[mx5-man]

Hey guys just been out for a thrash round the lanes up to middlewich then back down the m6 to nantwich was fun

quite shocked how fast the 1.6 excellerates

 

[guitarjon]

I know im sure the book figures are fake, it feels like it accellerates much quicker than the book says (cant remember what about 8.6 seconds to 62 I think).

 

[mx5-man]

I know im sure the book figures are fake, it feels like it accellerates much quicker than the book says (cant remember what about 8.6 seconds to 62 I think).

the engine revs nicely very good when gets over 5k revs, im not joking but it doesnt feel much slower than my focus st 2.5 turbo with 225bhp

mayb because the car is so light

 

[petrolhead88]

On my old 1.6 the best 0-60 I ever got was 8.4, although that was using a stopwatch on a mobile phone and judging it against the speedo, so fairly inaccurate basically.

Unless your 1.6 is modified I can assure you a Focus ST would murder it in a straight line at anything above 30mph. Mine is a 1.8 and it gets comprehensively trounced by a Fiesta ST at speeds above 50mph, so a Focus ST would have no problems.
However I know exactly what you mean by it feels fast, especially with the roof down. On the right sort of roads it feels quick enough. On a couple of occasions I have been accelerating hard on a straight and looked down to be surprised at how fast it has whipped up to 0.8 leptons or so (on a private track of course). But on wider roads it does sometimes feel rather underpowered.

 

[Skuzzle]

On my old 1.6 the best 0-60 I ever got was 8.4, although that was using a stopwatch on a mobile phone and judging it against the speedo, so fairly inaccurate basically.

Unless your 1.6 is modified I can assure you a Focus ST would murder it in a straight line at anything above 30mph. Mine is a 1.8 and it gets comprehensively trounced by a Fiesta ST at speeds above 50mph, so a Focus ST would have no problems.
However I know exactly what you mean by it feels fast, especially with the roof down. On the right sort of roads it feels quick enough. On a couple of occasions I have been accelerating hard on a straight and looked down to be surprised at how fast it has whipped up to 0.8 leptons or so (on a private track of course). But on wider roads it does sometimes feel rather underpowered.

but as we all know the 1.6 is the faster car no matter what the book says.. far less weight.. similar power and driven better due to the hard core nature of the 1.6 owner, lol

seriously though.. the mx5 in standard for is ok when you are on your own destroying a country lane.. but its pretty shameful in a straight line against most things.

 

[bungle1223354]

i suspect alot of it is due to being low down & squashed in

 

[narc]

I came up behind a Focus ST on a country road, he obviously took exception and put his boot down on a straight section - my 1.8 mk2 (140bph) was left for dead.

 

[bigfootisblurry]

My new na 1.6 felt too slow for the first time yesterday when climbing up to the cat and fiddle. Not helped by my previous experiences of that road being 2 wheels but slow all the same. God i miss my turbo.

 

[the tea boy]

it felt slow on the way upto the cat and fiddle???? bejesus, i love that road and can make the car dance all the way along it

Matt

 

[elduce]

The MX-5s are very deceptive, especially once you fit a sports exhaust. They make all the right noises and with your backside 6" off the ground they feel pretty quick with your foot planted and are very nimble around corners.

I can assure you they're not anything special in a straight-line though - I drive a 400 bhp Evo on a regular basis, I wouldn't be surprised if it could keep up with a 1.8 '5 on straightish roads without even using the turbo!

On the other hand, the '5 does fly through corners at speeds that would have you backside clenching a bit in the Evo! Even with the additional cornering speed of the '5 though, the Evo would be able to overtake it on the first road that even resembled a straight.

I'd much rather be in the '5 with the top down on a late summer evening B road blast though!

 

[Tazz]

Tis true - the 5 is nothing special in its own guise - but it is charecteristic and seat of the pants driving which you don't get from many cars these days. I had a Focus ST when they came out. I must admit although being a Turbo - I was rather disapointed with the performance. The Mk2 Astra 16v (Pre Cat) when that first came out was quite lethal, as was the Williams Clio. (I had both of them as company cars for a while) The five to me is just a 'Grin Machine'.