Mark's British Racing Green MX-5 Mk2.5 1.8i Sport - Page One - Introduction
Last updated 21-Mar-2006

Reconstruction
Well, after sorting out another Car Domain site, for my girlfriend Karren (f10mx5), I managed to completly 'stuff up' the first page of my own site, so here goes a reconstruction from memory...

Introduction
Well, hard though it is to believe for a guy somewhere in his thirties, but this is my first 'owned' car. After being given a company car the day I passed my driving test all the fun of driving had slowly but surely been driven out of me by many years of 'rush-hour' motorway driving for work... So what with the changes to the British company car related tax laws and the fact that my company wanted to move away from running a pool of cars, I was offered the chance to 'opt out' and take a 'car allowance'.

So I think to myself, what do I want? Well a car that will be fun to drive, but able to take the everyday work journeys too... and most of all one that will be able to restore my enjoyment of driving. Then there was also the fact that I had lusted after the idea of driving a two-seater 'roadster' since seeing original MGs and Triumph Spitfires as a kid.

Well, a couple of friends at work had 'fives' (or Miatas as they are know elsewhere) themselves (most notably Lazza who had a Mk1 Berkley limited edition at the time) and highly recommended them, so I take a little look around at the competition, but book a test drive in a new MX-5 1.8i Sport... and to be honest, if I'd had the money in my pocket there and then I'd have driven it off, I arrived back at the garage with the most enormous grin plastered all over my face and although, just to be sure, I did try a couple of other competing cars, there really was no competition... I had to have an MX-5!

My MX-5 Mk2.5 1.8i Sport
So I ‘bit the bullet’ and here it is, my MX-5 (or 'Miata') Mk2.5 (or Mk2 'Face Lift') 1.8i Sport in (British) Racing Green Mica. I bought the car new in late 2003 and have loved every minute of owning it (pictured here 'as delivered').

The standard ‘sport’ model comes with the following features:
-- Six-speed Gear Box
-- Torsen Limited Slip Differential
-- Bilstein sports suspension (now replaced, see Page 2 - Performance modifications)
-- 16" alloy wheels (205x45R16)
-- 11" 'sport' disk brakes
-- ABS with EBD
-- Chrome door sill (kick) plates
-- Chrome internal door release handles (now replaced, see Page 3 - Cosmetic/ICE modifications)
-- Black leather heated seats
-- Black mohair roof

Due to a special offer at the dealership it also came with a colour matched hardtop, however, this came off as soon as I got the car home and has only been back on once since, in order to move house!

Chrome Cap: Here showing the chrome filler cap.
Grill: showing the original matt black grill (an odd angle I know).

To this I added the following Mazda options:
-- Air conditioning
-- Aluminium pedal set
-- Aluminium gear knob
-- Aluminium hand break sleeve and button
-- Aluminium heater vent surrounds
-- Black mesh front grill (now replaced, see Page 3 - Cosmetic/ICE modifications)
-- 6 CD auto changer head unit (now replaced, see Page 3 - Cosmetic/ICE modifications)
-- Chrome Filler Cap

So there it was, my first car, a lovely little green roadster and I had a huge grin on my face, which is still there to this day, the most fun I've had on four wheels.

Aluminium: Showing the aluminium pedal set and the handbrake and gear shift set.

The delights of the English weather!
Cloud Five: taken the first day with the hard top still fitted and the car still showroom shiny.
Misty Rain: taken a few days later, just to contrast.

Showing off her shine...
Reflections: a gleaming side view.
Stars: a little filter on the camera shows off her gleaming finish.

A Cautionary Tale...
As mentioned above, I had the car delivered with the aluminium heater vent surrounds, which look great when fitted. However, the two above the centre console have the round hazard switch sitting between then and it just looks odd, so I think to myself 'someone else must have thought this looks odd too...' and I hunt around the Internet to discover the MX-5 Parts site and low and behold they can solve my problem with a matching surround for the hazard switch... and so began the slippery slope that it upgrades and modifications, because they don't just stock switch surrounds, but so much more...!

For more details of the modifications and upgrades I've made to my MX-5 see Page 2 - Performance modifications and Page 3 - Cosmetic/ICE modifications.

[ ----- Links & Index ----- ]
Parts and accessories from MX-5 Parts.

Page 1 Introduction
Page 2 Performance modifications
Page 3 Cosmetic/ICE modifications
Page 4 Out and About
Page 5 Events and Meets (1) Jan-Aug 2005
Page 6 Events and Meets (2) Sep-Dec 2005
Page 7 Events and Meets (3) Jan- 2006