MX5 vs MGTF

 

Reproduction in whole or in part of any article published on this website is prohibited without written permission of The MG Car Club.

By Tim Morris

The MGF owes a huge debt to Mazda. If it was not for the success of the ubiquitous MX5 roadster it is unlikely that the MGF would ever have been given the go ahead. Launched in 1989 at a time when the market was bereft of similar vehicles, it was no wonder that it rapidly became a best seller. Since 2000 the MX5 has been in the Guinness book of records as the world’s most successful two seater vehicle ever. By the end of June 2006 the car had sold an astounding 774, 372 worldwide and demand remains high.

In 1995 the MGF was launched and soon experienced healthy sales of its own and began to threaten the success of the MX5. The F, with its good looking design and pedigree took over briefly as the best selling sports car in the UK but for sheer quantity the MX5 is a full length winner. The little Mazda in its lifetime has garnered a staggering 150 prizes from motoring organisations around the world.

The Mazda has classic design cues referring back to the iconic Lotus Elan with it’s long bonnet and north/south engine placement coupled with a 50:50 weight distribution and manual hood. Towards the end of 2006 the MX5 was redesigned to create a third generation with improved handling attributes that have been inspired by a Japanese ritual called “Yabusame”, in which a warrior fires an arrow at a target while riding a horse. Only when horse and rider are in perfect harmony can he hit the bullseye. The MX5 aims for the same symbiosis between machine and driver, to paraphrase the official blurb. This “Jinba Ittae” experience is central to the core philosophy of the new MX5

A new development with the 2006 model is a “coupe” version featuring a retractable metal hard top similar to those fitted to many popular mid size “sports” saloons in the last few years. This combination of saloon style comfort combined with open top motoring at the flick of a switch has proved popular and has attracted many owners who would not have considered a roadster previously.

The third generation MX5 shows a stylish reinvention of the original concept with a low and flowing body line and wide wheel arches which gives the car a more purposeful and modern look. The coupe version adds further to this with a longer and slightly higher rear deck (40mm higher than standard) to take the retracted metal lid but increases the cars length by just 10mm.

This is something that the MG TF can not feasibly emulate with its mid engine configuration preventing any large storage area at the rear. MGR designers recognised this and produced a concept version of a Coupe GT TF in 2004 but there was no option to remove or lower that roof. This fixed head GT may yet see the light of day in the US.

The MX5 uses the MZR family of engines in both 1.8 and 2.0 litre form installed in the front mid ship, close to the centre of gravity to obtain the best possible balance for the car. In basic 1.8i format the car produces 124bhp and is capable of 122mph and this rises through seven model variations to the top of the range 2.0 Z Sport with 158bhp and a top speed of 131mph. This model range is not too dissimilar to that of the 2005MY TF which began with the TF115 1.6litre and rose to the TF160 1.8 VVC producing slightly more enhanced performance than the MX5 as well as a lower powered entry modelled .

Initially the new MG TF LE500 will be produced in only one model format – the 135bhp version. The LE500 is largely based on the 2005MY variant which was produced in limited numbers in 2005 prior to the collapse of MGR. Officially there were only 631 of these cars made but it is known that a fairly substantial number were finished whilst the company was in administration. The 2007 model has undergone a facelift, significantly in the design of the front nose cone which now harks back to the original MGF design removing the familiar TF louvres.

The new car comes with black wheels in a selection of six newly created colours included the Vibrant Orange used on the much photographed publicity car. NAC produced two further cars at their second MG show appearance, MGFest07, in Raven black and Graphite Grey with both cars featuring the winged MG logo on the boot. The interior has been altered and features a piano black finish and grey dials with silver numbers, new style console controls and aluminium pedals but it is still essentially the same basic design as in 2002 , which also goes for the rest of the body work with the exception of that nose cone.

The K series engine has been uprated and is now EU4 compliant and features the new design head gasket and oil rails so hopefully Head Gasket Failure will be a thing of the past. The LE500 also features ABS, a hood cover, front fog lamps, front disc brakes with 4 pot callipers, heated glass rear screen, windstop and a body colour hardtop as standard along with the softer suspension seen on the 2005MY car. To make this particular edition unique each of the 500 cars will be individually numbered and badged.

With the LE500 due for release “some time in the autumn” we thought we’d take the opportunity, having now seen the LE500 in the flesh a few times, to seek out a third generation MX5 and just see how tough the opposition actually is. We also took a 2005MY MGTF to compare the two cars directly.

