MX5 (MK3) or S2000 worth the jump?

[kinger8938]

I've been toying with the idea of moving my car on, and getting out of the PCP.

I thought I still have like 2 years to go, and then at the end I would have to refinance to pay off the balloon for about as much as I'm currently paying monthly for 3 or more years on top of that.

I've always loved the idea of a 2 seater sporty car for myself (selfishly). And the S2000 has always been a favourite.

If I get rid of mine, I'll have roughly £6k left over. This in itself is almost enough for the MX5 Mk3, I can up the budget a bit to get a decent example and then I won't have any monthly outgoings towards cars at all and still have some fun with it

But.. I'm also toying with the idea of raising the funds to up my budget for an S2000. I know this sounds contradictory to my ending my PCP monthly idea but I'm an idiot. I just think for my current car I'm tied in to this for atleast 5 more years where as if I go this route, I could get a car I've always wanted and have it sorted over a much shorter period.

Would the S2000 be worth going for in that regard, or does an MX5 within the above budget offer just as much fun at a much lower cost?

 

[tom_nieto]

While the S2000 is a peach, I reckon a completely guilt and finance free MX5 might offer more satisfaction. Are you planning any mods, as there are a lot of options with the MX-5?

I always slightly regret selling my S2000, but I don’t think I’d rush to buy another with prices as they are. Perhaps if I won the lottery!

At the end of the day it depends how much you want a S2000.

 

[SKILL]

I think there's a lot to say about getting the car you want, especially with a 2-seater sports car which inevitably has drawbacks

The S2000 is kind of a different league, both in terms of price (last I checked it was ~£8k for a very dodgy/poor condition one, I assume a chunk more by now?) But also performance, basically +50% power with a slight weight penalty...

I have a Mk3 MX-5 (2006, so NC1, Sport) and I love it, great cars. I was looking at an S2000 at the time but the price difference, I got mine for £3,600, wasn't worth it to me and I don't regret that. I track mine as well and there's a lot to be said about it for that, basically the only thing you 'need' to change is decent brake pads that won't die after a few laps and then you can just hotlap it no probs.

 

[wesimmo]

What will you be using it for?

I had an NB MX5 and absolutely loved it. For B Road driving you can't really beat them, quick enough to be fun, not so quick you're doing silly speeds on public roads.

I was looking for another, but couldn't find a decent one, then looked at NCs and couldn't justify the price to myself.

I ended up with a 3 litre E89 Z4. Totally different proposition and while I love it, it's obviously a very different thing. I must admit to being a little bit jealous of my bro-in-law and his NB when we went for a thrash about in Northumberland recently, the Z4 is quicker in anything but the really tight stuff, and even then it was the first time I've driven it in anger so the jury is out.

However, I did feel a bit more, is nervous the word(?), about the size and the way you're going much faster on small country lanes than I ever did in my mx5.

 

[Nasher]

The MX5 is great fun, but I don't rate the suspension setup on it. The engineering behind the S2000 is superior, they were much more expensive cars when they were new.

MX5 will be much cheaper to maintain/repair though. Also watch out for rust, they love to rust.

 

[kinger8938]

Thanks for the advice so far. Yeah the price difference is the big issue really. Is it truly worth a potential short term loan to cover Vs no monthly at all.

I do love the look of the s2000 more visually.

In terms of use, I currently drive as RS300 Trophy Megane 2020 on pcp and essentially drive it to and from work (like 5-10 mins of b roads) and sometimes potter about at the weekend but use my partners car for family trips etc.

So approx £300 a month just to go to and from work just feels a bit much thus the thought of doing away with that altogether if possible.

Selfishly it's a 2 seater, but we have a captur for when we go out with the kids most of the time.

Long term I'd likely look at a cheap family run around and use that for work and this car in conversation at weekends and just by myself

 

[sandys]

An NC with basic mods is the perfect antidote to modern sanitized motoring and will be quite different to a hot hatch, different driving experience, RWD can feel a bit boring initially as you don't have all that exciting FWD scrabbly torque steer nonsense going on which actually is quite an enjoyable part of a hot hatch IMO.

It is small and if you have a long torso like me there is bugger all room with a helmet on, I had to modify seat to get lower, getting in and out is not so bad though, I find some modern cars far worse with sloping screens, for example I struggle getting in and out of an EV6 due to being a 150kg beast with big shoulders but no problems dropping in to the little MX5.

