All the Dozens

This set of digits has an intriguing pattern, although that's not why I posted it.

The clicking over of 120000 kms is significant.

It marks a couple of milestones, one being that I've put 10000 kms on the odometer since purchase of the SE in September 2018.

Hardtop and wing resprayed

The other is that I've actually spent some dollars on cosmetic restoration - $1500, in fact. This paid for a respray of the front bumper and the hardtop. The bumper was showing all kinds of gravel rash, typical for an MX5 of this vintage, and I had the hardtop sprayed maroon, a darker shade than the original cherry red.

Choice of colour is always a matter of taste, I suppose, but I chose this over respraying the top the same colour as the rest of the vehicle. which was my original intention.

I also had the rear wing resprayed, as it had deteriorated from (I think) sun damage. The finished job is excellent, and together with a windscreen replacement (which cost me nothing via insurance) has lifted the appearance. It's not concours, but is pleasing.

Gravel rash is gone.

The car is now pristine, paint wise, and exhibits a striking interior which matches the hardtop. The upholstery wear (call it patina) doesn't bother me, and I feed the leather regularly.

I've also taken to using the hardtop only when parking in unsecured areas, which given my pattern of use, is not often. I've never been entirely happy with its fit, and it is noisy. At low speed, it creaks and groans no matter how it is adjusted, and at high speed, the wind noise is a problem.

Interior looks OK.

Driving with the top down is the way to go, especially early in the morning, but my dermatologist, after observing my comprehensive skin damage from a misspent youth, demands that I put it up when in bright sunshine.

Top down is the way to go.

The only other improvement I'm considering at this stage is cruise control. The US Miata came with it equipped, but when I made enquiries about importing a kit, I discovered that they are incompatible with RHD, because of complications with the brake pedal fitted to the Oz version.

This means I'll be looking for an after market version, something discrete that doesn't compromise the originality of the vehicle.

Not an SUV

The background is very dry

The Cerato is sold, and now this is the "family" car.

It's a Kia Rondo (called "Carens" in most other markets, and they're no longer sold in Oz.
That cessation of sales should not be an issue, as the vehicle, like all Kias these days,  comes with a seven year warranty.

These things have the same running gear (motor, transmission, steering, brakes etc. as the Cerato, but have a different body.

Dimensionally, they're the same length and width as the Cerato, but much taller. In that respect, the Rondo resembles an SUV, with an elevated seat height and much easier passenger access.

That's why we bought it. We're both at the age where entry and egress is an issue, and in this car it's a doddle, compared with most small hatches. There are other advantages, such as increased luggage capacity, and a better driver's view because of the elevated seating position.

This particular specification (The "S" - although it's sporty in name only) has a third row of seats, although they're really only suitable for children. We have folded them down, and put a dog-liner in the rear. We can harness the dogs to the rear most seat belts, and they can travel in comfort and safety back there.

The car was a demonstrator with 10000 kms on the clock, and finding it was a hassle. There was nothing local, so we had to use a Kia dealer in Brisbane.

It drives very much like the Cerato, but is quieter, roomier, and has slightly later tech.

Kias are always well-equipped, and they are also well put together. I guess if you're going to warranty your product for seven years, that's a given.

But the best thing is that it's not an SUV.

Why pay to cart around a lot of extra metal?

Buy My Kia

This Dec 2015 Kia Cerato is for sale.

It's done 25000k and has been well looked after.

It comes with a couple of accessories, namely a reversing camera installed in the rear vision mirror, and a tow bar which has never been used.

It has the balance of Kia's 7 year warranty.

We're looking at $12000 ONO.

Check the photos and email me on 1735099@gmail.com if you're interested.

Car has a tow bar - never used.

Seats have always had covers on.

One trim curbed

Mercury silver

Dec 2015 build

Small windscreen chip

Service book, keys and owner's manual.

Small stone chip

Update - It's sold.

Travelling North

An early start was the go.

I've been a bit slack with postings of late, gentle reader.

the major distraction has been enrolling at Uni after a gap of 39 years.

The tertiary institutions that I earned RPL* from have had problems with their archives, caused, I understand by the most recent Brisbane floods.

Anyway, they have resurrected sufficient of my academic record to mollify the campus I'm dealing with, so it's all good.

Roadworks were a pain.

To fill in the time whilst waiting to get started at the beginning of semester 2, I took a long road trip north - to Mackay, to be exact, where my 90-year-old aunt was celebrating her birthday.

There were many cousins, most whom I haven't seen for 30+ years, so it was interesting (and revelatory). I seem to have worn better than most of them.

It's all that clean living.

Travel stained at Bororen.

Anyway, I pointed the nose of the MX5 north, and set out early.

An MX5 SE is not designed for long distance cruising, but this little machine acquitted itself well.

It has an excellent driving position, and cruises at about 3000rpm. An overdrive would be nice, but it doesn’t feel (or sound) stressed at this rev range.

Safely in Mackay.

The only problem I had was in 110km/hr zones, because the turbo kicks in at about 105km/hr in top gear, and holding it below the limit required lots of concentration.