The MX5 belongs to Steve Cook from Surrey and this is his first true sports car. He only brought the car in March this year but has had great fun with it in that short space of time. Steve decided to opt for the top of the range 2.0 litre Z Sport model, which comes in a special chromactive paint finish. Also standard with this model is the stone leather interior and grey fascia panels, chrome detailing, alloy pedals and BBS wheels.

This top range car set Steve back around £20,000 new, “I’d reached that grand old age when you start to think about getting yourself a sports car and I wanted a proper roadster and started to look in the £15 – £20,000 price range but there seemed to be limited choice. The Honda S2000 was a nice car but the price was too high so I began to look at the 1.8 MX5 which started around £15,000 but then I spotted this Z Sport on the internet and immediately decided that was the car for me.”

At present there is no real competition in genuine roadsters at this price range so Mazda have something of a free rein once again but with the re introduction of the TF later this year they will face a rival , just as in 1995 when the F was first introduced. We wondered if Steve looked at the TF when he was thinking of buying a roadster “Yes I did consider it but was put off by the lack of any firm back up or company behind the car at the time I was looking. I was also concerned that the TF was losing money very quickly. A fairly new top range TF160 could be had for around half the price I paid for the MX5 and this depreciation concerned me, I think the MX5 will hold its value much better and has the benefit of a large company and back up network should things go wrong”

The difference in specifications between the TF and MX5 are quite marked particularly on the interior of the vehicle. The MX5 makes the TF seem quite basic in creature comforts as it boasts no less than four drink holders, useful cubby storage behind each seat as well as map pockets and a map net in the passenger footwell. The centre cubby was also of a good size giving substantial storage all round for those nick nacks that tend to roll about on the floor of the TF. Steve’s MX5 also had a switchable passenger air bag, useful if you are carrying a child, Hi Fi controls embedded in the steering wheel, Dynamic Stability Control (switchable), chrome MX5 kick plates, red LED high level brake light and air conditioning.

Another notable feature is the way the hood folds down with just one central clip quickly release to allow the hood to be thrown back neatly and flatly into a large compartment behind the seats. This compartment also gives more stowage if needed even with the hood lowered. The hood roof itself gives the appearance of a hood cover when lowered which is a neat touch. With the design of the rear engined TF none of this is possible as the storage would stretch back somewhere into the middle of the cylinder block!

Steve reckons that “the car performs well and you can drive slowly around town just pootling about but then on the open road the speed soon picks up very nicely, and you can move through the six speed close ratio gearbox with just a quick flick of the wrist”. Sitting in the car you get an enclosed feeling with its very high central tunnel separating you from your passenger and providing a convenient armrest, which is echoed on the side door pods enabling you to relax both arms as you gaze out over the very long bonnet.

Compared with the TF, whose bonnet drops straight away from the windscreen scuttle, this driving position took some getting used to. Going immediately back in to the TF again it was noticeable how much roomier the TF seemed in the cockpit and the driving position was much higher – now this is something of personal preference but speaking to another young TF driver she felt the MX5 was a little claustrophobic and she didn’t like the long bonnet feeling it to be intimidating when driving.

Steve hasn’t stopped polishing the Mazda since he got it and drives at every opportunity with the hood down, in fact his partner, Sonya, says that “She never realised he was so posey!” It has certainly brought out another side of Steve but whether he would swap the MX5 for the new MG when they are released later this year, with the full dealer network as back up, is a totally different matter. I suspect the answer may well be no but we wait and see.

We all hope that the MG TF will take off again at the end of the year when it is released and producing a numbered limited edition should make this particular model desirable but the competition is very strong as we have seen and NAC MG need to ensure they can compete effectively in quality and price to succeed.

An owners opinion

Tony & Lynne Parker are directors of a project management company in Rochester, Kent. Their current cars are an ‘55’ MG ZR160 (Now for sale), an ‘07’Mazda MX5 2ltr pack & a ‘07’ Seat Leon 2.0TFSI. They have previously owned a black 03 standard TF160 and a red 52 TF160 factory fitted with the lower suspension .

We asked Tony & Lynne to tell us about their experiences with the TF and compare them to the MX5, they chose to compare the black 03 plate standard TF to the new MX5 as it had normal ride height so the on road character was closer to that of the Mazda. They both have 160ps available and 5 speed gearboxes.

Tony & Lynne tell us “We chose the Mazda in the cheaper form with 5 rather than 6 gears as there was a significant saving & the sport pack, which includes the extra gear, gives no advantage on the manufacturers claimed 0-62 (7.9 secs for both) but moves the car into the next emission bracket which not only incurs additional tax but conflicts with our view of striking a balance between driving pleasure & the obvious harm inflicted upon our planet.

