Test Drive Mazda Roadster (ND). How does it feel to drive a Boxster rider?

Reviews & Test Rides

Reader's ND5RC Roadster.

The other day at Ashiu Driveway, courtesy of one of our blog readers.Test drive the ND5RC Roadster (current model 2016)I was given the opportunity to test drive the car. Although it only lasted about 15 minutes, I would like to write about my impressions of the test ride today.

The following is a description of the roadster's specifications as given by the owner in advance.

Body: Various Mazdaspeed braces
Suspension: Bilstein B12 (main setting for city driving)
Stabilizer: (Front: Auto Exe, Rear: Cusco)
・Clutch stopper (to shorten the place where the clutch is stepped off) and the accelerator pedal is raised.
Wheels: (Advan RZ-II 16-inch 7j)
Tires: (Advan FLEVA195/50R16)
The fluttering and fluttering that is often mentioned has become difficult to feel because the stabilizer has been replaced, but the muffler and other parts have not been changed, so the engine's atmosphere should give you a genuine feel of the original.

Test drive a Mazda Roadster.

And on the day of the event. I looked for the roadster, relying on the license plate number I had asked for beforehand, and there it was! This is it!

The roadster was side by side with a black Boxster, and the owners were talking to each other, if you ask me.The owner of the Boxster was also a blog reader.Oh my God! Thank you!

The body color of this roadster looks white at a glance, but upon closer inspection, it has a slight bluish tint. If you ask, it is "aCeramic metallicThe body color was blue, and it looked very beautiful in the sunlight of Ashiari. The wheels were also blue, which matched the body color and looked cool.

Let me take a look inside.Black seats with red stitching accentsand the texture is solid. I think women would quite like the interior with different colored stitching instead of identical colored seats.

Here's where the owner says, "Since we are here, shall we open the roof?He said, "I saw the holo open...

Ew! It opens so easily!

I was surprised. All I had to do was unlock the center lock, raise the roof, and push it in from above. Any woman can open and close the roof with ease.(I'm a pretty strong guy, so I figured I could afford to do it.)

When we sit in the driver's seat, the seat is quite low, and the view from the driver's seat looks like this.

The shift lever is short stroked, pleasant to enter and very easy to do.

Next I tried stepping on the clutch.The clutch was light and shallow so it was very easy to step on.. When I think about it, I wonder how deep the Boxster's clutch is and how heavy it is (-_-)...but I bet it's even heavier on an air-cooled Porsche or something....

Compared to such a Porsche manual car, the clutch of the Roadster is very light and easy to step on. This is great for women.

As I was stepping on the clutch and cocking the shift lever, the owner said to me.Would you like to take a test ride? Well, since you're here, you and your wife can go for a test ride!And.

."Ew! Oh, no, no, no...!The owner of the car was very polite, but he was already smiling and his feet were already walking toward the roadster. Well, the body is honest (laugh), so I decided to take the owner's word for it and let my husband and I test drive the car.

First I was allowed to ride in the passenger seat, and as soon as we started off, I was told, "Grounded, well built, comfortable to ride.I felt that I was "in the right place at the right time. Also, once we started runningCompared to the Boxster, there is no wind roll at all.I was surprised to see that.

To be honest, the Boxster has a lot of wind in it, so I think it's hard for women with long hair, but the Roadster doesn't have that problem at all.Comfortable ride even in the passenger seat.The engine sound was also pleasant, not vulgarly loud or too quiet, but pleasant and legitimate.

I had to change my driving for a bit along the way.Anyway, the clutch is easy to operate.When I drive a manual car, which is not my usual car, I find it difficult to get a feel for the clutch at first, but with the Roadster, I was able to get the hang of it right away.

Also, in the BMW 320i that I normally drive, even in situations where I would say, "Oh, if I were to do this operation right now, I would get shift shock," I would get almost no shift shock, and I would be able to say, "I'm not going to get any shift shock.Hey, am I driving better?I was so comfortable that I felt as if I was driving a car. I was able to drive comfortably and without tension from start to finish.

If this is how it's going to be.I wish I had bought a roadster instead of a 320i. Ah, but it's a two-seater, so that's impossible.We even had a conversation with a couple about it. Anyway, the car was easy to drive and well-made.

Also, the trunk capacity is unexpectedly small.(Is there too much Boxster in there...)I was able to put in the camera and luggage I had brought with me, and this is what it looked like.

So, next, or rather, this is the main point... (laughs) I would like to introduce my husband's test-drive review.

Next page→My husband, a Porsche driver, gave his impressions of the Roadster test drive.

Mina.

Mother of three children, and the owner of the Porsche blog "A Porsche Came to Our House". Until a few years ago, I was not interested in cars at all, but when my husband bought a Porsche, I became...

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  1. isi

    When I test drove a manual transmission roadster before, the first thing I noticed was that the accelerator pedal was very far to the right. I usually drive cars such as FIAT 500 and Boxster, which are left-hand drive cars in their home countries but right-hand drive cars in Japan, and it is often pointed out that the pedal position is offset to the left side, which is unnatural. In my case, I remember that I was confused by the pedal position of the Roadster, which is considered to be natural, because I was used to the pedal position of cars that are considered to be unnatural by the public without feeling any sense of discomfort since the beginning with my first MT. I remember that when I wanted to step on the accelerator pedal at the market of the Roadster, there was nothing there, and the short test drive time ended with me groping for the accelerator pedal with my foot, not my hand.

    I have not test-driven an AT, but it seemed to me that it would not be easy for an AT to misstep with the brake if the accelerator pedal is positioned so far to the right. I thought it would be better to replace the accelerator pedal with a part that shifts its position to the right without installing an electronic control part as a countermeasure against mis-step, or to set a standard that the brake and accelerator pedals should be separated by at least several centimeters. There is still the issue of foot space, though.

