As you rightly say, the 1.8 only came with a 5 speed box, the 2 litre with a 5 or 6 speed.

If looking at a 2009 onwards facelift car, then only the 2.0 SE has a 5 speed box, the Sport tech has a 6 speed, and most special editions are 6 speed too.

If you want heated leather seats, cruise control etc then generally you will be looking at a model with the 6 speed box

 

Bottom line Tommo, get yourself a 2.0 Sport Tech model or one of the many "Special Editions" that Mazda churned out, that way you get all the toys.
My caveat to that being that the 1.8 engine is the sweeter albeit less powerful, less torquey and restricted to the 5 speed box and no limited slip diff.

 

If I were in your position, I would look for the car in the best condition that I could afford, and accept the engine/gearbox combination that it contains. I don,t think you can go to far wrong with that approach.

 

As with all the guys above, draw up a list of the toys you want and start looking there. These cars are very customisable, but it's often cheaper to start with a special edition and work from there. I did this when I chose mine.
Then get driving. Some people love the 6 speed, some don't, so 'once all this has blown over' do some test driving- if you can wait that long!

 

My present MX-5 Mk4 is a 2.0 GT Sport Nav + with all the bells and whistles, most of which I do not use. I love driving but have really no interest in gadgets for the sake of them. I have owned several cars with heated seats and have never ever switched them on in any car, even to see if they actually work. I was not impressed with the six speed box in my Mk3 but in my Mk4 it appears far smoother in action. Personally I would certainly endorse Wrangler's policy of buying the best condition car rather than the most loaded.

 

I know some folks have had 'issues' with the 6 speed box in the NC but it is the strongest box out there. Any baulkiness, a common complaint, is easily remedied by using a superior oil, Castrol Syntrax, Redline, Millers etc. I personally would be changing the box & diff oil on any NC purchase with over 10k miles as a matter of course anyway.
My own NCs x 3 since 2007 (6 speed) have had one of the nicest gearshifts of any car I've owned the NC2 made some changes to the box that did improve the shift but a superior oil is the key. As far as the car being loaded, that's a relative term. The NCs were ultimately not overly loaded with smart toys, I think the pinaccle of tech would have been the Venture model with built in sat nag.

 

If I were in your position, I would look for the car in the best condition that I could afford, and accept the engine/gearbox combination that it contains. I don,t think you can go to far wrong with that approach.

All the advice here is very good advice, but for my money, Wrangler is spot-on! :thumbsup:

 

My present MX-5 Mk4 is a 2.0 GT Sport Nav + with all the bells and whistles, most of which I do not use. I love driving but have really no interest in gadgets for the sake of them. I have owned several cars with heated seats and have never ever switched them on in any car, even to see if they actually work. I was not impressed with the six speed box in my Mk3 but in my Mk4 it appears far smoother in action. Personally I would certainly endorse Wrangler's policy of buying the best condition car rather than the most loaded.

If you lived in Minnesota, you would use the heated seats. I have even added heaters to seats in cars that did not have them from new.

 

Even in my part of Scotland where we don't get the extremes you see, at least not consistently, I love the heated seats and in my time of owning the NC range circa 14 years now, I use the heated seats quite often. That said I have collectively clocked up around 140k miles in my 3 NCs and used them all year round and even on the coldest winter days, one winter 2010-2011 we saw a week of mornings at anything from -12c up to -10c, balmy by Minnesota standards I know but when dry I would travel into work roof down. It certainly freshened you up first thing but with that heater and the seat turned on the body was toasty warm

 

I guess this was my ideal sports car, no weather gear other than windscreen and sidescreens, no heater let alone heated seats, no doors - a REAL sports car !

 

I guess this was my ideal sports car, no weather gear other than windscreen and sidescreens, no heater let alone heated seats, no doors - a REAL sports car !

Lovely Car, I admit that it would be great to own, but would be unsuitable for my daily car.

 

All good advice and thank you for it. I will always try and get the best I can for what I can afford.

What about a 5 speed 2.0.

Not bothered about track days, or fuel consumption. Maybe would like some form of BBR upgrade but Mrs Tommo will be driving the car most of the time.

(Whatever you do, don't mention the BBR upgrade to her)

Ssshhh

Tommo

 

What about a 5 speed 2.0.

If looking at a 2009 onwards facelift car, then only the 2.0 SE has a 5 speed box, the Sport tech has a 6 speed, and most special editions are 6 speed too.

If you want heated leather seats, cruise control etc then generally you will be looking at a model with the 6 speed box

See my post above. If you want all the toys (a relative term) too, then you will probably be looking at one of the 6 speed models

 

Heated seats = awesome for back ache!

 

I've had heated seats in five of my last six cars, and the ones supplied with the NC are the best of all for a back ache.

 

I use the heated seats sometimes in the Mazda but I never use them in my everyday car. When I use them Its only for 15 mins or so until they start to warm up and then I switch them off.