00:00 Hey guys, Chris here, and we're back at Queensland Raceway,
00:02 our Car Expert test track.
00:04 Today, we've got the Mazda MX-5 GT Manual,
00:08 which is a two litre naturally aspirated engine,
00:10 real drive, and very lightweight.
00:13 It's 1,087 kilos, so the lightest car we've had
00:16 on the track so far.
00:17 Not the most powerful, but hopefully that weight
00:19 plays into its hands.
00:21 We're gonna go do our out lap, get a feeling for the car,
00:24 go do some flying laps, see how fast it is,
00:26 and then give you a rundown of what we thought.
00:28 But first, let's see how it performs,
00:30 zero to 100, and then braking as well.
00:32 (tires screeching)
00:36 So, initial impressions of the MX-5.
00:52 Seating position's really, really nice.
00:54 Obviously, you're down low, the car's tiny.
00:56 I can see pretty much the whole bonnet and the corners,
00:59 so that's gonna be great for positioning the car.
01:01 Steering wheel feels big, but I actually like the grip
01:05 and the positioning of that.
01:06 It's nice and firm, and I've got a good grasp of it.
01:11 Nice, precise feeling, but a little bit
01:12 of body movement there, so the car's obviously
01:14 a little bit soft.
01:15 Let's test the brake pedal out, see what that feels like.
01:18 Yeah, I like that, nice and firm.
01:21 ABS didn't kick in too aggressively.
01:23 So, that's a good start.
01:25 Manual gearbox, so we're gonna have to heel-toe,
01:28 if I can remember how to do that.
01:29 Yeah, that seems nice.
01:32 Nice position of the throttle, I can easily get
01:34 to the heel side of my foot over to the throttle
01:36 while keeping the pressure on the brake.
01:38 It's hard if the brake's moving around,
01:40 and then you're trying to heel-toe,
01:41 but if the brake can stay nice and solid, then it's easy.
01:44 All right, let's pick up the pace a little bit
01:45 and see how it feels more dynamically.
01:52 A lot of weight transfer, and engine, as you'd expect,
01:57 naturally aspirated two litre, it's not gonna blow you away
02:01 power-wise, but revving out pretty good.
02:04 I like the gear shift, they're really nice and crisp.
02:10 Easy to heel-toe and position that.
02:13 Now, traction's probably not gonna be an issue,
02:15 but it does have an LSD, this variant,
02:17 so should hold the rear wheels together nicely.
02:20 Biggest thing I'd say is the movement.
02:22 There's a lot of both roll and pitch,
02:25 so hopefully that doesn't upset the car too much,
02:29 and if we get too much weight unloading,
02:32 it might cause some oversteer on entry.
02:34 Traction-wise, then it will be an advantage,
02:36 but basically entering the corner will be more difficult.
02:40 All right, let's go for a flying lap
02:42 and see how quick the MX-5 can go.
02:46 (engine revving)
02:48 (engine revving)
02:51 (engine revving)
02:54 (engine revving)
02:57 (engine revving)
02:59 (engine revving)
03:05 (engine revving)
03:12 (engine revving)
03:18 (engine revving)
03:25 (engine revving)
03:28 (engine revving)
03:39 (engine revving)
03:45 (engine revving)
03:54 (engine revving)
03:57 So there you go, 103.22.
04:02 Unfortunately, it's not the fastest car around here,
04:04 but I don't think that's a surprise to anyone,
04:05 but it was a lot of fun
04:07 and like a real raw driving experience.
04:09 You know, hill towing.
04:11 First, the gearbox is awesome.
04:13 I love the gear shifters, so easy to pick gears.
04:16 Like even when the car was loaded, I could grab a gear,
04:19 never missed a shift.
04:20 Engine doesn't blow you away as you'd expect,
04:23 just 135 kilowatts, but it matches well to the car
04:27 and you can still get some slight oversteer on exit
04:31 with a little power slide.
04:32 Obviously in lower grip conditions,
04:34 you could have a lot of fun in this car.
04:36 I'd have to say it's maybe one of the most progressive
04:39 rear wheel drive cars I've ever driven.
04:41 It was so easy.
04:42 I was sliding through turns one and two
04:45 and the rear stepped out a couple of times
04:47 and I could just catch it, no problems at all.
04:49 So that was great.
04:50 And for someone coming to the track for the first time
04:54 or just want to explore their MX-5,
04:57 there's nothing to be afraid of.
04:58 I had traction control off
05:00 and as long as you don't do anything drastic,
05:02 then it's super easy to drive
05:04 and you can really play with the car.
05:06 Even though it's soft,
05:08 I didn't find that to be a huge negative.
05:10 The way I could rotate the car
05:11 was a little bit like a rally car.
05:13 I could get the weight transfer,
05:15 get the rear to slide a little bit on entry
05:17 and then use that weight shift to get on the throttle
05:19 and go on the exit.
05:20 So for me, it's just a nice little package.
05:24 Not going to blow you away performance wise,
05:27 but just tied together nicely,
05:30 rear wheel drive, naturally aspirated engine, manual.
05:32 It just ticks a lot of boxes and is a lot of fun.
05:35 Well, I don't mind being surprised
05:39 and that's what the MX-5 did today.
05:40 It blew my mind.
05:42 It's the slowest car we've ever had here,
05:44 yet one of the most fun.
05:45 So enjoyable out on the track.
05:47 The time wasn't special.
05:48 Doesn't have a huge power plant,
05:50 like all these modern cars,
05:51 but just raw and fun.
05:53 Like the gear shifts were spot on,
05:55 heel towing, nice and precise steering.
05:58 So many good things to say about this car.
05:59 And if you're looking for just pure enjoyment and engagement,
06:02 this might be the car for you.
06:04 I really had fun out there on the track.
06:06 My top three tips are,
06:07 one, you've got to carry corner speed.
06:09 You've got to be smooth and fast in
06:10 and you can really be precise with this car.
06:12 So really focus on that.
06:15 Traction is actually really good.
06:16 It's nice and progressive in the rear as well.
06:18 So don't be afraid to attack and have a bit of a go.
06:20 You're not going to miss out there.
06:21 And finally, like I said, just have fun.
06:23 It's an awesome little package.
06:25 Everything's put together well,
06:26 and I really had a ball driving it today.
06:28 Thanks for watching the video guys.
06:30 If you enjoyed it, hit the thumbs up button
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06:36 I'd love to hear your feedback
06:38 and also hear what else you'd like to see
06:39 out on the test track and see what sort of times we can do.
06:42 Thanks again for watching.