Those of you who drive TF 160s will probably yawn when you check out the sprint to 62mph for the Mazda, but this is somewhat misleading as it revs much more smoothly & freely than any of the MG 160s we have driven, however it is rev limited to only 7000 as opposed to 7200 in the TF. In reality comparing directly to published figures for the TF (which if memory serves in my advancing years was measured as a respectable 6.9 but to the UK benchmark of 60mph.) the gap is far smaller & as readers of Autocar will know, the current Mazda can hit 60 in 7.1. More importantly, the Mazda responds better to the throttle & although there is a marked step in power delivery above 4000rpm it feels more willing right across the rev range.

On paper then, the TF wins this round on balance, but there is another aspect to performance, that of handling. In this department the Mazda shines! It is bestowed with perfect 50/50 weight distribution, a limited slip differential & very communicative steering. With the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) turned off, the car comes alive & can be driven with verve, with a mixture of throttle & steering which is far more reminiscent of a 60s Lotus Élan than any other modern sports car in this budget.

It has 205/50 section 16’’ tyres, which not only endow it with a very compliant ride but traction can be easily defeated by the 160ps on tap. I still have memories of how hard one had to push in the TF to make it dance & even then, the lighter front end initially wanted to wash out into under steer before rapidly shifting into over steer. I appreciate that not everyone is looking for this level of entertainment, so although I would give the Mazda the edge here, both cars fulfil their roles well.

Living with the cars is equally closely matched, the boot of the TF is marginally bigger & both require soft luggage to get the best out of them. If you have the tyre repair kit in place of the spare in the TF you gain an extra space for another squashy bag, in the spare wheel well, but you’d be well advised to use weather resistant luggage in here, as it was never designed to be watertight.

Our Mazda has just covered 3000 miles so it is still a little tight, which may go some way to explaining its shortfall in achieving the manufacturers figures for fuel consumption. In a recent 900mile tour of France we could only achieve 31mpg. On similar trips with our TF, driven in a similarly deliberate manner, 35mpg was regularly returned.

Ride quality is far superior in the Mazda & speed bumps pose no threat, despite the addition of Mazda’s approved lowered suspension which has made little improvement to the cars dynamics but was fitted in an attempt to allay comments from our more pedestrian drinking buddies that ‘it looks like an off-roader’ due in no small part to the standard wheels’ inability to fill the exaggerated arches now seen on the latest incarnation.

Comfort & finish in both cars will fall down under scrutiny, but the Mazda feels the best initially & both cars are reasonably comfortable tourers, but you sit lower in the Mazda & its body line is lower so the general impression is slightly less claustrophobic. In terms of equipment the older MG has a long way to go to catch the Mazda, with its front & side airbags, brilliant 6 speaker stereo with ALC (Automatic Level Control) which in roof down mode is still clearly audible at speeds well in excess of Britain’s limit.

The roof is another area where the Mazda excels with its single lever release, you can literally throw it back & it locks its self, flush with the rear deck. Erecting is almost as easy, by releasing a conveniently placed latch & flipping down the standard fitment wind stop, you can raise the roof from the drivers seat. It also comes with a heated glass rear screen similar to that on the very last of the TFs. The rear view with roof up from either car is less than perfect & both cars have ‘invisible’ areas when it comes to parking.

Value is an area where Mazda currently beat the MGs which we have owned, for example the black TF when new with all of its extras was in excess of £22000 whereas the MX5 sport which comes with leather, 17’’ wheels 6speed ‘box & Billstein suspension lists at under £19000. If you don’t need those additions a car like ours lists at £17450 & there are always deals to be had!

We currently have no plans to change our car as it is only 4 months old but it is to be hoped that more manufacturers offer product in this sector in the near future or it may continue to be the choice of MG or Mazda for years to come!

If MG had still been in production we may never have tried the MX5 & I feel we would have missed an opportunity as, since the demise of MG, the game has moved on. If the LE 500TF is to compete, it will need to not only have improved its reliability, but also improved the specification & dynamics to keep pace with Mazda.

Lets be honest, if you want an affordable sports car that is both fun & easy to live with, there have only really been 2 in the UK since the Fs introduction in 1995 & we’ve had both. When the TF was new, it was markedly quicker than the Mazda of that time but if you haven’t tried the current Mazda, do yourself a favour & do so, just remember to turn off the DSC the moment you start the engine or be prepared to be thoroughly disappointed as it positively deflates an otherwise brilliant engine.”

Thanks to the following for their help with this feature –
Steve Cook
Tony and Lynn Parker
The TF115 in the pictures with loaned by Church Square Autos of Shepperton, Middlesex
Emily Morris for main photographs