Thanks for reviewing my car Jack and I have to say a very well judged review of the car! For the interested enthusiasts: Car is a 2008 MX5 Sport NC1 in Stormy Blue. BBR Super 200 conversion with manifold, centre pipe and GT back box. MeisterR CRD coilovers. Carbotech XP8 pads (epic!). It revs to 7750, the rev counter stops at 7500! Spencer

I don't care what people think. I have a 2011 NC for more then 10 years now and I still love this car. It's pretty much all the car you need for most drives.

As with motorcycles you can have much more fun with smaller engines, you tend to use most of the power and be on the edge whereas with bigger engines you'll never enjoy/use half its power.

Yep. MX5 in any guise is better than almost any car. Not practical, not spacious but bloody brilliant 👍

LISTEN. The NC is perfect STOCK. Yes, it slowly grows on you. A 2007 softtop has been my daily for 2 years here in beautiful Cape Town. I get to push it hard it every time I drive it. It never breaks. The comfy suspension absorbs real bumps on real roads while cornering at the limit. Judging an overtake is fun. It is genuinely fast around corners. The gearbox and brakes are perfect. This thing has such a huge sense of humour. Best of all, everyone smiles, waves, lets me in, and tells me they like my car. Because it has a big smiley face! And all the other cars are all sad and angry. *Decends from pulpit*

I've never encountered someone who doesn't think a NB looks better than a NA. NB looks more like a jaguar or boxster with its smoother lines

That hacked hole in the strut turret, to get shock adjustment access is appalling.

I've never understood why there is [may be] a downer on the NC. It's my favourite of all generations. So much so, I've just bought an 08 2.0 BBR supercharged (the old Cosworth unit they used to fit), hardtop, 5spd, LSD. Standard suspension. Love it! For the road, it corners on rails even with naff tyres. Brakes are amazing. Great gearshift. What's not to love! Someday, I'm hoping they will bring out an NE that has same proportions as the NC

I have a mk3 2 litre. Its as fast as you need. People are so obsessed with numbers, learn how to drive. 🙄🙄

If you live in a completely flat country with 62 MPH max speed 160HP is enough. Underpinnings and steering feel are by far the most important.

I absolutely loved mine, yes it could have used more power but it never failed to make me smile every single drive.

I have an NB and love it. Only had it about 8 months and cant fault it. Wish Id bought one years ago. Wanted one since they came out in 1990. Yes its not particularly quick but where I am in the UK even on country roads now you cant go much above 50 because of all the speed cameras anyway. Its all about roof down, suncream on for wind burn and a quick hour or two B road bash. Thats it. And yes people do wave at you just like in the old days with the classic beetle. The BBR kit is clever but doubles the cost of an NC. I just don't think its worth it to enjoy one. Just enjoy it for what it is standard

The NC engineers went completely off chops trying to manage the necessary weight increases... Ie... Changing and shortening bolts in the wing mirror mounts to shave 2g. They had to add a lot of safety features and did amazing things to reduce the differential between the NB and NC. They tried their best.....

I think the world is generally too hard on the NC Miata. This example comes across as a terrific road-going sports car, and a tremendous value. A person could certainly take some weight out of it, with some malice aforethought. And I simply don't physically fit into either the NA or NB, anyway, so the NC would be my choice of the three versions.

I have a 2007 NC with all the same exhaust and engine mods including the BBR cams fitted at BBR and remapped by them with 200bhp. It’s a soft top! It doesn’t have the coilovers, but does have Eibach anti roll bars and IL Motorsports drop links. I think the updated anti roll bars make a big difference. I’ve had it for 12 years and love it. I’ve done a number of tours in the Alps with it including the Stelvio Pass and it was brilliant. Happy to bring it down after the summer if you fancy a go in it.