An NC doesn't need a lot to be fun, with sports manifold and remap plus suspension I could monster many a hot car on track (provided track was technical, clearly it's not a straight line speed demon) Out of the box it is fine just a bit soft in the suspension, lots of roll etc, this is not a bad thing if you are new to rwd, lots of time and indication of what the car is doing, first year I ran mine I was a RWD noob, learned loads just running it stock (it did have Mazda options sports suspension, which was lower but still wafty) , 2nd year I was winning championships.

Whilst I say it is no speed demon with those little mods my combe laptime in up there in the top 30s in this list with only 190bhp, so .... great car to learn about carrying speed through corners.

Castle Combe lap times - FastestLaps.com

List of fastest lap times for Castle Combe. Updated July 2025.

fastestlaps.com

I used to both commute and compete (sprints and hills) in my NC and it was perfect for this but I spent the money in the right places so that the car wasn't a compromised track fiend, this was not cheap, a good dual stage suspension at a few k alone but worked wonders. In class I was often outgunned by S2000s as there was a massive power deficit (190 vs 240-260) but it was a lot closer than I expected, I would beat a few.

I have now done the engine work for my NC to compete with even the modded NA S2000s on horsepower running ~260bhp on ITBs @ ~9k rpm but due to life getting in the way, not yet got out to battle them yet but I'm confident, MX5 is a great tool

It has downsides, it leaks, it's noisey, there are no toys on longer journeys but it is surprisingly comfortable.

 

[Housey]

I can only speak about MX5's with any authority and having driven the S2000, I have never owned one (or remember that much about it). I do recall great gearbox. The thing with the MX5 is if so minded there are some really strong mods that make it a great car. Simply getting the Mk3.5 MX5 my ex-wife had set up at Centre of mavity TRANSFORMED the steering. Less so the handling, which though improved over undulations wasn't transformational, but the steering was night and day and added incredible weight and feel to extent I have never had on any other car.

I like MX5's. Cheap as chips to own and run, reliable, fun out the box and can be made to be very rapid with little expense.

 

[kinger8938]

Wow sounds like you have a great deal of experience there, thanks for all the info.

To be fair I probably won't be toying too much. I could be up for making it sound a bit more sporty (not obnoxiously so)

A company up the road that we make some turned parts for seem to specialise in providing/installing MX5 turbo mods and ECU stuff. Definitely worth me having a chat with them but again I think that's an avenue I likely won't go down ultimately

 

[kinger8938]

Thanks, I do feel I'm leaning mx5

What would it be like as a daily driver for the time being? Im average height I guess, I don't think I'd suffer from feeling cramped

In terms of mileage also, I think I agree with another poster from the other day that a higher mileage example isn't necessarily bad news as you know it's been used and not sat still for too long

I think I'd be happy with an 09 with 60,000/70,000?

 

[sandys]

I could be up for making it sound a bit more sporty (not obnoxiously so)

Simple back box makes all the difference here, it is quiet stock but proceed with caution if you plan to get a bit more poke out as the sports manifold combined with back box can take it in too a boomy area if you don't have the right parts.

Though if you do go tuning, boost is probably best starting point unless you have a specific reason to stay NA as I did for motorsport classes and obnoxious noise reasons

 

[sandys]

Mileage not an issue but would recommend as late an NC as you can get, Mazda continually improved the mechanicals so NC 2/3.5 have better engines and gearbox and of course the newer the less likely it is for a Japanese car to have rotted yet

2s start at about 09/10 have a slightly better face IMO and you'll see 8k rpm as biggest number on the tach as an indicator, newer engines rev to ~7.5k, older engines like mine got to ~6.7k rpm, 7k biggest number on tach.

 

[wesimmo]

Thanks, I do feel I'm leaning mx5

What would it be like as a daily driver for the time being? Im average height I guess, I don't think I'd suffer from feeling cramped

In terms of mileage also, I think I agree with another poster from the other day that a higher mileage example isn't necessarily bad news as you know it's been used and not sat still for too long

I think I'd be happy with an 09 with 60,000/70,000?

I daily drove mine for a bit with Meister Rs and a supercharger. Top down most days, fine for most supermarket shopping and apart from the fuel usage and the need for more than 2 seats at times I would have kept doing so.

Ended up with an RS Twingo and RS200 Clio on top for the better half and a more practical car for me.

We've since split up so I'm back to a 2 seater and insurance to drive anybody else's car on full comp cover for those rare times I need more than 2 seats to carry nephews/nieces as well as my daughter.

 

[Nasher]

I dailied a mk3 for 4 years 30 miles each way and it was fine. Not a single issue (except rusted in fittings at only 3 years) with it and it didn't leak.

