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Rob Smith1 Apr 2002
REVIEW

Mazda MX-5 SP

Mazda's sweet little MX-5 gets a significant power upgrade to match its sublime handling chassis. But did Mazda give it too much power? Rob Smith finds out.

SO WHAT'S THIS THEN?
History has it that the original MX-5 was a delightful little sports car that was big on chassis and handling, but tragically short on power, resulting in a car that made corners fun for its owners, but made getting between them a hurry up and wait experience.

Some sad faced owners who loved their Mixers spent money on upgrading the power, while others just upgraded to another car. Then along came Melbourne based Prodrive and, at the behest of Mazda Australia's Motorsport Division, in went a purpose-modified Garret turbocharger to make things a bit more exciting.

With the turbo cramming the intercooled mixture into the MX-5's four cylinders with 0.5bar of boost, the SP now spins hard enough to boast a significantly improved 157kW @ 6800rpm and 289Nm @ 4600rpm. This, my friends is enough to make the SP a true grin cracker.

Naturally there's all the usual standard features like ABS anti-lock brakes, 16-inch alloy wheels, remote locking, power windows, a glass rear window with demister, CD player, front fog lamps and dual airbags, although the air-con is optional at $2500.

In order to make the SP stand out that little bit more there's a 'big bore' exhaust system, a polished alloy fuel filler cap and some tastefully understated SP badges. Inside, there are alloy air vent surrounds, a polished alloy gear knob and gear lever surround, and polished door scuff plates.

In light of the fact that the SP is 44kW and a whopping 108Nm more powerful than a standard MX-5, we wonder if the engine has now overtaken what the chassis can safely handle. Let's look into that a bit more.

HOW'S IT DRIVE THEN?
Lets start with the power increase and how that translates on the road. Throttle response is excellent and for sure the car feels like it has plenty of power. Strangely though, despite the numbers, it doesn't feel very fast. Other publications reckon that the Mixer SP can chest up to big guns like the Falcon XR8 and deliver comparable performance figures. On the speed camera infested roads of Victoria the SP never really gets the chance to power down for long enough to really deliver a big hit.

Sure, it feels alive and rev-happy zappy off the line, and it begs you to hang on to the revs just to hear the turbo clatter as you come off the gas between changes. But somehow the noise and sensation fails to match the numbers on the speedo.

Where the increase in power makes the biggest difference is on smoother, tight roads, with no more than 50-100 metres between corners. In that environment keeping the engine revving hard in third and ripping out to snatch fourth momentarily before diving on the brakes and third again is exhilaration plus. The frenzied pace with which you can leave one corner and arrive at the next is enough to dump on any doubts about the usefulness of the extra power.

It's true, the chassis really is a darlin' and before long you get used to the predictable way the back swings around on the throttle, correcting with barely a twitch of the wheel. However not everything is as sweet as the chassis or the 'bang-me' power delivery, or even the swift action of the six-speed gearbox.

The suspension action is simply too stiff for real roads with real bumps, yumps and stutters. The steering which is beautifully go-kart precise on smooth surfaces, loses its weight and grip, darting around in the hands from one bump to the next while the back end scutters around, the low profile tyres scrabbling for traction.

Don't get me wrong, it's still exciting, but in the end you just know that it would be a far better experience if the tyres stayed on the bitumen and let you use that sweet chassis and its prodigious power. In higher speed corners the song remains the same with bumps upsetting the car's poise enough to have you slowing down when you should be going faster. I know if the car was mine I'd be having serious conversations with an MX-5 suspension expert!

COULD I LIVE WITH IT?
So is the Mazda MX-5 SP kind of car you could live with day to day? Well it's a two-seater roadster modelled around people under ninety kilos and 180 centimetres. There's not much space for luggage anywhere, including the boot, and there's not really a great deal of room for the driver or the passenger.

An hour into the boring transit section of the return journey from a prawns and chips lunch at Apollo Bay I wanted out. Although the actual seats are good, my elbows and knees had had enough of banging against the sides of the cockpit and I needed room to stretch. Quite simply too much bloke in too little space, mind you that probably says more about prawns and chips than about the car!

WHO'S GOING TO BUY IT?
This is a car for the weekend racer or the club enthusiast. It belongs in the hands of someone who knows what it is and how to use it. Using it as a commuter would be a waste. There's no doubt that the turbo has elevated the MX-5 into a serious sports car with serious performance in an attractive package, but to my mind $55,540 is a serious amount of money for what is still a small car. Then again no one said buying cars had to make sense.

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Written byRob Smith
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