I've had 2 mx-5's whilst in the UK. The '99 model with 145bhp and only 1000 kg. What a riot they were! Greetings from the Netherlands PS: I had mine set up for suspension and steering by a Japanese Track specialist in Leyland and it was as sharp as a razor! Purchase price was GBP 1300 and GBP 250 for steering and suspension

Dailying my MX5 with track and autocross days, the NC is not as underpowered as you'd think. Heck the NA and NB is so much more underpowered. Hitting high speed corners on track while flat out is the best thing ever.

The best, more mature MX5 so far, period. Reasonable performance and passive safety as well. Great handling, too.

I have a 2010 NC 3.5 with the BBR200 upgrade and the GT exhaust. Also Meister CRD plus some other nice mods. I’ve had two Mk1’s and I’ve never driven a ND, as I worry I’d want one. It really is a fab car, great fun to drive and very reliable. I’ve had the car for over 3 years and I can’t see me selling it any time soon. Also I think the NC looks wise is improving with age, so in many ways the perfect cheap sports car. Great video by the way.

Funny this video follows the one on the original puma. Two wonderful cars for handling and response but both blighted by rust! I owned an NB 1.8i and loved it until the rust took it. Such usable cars and the supple ride makes them very handy on bumpy roads. Great video.

NC is the best looking generation to me

The folding hard top does make for a more secure car, if left in a car park, or outside. And of course, as safety gets more stringent, all cars get heavier. I think people are rather hard on the poor old Mk3, particularly in its 1.8 spec form. The 2l with LSD, bilseins, is still fun to drive. I had a Mk1 Eunos V Spec. which was a lot of fun. But who needs power, my MG Midget 1275 was lighter, slower and just as much fun, just different....... And my Alfa 75 3L, wasn't much fun at all, after a GTV2000, AlfaSud Sprint or even a 33 GreenClover leaf. But all my cars, Alfa, Mazda, MG, they all rust!

I have the the mk1 and the bbr 200. I find myself using the bbr more often its amazing.

Great review Jack, as ever, I'm on my 3rd NC and have a BBR 180 kit, half the price and on the dyno the car pushed out 186 BHP. Mine has BC coli-overs and up-rated pads and disks. It really is excellent fun, you can drive it as desired on UK roads and not feel like you are about to loose your licence. More pound for pound fun than pretty much any other car I've had including 911s, V8 M3 and Cayman - just make sure you underseal it regularly as they rust like mad.

Best looking car of the bunch,equivalent of about 250 bhp on a modern 1.5 ton car thesedays. Plenty.

Had an NC and drove it all over Europe, loved it, such fun, buy the 1.8 for revs or the 2.0 for torque, you choose 👍👍👍 PS, we had an ND after it, but for some reason didn’t enjoy it as much 🤨

NC's are pretty good tools for being relatively cheap RWD cars that can be driven very fast. They're quite different from the earlier gens but just a lot more capable. In the grand scheme of things it's still a light weight sports car especially compared to what's available today

Stunning colour. Sounds great, too. Looks are subjective. I've a turbo mk1, and that really does keep you on your toes...

With an MX5 it's all about the fun factor, if you want a full on sporty you need heaps more horsepower. My 1999 NB rag roof is just so much fun to drive in the Twisties, it's a big go kart, a little tight in the driving position but any more space and I'd be getting chucked about. Being super reliable and it fits like a glove, is 100% fun, definitely no world beater but lives up to everything it says on the label.

I was literally just having a debate about the mx5 with Mr 'twin cam', he posted something saying how great the mx5 was and I respectfully disagreed as I said they were under powered. His point was it's all about handling. My point was you can't enjoy the corners on most country roads because you're stuck behind another car that you don't have the power to get past. Pretty much exactly what you pointed out. It's worth remembering that the base car which yours was based on was the 160bhp 2.0, most of the NC's sold were the 1.8 with 125bhp. Last time I looked there were 2 x 2.0 litres for sale on gumtree and about 50 1.8's. In the end I didn't buy another mx5 I bought a 3.0 z4, 230bhp, and cheaper than buying a mx5 and modding it.