 

[sandys]

No problems daily driving and no problems commuting, back in the day I would do 180-200 mile day roundtrip commute, only issue was low 30s mpg (I only had 5spd) and my engine as some of them can, liked to use a bit of oil, many don't.

I found it perfectly comfortable. I did the decat manifold and sports exhaust, it was boomy at legal speeds but quietened down after, if left mostly stock it would have been more pleasurable on a longer legal journey.

OK more accurately, mine did not leak, roof drains blocked and water came into the cabin.

 

[wesimmo]

TBF, if you just clean the drain holes fairly regularly they're fine, you just need to know to do it.

 

[Uncle_Gravy]

I think another thing to mention, if when the time comes to sell, you're not going to lose money on an S2000, probably even make money from it as long as you keep it in tidy nick.

Head says MX5, Heart says S2000

 

[sandys]

At good S2000 money I'd get an ND2 RF .....depreciation be damned.

 

[visibleman]

Would the S2000 be worth going for in that regard, or does an MX5 within the above budget offer just as much fun at a much lower cost?

It depends if you're still happy with finance but given the current climate, the S2000 is likely to be worth more in the long run but you would have to keep it in decent enough condition whereas the MX5 you could happily use and not care, it's just an MX5 afterall.

But if you were thinking S2000 budget then i would be looking at ND's (gearboxes aside) or certainly the Fiat Abarth 124 which is cheaper to run than an NC but sounds amazing and drives reasonably well or, perhaps an older Boxster but running costs play a big part of that.
Z4 is maybe another option but i would say they're a bit more touring than country b roads.

What would it be like as a daily driver for the time being? Im average height I guess, I don't think I'd suffer from feeling cramped.

See if you can test drive both as whilst they're both two seaters, i would say the S2000 is a bit more comfortable if you were to daily it and/or do longer journeys (NC500 etc).

I've got no idea how @sandys does it but at 95KG and 6ft, i do notice it after a lengthy drive as i'm not entirely comfortable in the NC - i need another 1" leg room and a telescopic steering wheel ideally.
Perhaps the 1/1.5" seat lowering kits do make that much of a difference, even if they look like a complete pain to fit.

...only issue was low 30s mpg (I only had 5spd)..

Yup, the NC's aren't particularly great on fuel and i don't know how anyone gets the 37/38mpg reviewers seem to give the 2ltr/6-speed - if i see 30/31 i'm dead chuffed

I think I'd be happy with an 09 with 60,000/70,000?

With the budget you mentioned in the other thread then that's probably nearing the sweet spot for a decent NC2 currently. An NC3 would be great but given it was mostly cosmetic changes over the NC2, i would rather a decent and well kept NC2 than a slightly ratty NC3.
Definitely look at the 2ltr and 6-speed models and see if you can get an edition or something with the sport/tech pack as it does give you a load more creature comforts, although i use that term loosely as it's still pretty sparse in terms of features.

And as before, other than rust, just make sure it hasn't been ran low on oil (definitely walk away if you think it has been), has a decent enough service history and make sure it's been well driven as they really don't like sitting as it usually results in problems further down the line.

 

[sandys]

With the budget you mentioned in the other thread then that's probably nearing the sweet spot for a decent NC2 currently. An NC3 would be great but given it was mostly cosmetic changes over the NC2, i would rather a decent and well kept NC2 than a slightly ratty NC3.

Yup I got the bloody models wrong NC2 is when the engine changed not NC3, rookie errors

I've got no idea how @sandys does it but at 95KG and 6ft, i do notice it after a lengthy drive as i'm not entirely comfortable in the NC - i need another 1" leg room and a telescopic steering wheel ideally.
Perhaps the 1/1.5" seat lowering kits do make that much of a difference, even if they look like a complete pain to fit.

5" 11, I'm a short legs, long torso weirdo You can get a wheel spacer for a few quid but I never found it an issues beyond not being able to keep hold of the wheel on some maximum attack stuff as I'd trap hand between wheel and leg, but I've always been one of those physics is faster than me types, and let go of the wheel on lairy slides anyway, autosolo skills and all that

or certainly the Fiat 124 which is cheaper

Abarth 124 rather than the Fiat IMO, but prices are probably harder, it gets the more powerful engine mated up to the robust NC gearbox, I've been running that engine for 100k and 12 years now in my Abarth Punto Evo SS, absolutely spanked the arse off it when it used to do all my track and competition work in the early days, no bother, these day its just my little city runabout, good for 40-50mpg on a run just keeps trucking along.

That said of course it is probably very easy to get 180-200bhp out of the low power MA unit in the Fiat but not sure if lower power cars have LSD.