Back in late '97/early '98 I decided it was time to upgrade from driving a family hatch (I have a wife but no kids - a Totota Carina II 2.0 Executive is bigger than I need) so went looking for a small sporty replacement. Having had a good experience with the Carina the obvious choice was the MR2 (that was the Rev 2). I test drove one and liked it, partly because of the performance & handling which was a step up from the Carina but also because it was easy to drive and very familiar being very similar inside to the Carina (even the engine was the same).
I also took a look at an MGF but couldn't even bring myself to sit in it let alone test drive it. It was a pretty enough car but just didn't look like it had any charisma, the seats looked too high in the car and the whole thing just looked like it tried too hard.
Driving home from the MG garage I passed a Mazda dealer. I hadn't really considered the MX5 before but thought I should take a look. I was actually more interested in the MX3 when I went in but after listening to my wish list the dealer told me I wouldn't be happy with the MX3 and convinced me to give the MX5 a try. Boy am I glad that he did! It was nothing like I had ever driven before - it was like a high-powered roller-skate! It felt like I was connected to the car in a way that I'd never experienced before! I decided there and then that I had to have one.
There were a few nice 2nd hand examples on their forecourt but the one that really caught my eye was a brand new 1.8i Berkeley sitting in the show room. I loved the combination of "sparkle green" paintwork and grey leather seats & door panels. It had PAS but no other toys at all so apart from the leather was a pretty basic model. I put a deposit down there and then but was told I'd have to wait until late March to pick it up as the only Berkeleys they had at the time were showroom models.
I managed to wait a couple of weeks but just couldn't hold myself back. I went back into the dealer and convinced him to give me the showroom car!!! So while I was far from the 1st person to buy a Berkeley I was in fact one of the very first people to actually own one :-)
I owned that car until 2004 covering around 80k faultless miles. Being my daily drive I used it for everything; commuting, fun driving, trips to the supermarket & garden centre (carried an 8 foot tall tree home in it!) and did 4 one week tours of Scotland along with some like-minded friends from The OC West London Region.
The only modifications I made to the car were to fit 15" OZ Superlegerra (after buckling 2 original wheels on an enormous pot-hole), a wooden handbrake handle, an Oris Windstop windblocker and a Jackson Racing Cold Air Induction kit (JRCAI).
The JRCAI claims to add some power but realistically it just sounds really good.
After 6 years I had a yearning for more power so the search for a replacement began. At first I was considering a Porsche Boxster but wasn't convinced it would feel "special" enough. I then looked seriously at the Nissan 350Z and had a very enjoyable test-drive. However, in the end I just couldn't face not having an MX5 so instead I sought a high-spec, low mileage Mk2.5 with the intention of adding power with a supercharger and ended up with the car I have now.