I think that comparing it to the older models is a moot point at this time. In my opinion, this is the only one of the three that can realistically be driven as a daily, with parts more readily available and with the reliability of a newer car. Also, with this kit you've mentioned, some of that softness and sluggishness are negated and, for someone who hasn't sampled the earlier models, it'll feel great. In short, personally, I'd have one of these instead of the old ones any day of the week.

I had a Mk1 (NA Series-3 1.8L) soft-top which was just brilliant! The only mod I had done was to upgrade the rotors and pads to competition spec, with braided lines, so I could do some track days. The lightness and connectedness was sublime! Yes, it wasn't super powered, but I just used the gears and drove it on the rev-limiter a lot. I could drift it rally-flick style through the big double lane roundabouts with the tail hanging out at the limit Hoonigan fashion! Punting it through the twisty stuff on the Black Spur or the Great Ocean Road (Victoria, Australia) was just grin inducing stuff!

Hi Jack - this is a great review, my last car was an NC BBR Super 200, and previously to that owned an NA Eunos RS Limited (standard-ish). You honestly hit the nail on the head in every point of this review. I wasn't interested in a standard NC as I knew it would just feel too tame. The BBR kit really wakes it up, and put it on a par with the NA for me. I agree though that while the BBR Super 200 had just enough power, I wouldn't have minded a bit more. The handling was great as well, mine had Eibach springs and a full geo. However, I'd definitely say out of the box the NA was a better drive, and even though 70 bhp down on the NC BBR S200, I reckon just as much fun. If I could have either again, I'd have the NA, but the NC with this kit is a great option.

My sister had a Mk3 and really liked it though it suffered from rust in a few places unfortunately.

Change the air filter, get a 53mm free flow exhaust installed and slap in a UniChip piggy back ECU, get it tuned correctly and you`ll have a very capable little N/A sports car...

The reputation of the NC seems to have been founded on the early cars (NC1) which were high, soft, poorly set-up from the factory and (depending on your eye) a bit clunky to look at. The later cars (NC2 and NC3 from late 2009 onwards) are very different. My NC2 is a joyous thing to drive. I’ve got some other well regarded and faster drivers’ cars in my fleet but it’s always the MX5’s keys I’ll choose when I want to go for a proper drive.

Good review, but you didn't mention the BBR supercharger kit that's also available for the NC. I'd like to see you drive one of those.

It sounds fabulous imo. Re the mk1 etc differences- we live in a tourist area of the blue mountains and many car clubs come along Bells line of road, the demographic of the drivers is interesting. Its the young ones in the mk1s and its retirees in the current mx5 just saying. As for kits, i had a 2006 wrx sti with an MRT enhancement kit. 220kw at the wheels. Car ran semi slicks, but apart from that looked stock in sliver. It was a weapon. The mx5 kit really has made a difference to that car. Thanks Jack. Each video is a trip down mamory lane for me 👍

The facelifts were always better. NB2 and NC2. NC2 had the higher revving engine and suspension updates

I have a Super 200 with Meister coil overs - no nasty holes cut to adjust them! Brilliant fun on B roads and surprisingly quick. There was one on eBay this week. It’s the least powerful car I own but still a joy to drive

I think it's a good compromise for the extra comfort in the cab, and convenience of the folding hardtop. Sounds great at higher revs as well. Effortless low down torque is great in an executive saloon, but I want a sports car to howl a bit.

An interesting upgrade for an MX5. You wouldn't want something that made it rev constantly within an inch of it's life so this seems to be a good choice. I agree a turbo might spoil the 'charm' of the car, more 'boy racer' perhaps? At least with a hard top you could feel more secure if that is one of your 'wish list' items but yes there will be a bit more weight. Great review Jack thank you. 👍👍

We have had three mk1 mx5s and now have a mk3 nc.... They have all been great cars... the Mk3 with its automatic 6 speed powershift is great.

Loved my NB. Had it (almost ) from new, it always put a smile on my face. Eventually my wife could fall into it but not get out, so it had to go. Worst decision of my motoring life...

