Mazda MX-5 Eunos Roadster

Mazda MX-5 / Eunos Roadster (NA 1989 to 1997, NB 1998 to 2005)

The best-selling roadster ever built, and the smartest cheap fun going

Mazda looked at the old British roadsters, the ones your uncle loved and swore at in equal measure, and built one that actually starts on a cold morning. It is light and rear-drive, and it sits near 50:50 front to rear, chasing what Mazda called jinba ittai, horse and rider as one. It worked. Somewhere north of 1.25 million have rolled out since 1989, which makes it the best-selling two-seat roadster in history by a country mile. If you are getting into rear-drive fun, this is where you start. There is a reason the forums answer every "what should I buy" thread with the same tired old line: the answer is always Miata.

NA (1989 to 1997): the pop-up icon

The first family is the one purists chase. The early NA6 runs a 1.6 making roughly 120 PS, and the featherweight feel of those first cars is what people fall for. From around 1993 to 1994 the NA8 arrived with a 1.8 at roughly 130 PS, a bit more muscle for not much more weight. Neither is quick by modern numbers, and that was never the point. You wring the little engine right out, the gearbox is one of the sweetest ever bolted into anything, and 90 km/h feels like an event.

NB (1998 to 2005): pop-ups gone, chassis sharper

The facelift lost the pop-ups to pedestrian-safety rules and got fixed headlights instead. Purists sulked, but the NB is the better driving car: a stiffer shell and a sharper front end. Later 1.8 cars added a six-speed too. Same 1.6 and 1.8 choices carried over, and from the 2001 update the 1.8 VVT pushed out around 150 PS in most markets, which is a proper step up. A factory turbo also arrived near the end, the Mazdaspeed in Japan and North America and the MX-5 SE here in Australia, good for roughly 160 to 180 PS depending on market. They are rare and often thrashed, so buy on condition, not badge.

Why buy one, and what to check

Fun-per-dollar, nothing else comes close. Parts are everywhere and the club scene is enormous. It is also genuinely easy to live with as a daily, which you cannot say about most cheap sports cars. As a first proper rear-driver or a weekend track toy, it is hard to argue with.

Rust is the big one. Check the sills, the rear arches, the front chassis rails and the boot floor, and lift the carpets while you are down there. A rusty cheap one will cost you more than a clean dear one once the welding starts, every single time. After that, look over the soft top for splits and a foggy, crunchy rear window, and on any 1.8 confirm the timing belt has been done, because it is an interference engine and a snapped belt is a very expensive morning. Be wary of clapped-out ex-track cars unless you know exactly what you are buying.