I am looking for a small 2 seater convertible roadster…

Shortlist…

MX5
MR2
Smart car roadster
Z3 or Z4
Suzuki cappuccino
Nissan fog aero

Budget is 3 to 5 grand

The Smart Roadster has a bit of a reputation for water ingress and the older ones eat their own engines. Ours died by the bores going oval in 45k miles and apparently a lot of them are like that.

Thanks for that….one to avoid then 🙂

My favourite is MR2 but the classic is the MX5 I suppose….

The STW answer is Honda 2000 or MX5, I like Merc SLKs

I like the merc SLKs too but might be more than budget of £5k!

Didn’t think of the Honda

3 grand will buy you a nice Mk2.5 MX5 and plenty of beer 🙂

We have a 51 plate MX5 Mk2.5 with the first of the SVT engines from new. Ok only 35,000 on it but one new battery and a piece of roof / window seal that wasn’t leaking and we hadn’t noticed (it might be causing wind noise and it isn’t going to get better by itself, let us warranty it sir – no really) isn’t bad in twelve years.

You can’t have it, but a similar one would be in budget.

Running costs 🙂
Purchase cost 😀
Driving 8)

I’m personally a BMW fanboi, so would say Z4 before Z3 but please go for the straight six engine, sounds great and plenty of shove, the little 1.9 z3 is about as exciting as sticking cocktail sticks in rabbit poo.

Mr2 doesn’t really have a boot but the old mk2 turbo was a fab car

Mk1 MX5 with some form of FI and suspension & wheel upgrades.

I’ve driven all in your list bar the Suzuki(tried a rarer but similar Honda Beat).

MX5, lovely, practical, fun to drive, reliable.
MR2, impractical, just no space for shopping or luggage, good fun though
Smart Roadster, not really open enough for proper roadster feel, more like a t-top in feel. Not much space.
Z3/Z4 looked at a few, mostly ragged, every soft top seemed to be deteriorating badly, nice drive though, when you can open it up, not as nippy/manoeuvrable as MX5/MR2
Suzuki Cap/Honda Beat/Daihatsu COpen, absolute hoot, but just a toy and I don’t fit in properly
Nissan Figaro, rust and MK1 Micra mechanicals, not cute enough to really want those drawbacks
MK1 SLK 230, nice, smooth, posh but dull to drive
S2000 dull unless driven at illegal speeds after VTEC comes to life, nice though, but I’m not going to rag it or take it to a track

I went over your budget and paid £5900 for an MX5 Roadster Coupe, with the electric folding hardtop.

Oh, if you’re wondering how practical it is, this was last week’s supermarket shop, all in the boot with the lid down, the bread wasn’t squished either.

We’ve had a 1.8 mkII MX 5 and a 2.5si Z4.

Z4 was far more fun, mainly due to the extra power. The MX5 was fun on clear roads, but rather under powered for overtaking.

The MX5 was bloody small inside for a 6 footer, and the Z4 sounded way better. The Z4 had a very harsh ride though, not ideal for the crap Sheffield roads.

How tall are you midlife?

Mk1/2 MX5 is too small for some most 6+ footers. Edit: just seen reply above.
Couldn’t even get my legs under the wheel!

MR2 drove like a sports car and good leg room.

Z4 is loverly btw. Drives better than a Z3 but one is a sports car and the other a roadster.

Midlife – is that electric roof after market or original? I didn’t know they came with a lazy lid.

Just bought a Boxster 3.2S for £3.8k, a bargain in my opinion 🙂

I’m 6’2″, it’s a MK3 and there’s more room than MK2.5. Top down the very top of my head gets a bit of wind if I sit up straight. I normally have my seat forward a notch and a bit of recline, top-up and tons of room.

Folding hard tops came in as an option in late 06, you can still buy either version, the hardtop version is called the Roadster Coupe. It folds into it’s own slot and doesn’t affect the boot, takes about 12s,

Thanks guys….I am a Toyota fan but looks like more votes for MX5… I had a Suzuki Cappucino but crashed it and wrote it off in the ice about 2 years ago. I really miss it!

I have a small space on my drive so length is a consideration.

I was looking at Figaros more for other half who only drives automatics and has a Nissan Micra already.

I am a little anti BMWs and guess they would be a higher insurance group. Also maybe more cash?

As an ex Suzuki Cappuccino and MX5 Mk3 owner, I would say go for either the Mk2.5 or Mk1 MX5, or the Cappuccino.