I wish I still had my RX7 FB it would be a great car for you to review. The direct link to the MX5 (same wheelbase, same Lotus Elan stylng, same raw simple lightweight fun approach). Nice work Jack.

Miss my MX5, you have motivated me to go shopping for one again

By far the best looking mx5

I have a 2007 NC with the BBR Super 200 kit plus the stage 2 Rotrex super charger, as well as the BBR suspension and brake upgrades etc. It now puts out nearly 300 bhp and it's still a very driveable car... but it's also pretty angry if you poke it. I use it for track days, hill climbs and of course, some sunny Sunday blasts. It's completely irrational but it's also properly epic.

I've driven the mk1 mx5 and it was fantastic! A really fun car, like most cars as the mk's go on mk2-mk3 and so on they get bigger and heavier it's a shame!

It’s not the least loved it’s actually the favourite nowadays

Jack been waiting for this one. Certainly makes my yearn for a bit more power, I have the 1.8 and it's stock, though a later car so hopefully less reliability issues as the early cars suffered. Certainly on a b road it's excellent in the corners but yep meet a slow car and overtaking is quite risky when there's not much left under your foot. Excellent review and quite fair, it is bigger and heavier than the earlier cars. It's worth mentioning that this is basically because it's on a shortened rx8 chassis because during its development ford held the purse strings and they simply would not allow a development from scratch as it was too expensive. Looks are subjective but in my opinion the later cars got less cute and better looking and they sit lower stock as certainly the first NCS are like 4x4s they sit so high.

I had a 12 year old Eunos Roadster - it was a 1990. I loved that car and put about 170000 kilometres on it over a little over two years. My brother bought a much newer NC with the folding hardtop - he’s a bit precious about it and I have yet to drive it but, while the interior is a bit more ‘grown up’, in the passenger seat it felt really cramped - barely enough leg room and all the extra safety stuff and probably the space the hardtop took up, not a place I would like to spend a lot of time in. My NA never felt like that - even with my guitar resting on top of the folded hood. Oh, I miss that car. The brother loves his and I didn’t share my impressions with him.

I've had the opportunity to drive every generation of MX5's on the track in various state of tune. They all have their pros and cons but the common theme is that they are great track cars for the money and respond well to low cost and simple modifications. Two things specifically on the NCs that was not mentioned is that there is a kit to make the power steering less power/have more feel. Makes a big difference in the feedback of the car. And upgrading the limited slip differential is worth the effort if using it on the track. Helps the car become much more stable in fast turns. Both of these modifications take nothing away for street manners.

it is interesting watching you learning to drive, you are definitely getting better... never driven a hard-top, rest feel ok to me, yes, a bit lardy, but still a good drive turbo would be interesting, but it might not suit it's point+ squirt feel keep it up young man

The weight differences are less than the figures would suggest as the way the weight is measured for homologation in Europe has changed (think the high weight for an NC is the ‘mass in running order’ which includes a 75kg driver and a 90% full fuel tank - while for the NA it is far more unrealistic - hence the ~200kg difference the raw figures give). Realistically the difference is about 1/3 what is generally claimed. Add a basic roll over bar to an NA and a stereo (given pretty much all will have these fitted by now and the NC has these as standard) and there is little difference. From one of the MX5 forums where they were weighed on the same equipment, NA was 1048kg and the NC was 1124kg. Looks wise,I like the NA but only when in good condition, but shape doesn't seem to cope well with looking tatty (bumpers warping with age, etc). NC looks almost as good, with the later NC (revised lights, bumpers, mirrors, etc) looking better. To me NB looks worse than both and ND I am not a fan of (I do like the Fiat version). The MX5 is aimed at a market where outright light weight and performance is not the main factor. If you want those from a convertible then buy an Elise! It is a blend of being fun and useable.

Hi Jack great weather and video as ever! Like this mx 5 because it has a Ford engine! This one has the 2.0 from the Fiesta ST itself a detuned version of the good old Focus ST170 and you will know that this engine is the basis for the Mk 1 Focus RS (my favourite!) I think the styling is reminiscent of the S2000 Honda in a way. I like this one more than the current one, and the daft shirt lived fiat counterpart , which together with the daft Mitsubishi L200 pick up clone I can’t remember the name of . I’d have a turbo one , that particular one was very nice though. Ben

Love the way they look. BBR Kit seems worthy addition to address, the relative, plump.

