MAZDA MX-5

Is this the best MX-5 in the best spec, after all? Yes, we reckon it is

- MURRAY SCULLION

WHY WE RAN IT How easy is it to run a convertible as your only car in the depths of a British winter?

In the office I tend to sit next to our staff writer Charlie Martin and behind Classic & Sports Car's associate editor, Lizzie Pope. Since getting my long-term MX-5 they have both bought NDs. Coincidence? Absolutely not. I should be on commission.

In this line of work we're blessed with driving some of the best cars around. This section of the mag is full of interesting metal week in, week out - and the MX-5 is no exception. I've had a great selection of long-termers in this job, including an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. But the MX-5's mixture of low-speed fun and dependable reliability has made it my favourite. It's a car that makes the everyday more enjoyable. But saying that, I also did a couple of not-so-everyday things in it.

At the start of the year I was invited along by Mazda to the world's first 'night-time track day' in Anglesey. Yep, North Wales, in the winter. At night. Very much in keeping with the 'why we ran it' element of this long-term report. The drop-top Mazda was perfect for the task; I couldn't think of anything better to do it in. It waltzed me effortlessly from London to Wales in comfort and with surprisingly good 40mpg-plus fuel economy. And then on track it was an absolute peach, flattering my driving and generally just being extremely good fun, communicative and everything you'd want in a track-day car that you also intend to drive home.