Mk3 MX5 isn’t half the car of its predecessors.

If you can live with the size (and can still get a decent one!) I don’t think you can beat the Cappuccino.

SLK isn’t a sports car, Z4 has more grunt, but isn’t the drivers car. Not driven an S2000 so cant comment.

Boxter may be an option, but surely hot to be a bit warn out for that money?

I’ll be selling my mk1 mx5 shortly if you’re interested. Just writing up the 2500mile trip to Italy we did in July, didn’t skip a beat. Brilliant cars.

Just done autotrader and you can get a Boxter for £7k.

To be honest though I wouldnt buy any of these cars at the minute, wait until mid winter and you will get much much more for your money

My friend used to own an S2000. Loads of fun!! As someone mentioned above perhaps you need to be driving a little faster for it to really be doing anything special………but isn’t that much the same with any car?

You can have lots of fun with the acceleration, don’t need to be doing 60 round town to be enjoying it. And when you do actually drop the hammer,…**** ME IT’S QUICK!

I’ve owned a 1.6 Mk2.5 MX5, 1.8 sport Mk2.5 MX5, driven a MR2 (felt quicker but no where near as communicative).

If I was to buy one now…

I try a S2000 with proper/decent tyres on all corners.

Thanks guys….I am a Toyota fan but looks like more votes for MX5… I had a Suzuki Cappucino but crashed it and wrote it off in the ice about 2 years ago. I really miss it!

I know someone who has a Cappu, but needs a bit of work doing at the back end. A van drove into it at a pedestrian crossing and pushed it in, and the insurance co wrote it off. Dan, the owner, recently got a scissor jack and a piece of wood, and pushed most of the dent out, so it just needs some tidying up. Perfectly drivable, if you want a little project, I’m sure he’d be interested in letting it go, and he has another one as a donor for spares. I believe he’s done some tweaking to the engine, too…
If you’re interested, PM me, and I’ll pass on his email.

Recently I said a STW’ers wife had good taste. I really really want to scratch this itch. With steel wheels its beautiful. Only a small handful of cars carry off steel wheels as classless.

I’ve just bought a 15-year-old MR2 Mk2 GT for £1100 and it’s an absolute HOOT!

Reasonable sized boot too, although big silly spoiler ( 😀 ) precludes bike rack fitment. But that’s what my V70’s for in any case so not really an issue.

Mr2 doesn’t really have a boot but the old mk2 turbo was a fab car

Big enough to get a weeks shopping in!!

you can get a roof rack for the MR2 MK2 so 2 bikes, 2 riders plus gear is easily done….

you can get a roof rack for the MR2 MK2 so 2 bikes, 2 riders plus gear is easily done….

Always assuming it’s not a GT (targa top = all glass = no roof bars).

so is mine, and i’ve got a roof rack for it!

i’ll try and dig out a photo

Not technicaly a roadster but targa roof, bike friendy, toyota reliablity and 240bhp!

The chap I work with who has the Cappu now has a very shiny red S2000, and he’s chuffed to bits with it!

thinking S2000 may well be my next car, anyone know if you can get a bike rack on it?

Sorry to hijack your thread (would have messaged you but no address in profile) but, if you are looking for an MX5 I know a great car for sale here that you may be interested in. Belongs to my Dad.

If you are interested just email me (address in profile) and I can put you in contact with him.

Apologies again.

Love the interior, its just sooo unfussy

agree that’s a lovely looking car, but how does it actually drive with being FWD?

Not technicaly a roadster but targa roof, bike friendy, toyota reliablity and 240bhp!

Braver man than me… 😯

haha, i did have some concerns the first time i drove it with bikes on top but it’s been used like that pretty much every weekend for over 2 years now with no issues.

toyota make a specific rack for the MR2 MK2 and it’s approved for use on the T-Bar models.

Lotus Elan SE, lots around for sub 5k. Lovely car.

Have I missed it, or did the Audi TT not make the list? I did read bad things about service costs and failing dashboards which put me off, but I never really looked at them properly. I’m happy with my choice but I didn’t have a go in a TT.

don’t worry midlife, they’re not nearly as much fun as an MX5!

Lotus Elan could be a good call. Not the best build quality but often said to be one of the best handling FWD cars ever.

Honda Beat with an Accord Type R engine fitted.
It’ll make any other car mentioned in this thread feel like a G-Wiz.
😈