I love my 1964 “MX5”

I have a 2010 NC with BBR’s supercharger conversion, 300-hp is too much really but it’s good fun 😂

The only day of the year when Jack can drive in shorts and shirt sleeves, and he gets a convertible. Coincidence?

Interesting review. Maybe a Super 225 would be the answer for just a bit more power whilst being normally aspirated? The downside being that the pricing gets close to that for turbo or supercharger options.

😊 great work Jack.

I've had NA, NB, and 2 NC - the NC chassis is miles ahead

The NC won Top 10 Cars from Car & Driver 8X, which is more than any other generation.

Sounds like a proper sports car!

I owned one (NC) sunlight silver hard top back in 2008. I bought it as a “love at first sight”.. drove it as a daily. Note I drove it only in sunny day because I had not once close the roof! NOT ONCE.. I sold it in 2011 when my MB SLS (C197) finally arrived.. I remember clearly that I was living like a teenage girl in my MX5 suddenly become a late 30s woman (ie the real me) feeling all grown up and serious and stuffy.. i always looking for similar design that will make me feel young again.. finally in 2018 I bought GTC Roadster (R190) which i quite enjoy BUT it is huge car, heavy and very powerful almost too powerful and overwhelming for me. Plus it is too loud visually for me to feel safe to drop the top in the inner city. It is certainly not a daily car for me… yeah I am trying to say is simple fun and good looking cars are not easy to come by. Cherish what you got. I regret selling mine back then.

I just sold my great white NC 2 months ago: nice car!

That's exactly the car I'm looking for, NC, BBR, Blue, Hard top.

Thank you for this video! I think this is the nicest-looking MX-5! 🙂

Nice package, But damn is that a rough cut around the coilovers. Hopefully that was the owners personal job and not the work of BBR. At least make a clean circle or sumn. But very nice package. Sorry for the rant

Interesting. BBR are a great tuning company and it’s great that the power and fun have been restored. I had an early MK1 which I restored but sadly just didn’t have enough room in for me.

Great video Jack, thanks.

Another good Jack review. Any updates on the De Tomaso Pantera?

I have an ND, but for me, personally the NB is my least favorite… I always really liked the NC version

From a personal perspective my biggest issue was the ND was simply that as a tall person and former NA owner, I could not fit comfortably in the car without my left knee hard up against the dash.

Great little cars, looks like a worthwhile upgrade at that price.

Please do an supercharged NC preferably NC2 or later.

Would you invest the cash modifying an nc or pick another model? Based on same overall spend for a good condition car? I used to have a very modified na mk1 and loved it. Keen to get another

That gen just needs suspension and a sport alignment. Makes it a deal. I’m on my fourth NA Miata, love it.

I quite like turbo or supercharged Mx5 a it fills in the gaps and stop it bogging down in the corners I enjoy my Mx5 as much as my Porsche brought mainly just for track days as to risky in the Porsche but great on county lanes

Sound good as well !

Learning to drive,using the brakes less or not at all is what these cars are about.

Great video 😊. Im in a quandary at the moment with my 06 nc which has the meister r coilovers and a racing beat exhaust----absolutely fabulous car and love it to bits but after post covid redundancy having to use it for a much longer commute----my dream would be too itb it and use as a weekend toy and just buy a toyota yaris for daily---but would the itb be worth the extra 40 bhp over it's dynoed 185 bhp from 2018-----any thoughts would be appreciated 😊.

My NA6 with manual steering and AC was 940Kg on the scales.

The soft top does make a difference. I’d have thought that having more depth and needing more effort to extract the best sound like virtues to me. I love my 07 Sport which is stock apart from Meister R CRDs. I’ve owned it from new and feel like I know it inside out. I can’t imagine not having it.