    • Mina.Mina.

      Mr. Ishi.

      >In my case, it was the first MT car I ever owned, and since I was used to the pedal position of cars that are considered unnatural by many people, I remember being puzzled by the pedal position of the Roadster, which is considered to be natural.
      I see...! You are absolutely right.
      There was a Porsche driver I spoke to earlier who said the same thing as Mr. Ishi.

      >I thought it would be better to replace the accelerator pedal with a component that shifts its position to the right without installing an electronic control component as a countermeasure against mis-step, or to set a standard to separate the brake and accelerator pedals by at least a few centimeters.

      That's true. When you step on the gas pedal, the gas pedal is there, so you make a mistake, right?
      I believe that humans cannot act calmly in a moment of crisis, and it would be good if the system were designed to prevent this from happening, based on the premise that humans make mistakes in stepping on the wrong foot in the first place.

      Truly, the story surrounding the car is profound...

  2. hurtloker

    Hello. - Hello.
    My Abarth 124 Spyder is equipped with Abarth tuning engine and record Monza, acceleration and engine sound are very nice. The construction of the muffler is the same as the Porsche sports exhaust.
    Production will be discontinued at the end of next year.
    We would like to invite you to take a test drive.

    • Mina.Mina.

      Mr. HURTLOKER.
      Thank you for everything!
      >My Abarth 124 Spider is equipped with Abarth tuning engine and record Monza, acceleration and engine sound are very nice.
      I told my husband, "The Abarth 124 Spider is a car I've always wanted to drive too! If it wasn't a Boxster, I might have picked this one! I'd love to drive one!"
      He said.

      I'll try to throw it up on the blog again....lol
      Thank you!

  3. yuke

    I see that you have driven an ND Roadster. I remember being enchanted by its crisp shape, simple yet stylish interior, and body-colored door panels. LOL!

    Mine was the NC model, one year before the RX-8, and it was tough to open and close the top with one hand. I heard that many compromises were made as a roadster on the chassis shared with the RX-8. It's fun, though!
    It's extremely inconvenient, but the special feeling of superiority of not having a roof over your head? I love it!

    I'd love to drive a roadster in Ashi Ari.

    • Mina.Mina.

      YUKE.
      Yes, it was!!! It was so good!
      So many things have been further improved between the previous model and the current model.

      >It's very inconvenient, but I love the special feeling of superiority of not having a roof over my head! I love it!
      I knew a convertible would be great! I didn't know it could feel so good.
      It's a long way, but if you are ever in the area, please stop by Ashiyari.

  4. neo

    I test drove the ND.

    It was a fun car even with low power.
    However... the position of the ABC pedal does not suit my sensibilities.
    I'm sure you get used to it after driving for a long time, but I think it's because they forced to put the right-hand drive ABC on a car designed for left-hand drive.
    Slightly outward-facing from the seating position.

    You compromised to get a 50:50 front/rear weight on the sale!

    • Mina.Mina.

      neo acid
      Oh yes!

      >The only thing is... the position of the ABC pedal doesn't suit my sensibilities.
      Other readers said the same thing in their comments.
      Once again, I am reminded that designing a car is truly a very deep process.

      I wonder if the pedals on other domestic MT sports cars are the same...
      If I get another chance, I would like to test drive other cars with my husband.

  5. nave

    Hello Mina.

    I️ remember the old days when I️ read this article.

    I was driving a 996 GT3 CS early model (I still think it's a great machine), but at the time I couldn't step out of it unless I went to the track, and even if I did, I couldn't handle it as well as I wanted to with my skills...oh, I would have preferred to stay with the 964 ...... I was thinking that I should have stayed with the 964, but then the NC Roadster was announced and I had a seizure and switched to the NC Roadster.

    I had the pleasure of using up the car and thought it was this and that, but due to various reasons, I had to get off the roadster when the car was inspected, lol.

    For these experiences and economic reasons, I have come to solemnly enjoy the normal Porsche models without paying for the role of the Porsche.

    I️ hope that your husband will continue on his path of kuruma perversion without wavering, as I️ will get a taste of the pseudo-experience from his reviews with the desire to return to the role after raising my child.

    • Mina.Mina.

      nave acid
      So it was!
      You were driving an NC roadster at one time, weren't you?
      I would love to drive the NC roadster - is it different from the ND again?

      >I️ would like to have the desire to return to the role after raising my children, and I️ would like to have a pseudo-experience with your review, so I️ hope that you will continue on your path of kuruma perversion without wavering.
      Thank you for saying so!
      I will continue to have my husband go down the car pervert road (laughs).
      Thank you for your continued support!

  6. nave

    Good evening Mina.

    I remember the old days when I read this article.
    I used to drive a 996GT3CS (still a great machine, I think), but it was too much for my skills. I could only enjoy it to the fullest when I went to the circuit once in a while.
    The GT3 was a car that didn't seem to flatter the driver at all back then, and I sometimes thought, "Oh, I should have kept the 964 .......... Then the NC Roadster was announced, and since the first car I drove after getting my driver's license was an FC-3S (RX-7, but ask my husband...), I had no bad impression of Mazda, so I test drove one and somehow signed a contract with them. I think my impression of the test drive was very similar to what my husband felt this time. I thought, "I knew that a car is only as good as its gas pedal! I enjoyed it for a while. But after the car was inspected, I went back to Porsche (laugh). Well, if I have more financial freedom after raising my children, I may get into something that will be more functional without any punishment, lol.