It used 7.5lit/100kms of 98 octane, which is pretty good. Prices were surprisingly consistent except for Mackay city.

Despite wet weather and loads of caravans, the trip north ws enjoyable, and the journey back, in fine weather, was great fun.

Agnes Water

EV chargers at Marlborough.

Fords - My Chequered History

Cranky Car

We've disposed of our last Ford.

Over the years, we've owned (in sequence) two Falcon SRs, and two Focuses (Foci???).

All except for the Focus Trend illustrated have been reliable and good cars to drive. Not so this one, and this is the reason for unloading it. We've also signed up for the class action.

It has been off the road four times as a consequence of the completely unsatisfactory dual clutch auto. Ford calls it "Powershift". Others have coined a different moniker.

The last episode was a broken half shaft, no doubt as a consequence of the juddering that was a characteristic of the transmission during most of our ownership. This last episode, occurring as it did simultaneously with my bride's discharge from hospital after breast surgery was the last straw.

The local Ford dealer (no doubt as tired of these recurring episodes as the owners) was brilliant. They loaned us a Ford Escape for the duration of the repair, which took over a week. The repair didn't cost us, as I'd taken out an extended (5 year) warranty when we purchased the car in 2014. That turned out to be a very good decision.

We traded two vehicles (our Commodore ute and the cranky Focus) on a 2016 Kia Cerato hatch. It has the benefit of a seven year warranty, and because it's a hatch is both dog and bike friendly. If I need to shift stuff, I'll revert to ute hire.

The replacement

Kia has come a long way in a short time on the Australian market, and they make very good cars as demonstrated by their rapidly improving market share.

Ford, on the other hand, are going backwards. It's a shame, as the small Fords were always fun cars to drive.

 

Photo Essay - SE

Before I bought it.

I have a number of pics of the SE, so I've decided with this post to create a photographic essay showing the car.

Some show it before purchase, and some with the hardtop fitted.

It needs cosmetic work, and I'm slowly building up to cleaning up the front bumper (damaged by contact with the number plate frame) and the rear wing which seems to be sun damaged.

I've had quotes for the work from a professional, so if I stuff it up (entirely possible) I can fall back to that.

Silver trim

There's a thing that looks like a hair dryer in there.....

Soft top is mohair - not vinyl.

Bumper damage. (Old number plate)

Half the Kms of the last one I owned.

UK blurb about the interior.

With the hardtop.

Tyres are lower profile (45) than the regular MX5, and wheels 1" larger.

Boot is fully lined.

And so is the glovebox.....

Jasper Conran interior

I'll keep you posted.

Hello and Goodbye

Before purchase (note NSW plates)

As indicated in my last post, I have swapped my 2000 MX5 for this 2004 SE.

I've coveted one of these for a long time, and this one came up on the interwebs and looked OK. I drove the ute to Newcastle to check it out, and wasn't disappointed.

This particular car is unique, with a special interior fitout which I thought might coordinate with the red hardtop. You can look at the pics and decide whether this is in fact the case.

With hardtop in place.

Whilst this one and the previous car are both MX5s, the driving experience is completely different.

The previous car felt soft and slow in comparison. This one, by virtue of a stiffer set of spring rates, tighter steering ratio, and thicker anti-roll bars is further along a continuum which starts at grand tourer and progresses towards sports car.

It also features 17" mags, and lower (40 profile) tyres.

There were actually two different versions of turbocharged MX5s sold in Australia. Read all about it
here
It's actually not as pleasant to drive around the burbs, but once on smooth blacktop out of town, it is a revelation.

This is what makes it so much fun.

What I find particularly attractive is its overtaking ability. The previous car could leave you stranded in the passing lane unless you made careful judgements and kept the revs up by downshifting - usually twice.

This one simply goes once the turbo kicks in, which seems to be about 3000 rpm.

It also has travelled less than half the kilometres of the old one, and should therefore cost less to maintain. The turbo setup is Mazda engineered and conservative. A heavy duty clutch and radiator should help with maintainability.

Jasper Conran interior

It's not perfect. There's extensive road rash on the front bumper, the paint on rear wing (an SE feature) is faded, and the windscreen is pitted. This windscreen issue seems common to MX5s, possibly because they sit low, where there are more stones and detritus flying around.

Replacing the screen and curing the paint blemishes are both improvements I'll attend to ASAP.

Road rash here.

The gearlever knob is also worn, but my friendly local bootmaker can fix that, just as he did for the previous car.

This car does not have the excellent Alpine stereo (with Bluetooth and USB access) that was a feature of the previous car. I thought long and hard about doing a swap, but decided to keep this one original.

Wing is faded (hard to see in this pic)

This means leaving the six stacker CD player (a feature of the SE) in place, and using a Bluetooth adapter to take calls on the go.

The hardtop creaks a lot more in the SE, possibly as a consequence of the firmer suspension settings, but I can live with that. Generally, most of this can be eliminated with careful adjustment of the catches.

I'll keep you posted with the improvements.

The old car sold within a week, for the same price I bought it a year ago. A generous dad bought it for his son and daughter. His wife also has an MX5, as does his eldest daughter, which means there are now three in the family.

That's enthusiasm!