I've looked into the BBR Super 225 kit which adds ITB's with exchange rates it gets very pricey and would cost $10k 🇨🇦 installed, makes it difficult to justify.

Thanks Jack 🙏🙏

Well, I own a Mk1 MX5, and think the interior is nothing to apologize for. Nor do I think it's less than 'grown up'. For me, it's got everything you need in terms of a traditional sports car. The Mk3 ? I just think the interior reflects the era in which it was introduced. I quite like the looks, actually. It's just the bomb-scare engines of the Mk3 that put me off. Ford influence again, as I recall ?

It looks really good in that color. Sadly it sounds like a Honda Civic ricer with that exhaust and i don't think it suits the car.. i would have it sound more deep than raspy/loud from what i hear in video. Great video 👍

A good review of the Mazda MX5 NC with the BBR 200 kit. However I'm somewhat puzzled by your claim that the original Mazda MX5 NA is a better car. The said BBR has a power to mass ratio of circa 132kW/tonne versus the NA version which has 86 kW/tonne which is 53% increase which is very significant. Also noteworth is the BBRs torque of 226 Nm which is a 66% increase over the NA's paltry 136 Nm. Having owned a NA Mazda, I don't consider its overall performance to be in the 'sports car class' - although I really did enjoy the car especially its handling.

Had a Winning Blue 2005 NC - (ie prior to the really lardy NC mk3.5 where they introduced the folding hard top). Mine had Bilstein shocks and a RoadsterSport exhaust. Not more power but sounded better. I like the idea of the BBR kit, but the MX-5 isn’t about power, it’s the package.

Love my 2011 MX5 on Meister r club sports. I had to hide my eyes Jack when I saw how the owner has hacked into the strut brace to see the front damper adjusters !

I test drove one of these a couple of years back as a weekend car. I really wanted to like it but found it just too slow after being spoilt by a big turbo engine. Ended up with a supercharged Elise instead, admittedly at much more money. Interestingly all of the BBR turbo converted cars for sale seem to have been done relatively recently. I have a feeling they dont really suit the car and the owners don't get on with them and sell up soon afterwards. Not sure about supercharged conversions as they appear very rarely for sale.

Served my time with Mazda and it was a sad day when this thing turned up as the Mk2 replacement. Cheap and tacky plastic everywhere and it absolutely does not feel solid and well put together hahah! In comparison to the classy, quality upholstered Mk2 interior this is the one you have to apologise for. The exterior is absolutely revolting (this is subjective I know) and to top it off they dumped a ford engine in it! Along with various other ford bits splattered throughout! This car was literally the death of the Japanese made, quality built MX5. It requires more work to make it feel like the original cars because it’s not an MX5! Mad chat today mate.

It certianly sounds good.

I have a ND MX5 with the 1.5 130 bhp engine and its like a terrier that’s eaten a tube of smarties. It’s fun revs like hell and you will smile like a fool with out loosing your license. I think all MX5 are great in there own right the NC offers a slightly different approach to the early cars but is easier to live with daily.

My base '99 nb weighs 2299 accoreding to the sticker on the door frame.

This size car is a dying breed. Forget electric with is car. I always joke about the electric being four doors with a no speed transmission

Would be cool if you tested a turbo version Jack 👍

I always thought that the NC was ripe for the V6. Mazda tried with the more muscular styling but it came across as a bit limp. More Elvis in his Vegas years. I'm sure it wasn't. I'm sure if you'd never had a sports car then the NC would be just great and certainly more composed than earlier cars. But the V6 would've given it a new lease and there was one, just sitting on the shelf in their factories. Personally, I was never struck on the mk2/2.5. Similar issues, only this time of less better looking and more weight. I had the NA 1.6 - later with a turbo. That was a good car but the extra power didn't make it more fun - just quicker. Mazda were guilty of the same thing that Toyota were with the MR2 or even Ford with the Mustang; that more was better. Different, yes, but better? so subjective. My MR2 AW11 was the best of the lot. All imho...