Skip advert
Advertisement

Dreaming of the summer: Mazda MX-5 generations driven at Goodwood

We take a spin back in time with the first three generations of Mazda MX-5

September 1989. The Dodge Viper RT/10 makes its debut at the Chicago motor show. Its immense eight-litre V10 develops 400bhp and it’s wrapped in a glassfibre body so muscular as to make TVRs look malnourished.

Why then were all eyes on the delicate Japanese roadster across the hall? The one with a power output little more than a quarter of the Viper’s and rolling on wheels that, to this day, are referred to as ‘daisies’? The Goodwood Motor Circuit on a windy Monday morning seems a world away from the glitz of an international motor show, but the quaint surroundings are somehow an appropriate environment to explore the MX-5’s appeal.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Its links with the 1960s sports cars that inspired it have been endlessly repeated. The Lotus Elan-like body. The exhaust note, tuned by Mazda to mimic that of old Triumphs and MGBs. And the gleeful pop-up headlights and curved lower intake? They’re not unlike the slightly gormless face of an Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite.

If early MX-5s don’t quite match an original Elan Sprint on paper, they share its spirit: 1597cc, four cylinders, 115bhp and 100lb ft (for the original 1.6), five speeds, rear-wheel drive, double wishbones at all four corners, 185-section tyres and 971kg at the kerb.

The numbers are modest, but Mazda’s ‘jinba ittai’ concept – ‘horse and rider as one’ – invite you to delve beyond simple performance statistics. Well, that’s the theory. Stretching along Goodwood’s pitlane is a line of MX‑5s, from early cars to the latest Mk4. We’ll be sampling generations one, two and three here, starting with the first.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Advertisement - Article continues below

Climbing into this later 1.8-litre-engined example reveals the first pleasant surprise: you’re actually sitting in a manner approximating that of a sports car. Early MX-5s aren’t known for their low-slung seating position, but the soft fabric allows me to sink lower than the firm leather of my own Fast Fleet Eunos. The extra friction should reduce the bracing required in faster corners, too.

Less pleasant is the three-spoke steering wheel – there’s little wrong with the shape or the thinness of the rim, but the textured, injection-moulded affair is a reminder of the bad old days before even the most basic supermini featured a cow-skinned wheel. Earlier Mk1s used a neat Momo number whose padded horn press could be removed to expose the racy metal spokes beneath.

Sadly, the tyres are flat. Or they seem to be. A twist of the wheel to extract the Mk1 from its place in the string unearths another facet of this particular car – there’s no power steering. This kept the price low back in the mid 1990s – an unadorned 1.8 could leave the forecourt for £14,495, against the £17,595 of a better-specified (and power-assisted) 1.8iS.

> Head to page 2 to read more about the Mk1 MX-5

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

BMW M2 CS shows face at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed
M2 CS front
News

BMW M2 CS shows face at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed

BMW has applied the CS treatment to the G87 M2 and it's now made its UK debut at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed
11 Jul 2025
Used Toyota GR86 (2022 - 2024) review – short-lived sports car brilliance
Best driver's cars 2023 - Toyota GR86
Reviews

Used Toyota GR86 (2022 - 2024) review – short-lived sports car brilliance

No minor revision, the GR86 delivers thrills beyond the reach of its iconic predecessor – if you managed to get hold of one...
11 Jul 2025
New Aston Martin Vantage S revealed – Ferrari Amalfi rival is more powerful and focused
Aston Martin Vantage S front
News

New Aston Martin Vantage S revealed – Ferrari Amalfi rival is more powerful and focused

With a bump in power output among myriad detail changes, the Vantage S could be the ultimate driver’s Aston
8 Jul 2025
The 2025 Carrera 4S is an all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 without hybrid power
Porsche 911 Carrera 4S
News

The 2025 Carrera 4S is an all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 without hybrid power

Porsche adds AWD to the Popular Carrera S lineup, as well as a Targa
2 Jul 2025
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
News

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV

If you have to have an SUV, a Stelvio QV is acceptable. Now it's being heavily discounted.
8 Jul 2025
New Aston Martin Vantage S revealed – Ferrari Amalfi rival is more powerful and focused
Aston Martin Vantage S front
News

New Aston Martin Vantage S revealed – Ferrari Amalfi rival is more powerful and focused

With a bump in power output among myriad detail changes, the Vantage S could be the ultimate driver’s Aston
8 Jul 2025
MST Mk1 Sports is a more affordable less extreme Ford Escort recreation
MST Ford Escort front
News

MST Mk1 Sports is a more affordable less extreme Ford Escort recreation

Costing a tenth of most made-new classics, the MST Mk1 Sports is comparatively accessible
8 Jul 2025