i love you dirty old men.

We rented a 2000 5 speed model in Maui for a few days on vacation a few years ago. We had so much fun with it we more or less drove all the way around the island in one day. We put 500+ miles on it in 2 days and had a lot of fun getting the tail out of line :D That was motivation to buy our 97 5 speed. It's a great handling car but not as refined as the 1999-2005 cars. I imagine the 2006 being much more sublime than the 2nd generation cars. The steering was much more precise since it's rack and pinion steering compared to the benzes which feel sloppy by comparison but much better dampening. There's a lot less weight to move so I was always able to move the steering wheel easily even without the engine on and even push it on level ground and I only weigh 120lbs. Does your mom's have traction control or a LSD rear? I almost ran out of talent coming off the freeway a little too hot once and didn't apply opposite lock when the rear broke loose. :eek:

Did you buy the hardtop? Those things are quite a commodity.

The car doesn't have any traction control or anything and im glad it doesnt. It is an option though. It does have a limited slip that came with the suspension package which also has supposedly firmer Bilstein shock absorbers and a shock tower bar/strut. The LSD is what's important though. I have driven cars with rack and pinion but none are as tight and responsive as this car's. I dont see much point in the hard top, it costs like $3000 and the car will still be loud and crude on the freeway. Not too fun with the top up... blind spots!