Clash of the Classics: Mazda MX-5 versus Lotus Elan
A quarter of a century ago two very different roadsters attempted to woo us with their visions of how the sports car should evolve.
Lotus had spent years honing its radical idea that sports car fun didn’t have to be rear-wheel-drive, teaming up with Toyota and then parent firm General Motors to hone the M100 generation of its Elan, which can be picked up now on CCfS for around £5,000. Mazda, meanwhile, was toying with the idea of reviving the roadster – which had spent most of the Eighties in the shadow of the hot hatch boom – in its traditionally lightweight, rear-wheel-drive form. The result was the MX-5 which can be picked up on CCfS for less than £1000.
So who got it right?
Round 1: The Power
As long as we’re talking the range-topping Elan SE – and let’s face it, most of the M100’s buyers in period were – it’s an early victory for the sports car from Hethel. While there’s nothing wrong with the 115bhp and the appetite for revs you got from the MX-5’s 1.6 litre engine back in 1990, the turbocharged Isuzu unit in the Elan delivers a smooth 162bhp. It’s quicker to 60mph too, finishing off the dash in 6.5 seconds – two seconds quicker than the MX-5.
Round 2: The Handling
Both are brilliant, but in completely different ways.
Anyone who tells you the Elan isn’t a great steer clearly hasn’t driven one very far, but the emphasis is very much of effective handling and chewing up corners, even in tricky conditions. The MX-5’s lower grip threshold encourages you to play with it, and once you get a feel for its tail-happy qualities it’s big fun.
While it’s the Mazda that feels more immediately like a sports car in the conventional sense, it’s hard not to be impressed by the Elan’s interpretation of handling, so we’d call it a draw.
Round 3: The Roof
The Elan and the MX-5 have been designed to be enjoyed best al fresco, but this is Britain and it’s December. Best get the roof up then!
Lotus’ hood is an engineering marvel and it’s a doddle to put up in a downpour – pull the lever in the door aperture to unlock the tonneau cover, lift roof out, click it into place and then lower the tonneau cover down again to turn your M100 into a snug all-weather cruiser.
It’s great, but the MX-5’s is better still. Just reach behind you, pull the roof up, clamp it into place and zip up the rear window. The end result might not look as elegant as the Elan’s – particularly roof down – but in terms of sheltering you from a sudden shower the MX-5 wins this particular race.
Round 4: The looks
Lotus, in a roundabout way, is behind the look of both of these roadsters, because the original Elan of the 1960s was very much in the designers’ minds when they penned the NA-generation of the MX-5 in the late 1980s.
The MX-5’s lines have stood the test of time, with the outline still forming the basis of the forthcoming fourth generation model. However – and it’s a subjective thing – the Elan’s challenging curves look better still.
The square stance and the ‘cab-forward’ design might not be to everyone’s taste, but there’s something about the M100 which encourages you to stare that little bit longer. It’s more rewarding to look at than the Mazda’s traditional shape is.
Round 5: Living with it
Don’t dismiss the Lotus on the basis that it’s made by a small firm in Norfolk and its opponent is made by robots working for a Japanese conglomerate- the Elan, thanks to its parentage and clever engineering, is actually a fairly safe bet if you look after it.
Unlike the MX-5, which are prone to rust around the sills and rear arches, the Elan’s GRP body keeps the rust to the bits underneath, and the switchgear – as long as you know your 1980s Vauxhalls – should be reassuringly familiar.
Get a well-looked after Elan and it’ll reward you for years, but it still isn’t the no-brainer MX-5 ownership is. With the cars being so much more readily available, it’s cheaper to get into a good one, and parts are easier to come across.
The Verdict
The Elan was years ahead of its time, looked wonderful and showed you can make a great front-wheel-drive sports car – you only have to look at the Fiat Barchetta and the Alfa Romeo Spider, which mimicked the formula, to see its influence.
The MX-5, however, is the better car for easily accessible al fresco fun – and surely that is what small sports cars are all about. For that reason, it’s the victor here, but we’d understand entirely if you went for the Elan instead.
What would you go for? Leave a comment and let us know…
David Simister