The little red roadster that resurrected the whole sports car segment to become a classic in its own right. Simple packaging of sports car essentials to create pure driving pleasure. The gear change is so sweet, the steering so precise, the handling so sublime, you really feel at one with this car. And pop up headlights to play with! Our early Mk1 NA model is a true original, fantastically preserved and enhanced for a real drivers Road Trip in a classic sports car rental. If you find modern cars a sterile and disconnected driving experience, then this is the cool car hire for you... 

This is one entertaining, fun and rorty roadster. Our classic NA Mk1 Eunos Roadster model is set up for the keen driver with a limited slip differential on the driven rear wheels, top notch specialist Bilstein shocks and H&R springs all round so it rides and handles brilliantly. It's so direct, so nimble, so peppy, you're just eagerly looking for the next corner and the South Island of New Zealand is not lacking in those. We particularly recommend enjoying yourself on the hill climb out of Nelson on SH6 heading to Blenheim, or SH60 twisting over to Takaka and back roads of Golden Bay....and the sports car fun can all be had well within legal speed limits of course. 

Less in this case is most definitely more and the setup is pretty simple. There are no electronic safety do-dads or power roof, so it's just you and the mechanicals. You do sit pretty low down so you need to keep your distance for good visibility and drive defensively, and the pop up headlights can be strangely distracting at first. Drivers over 6'2" may struggle to get comfortable, the ride is somewhat firm / bumpy and it's going to be noisier and feel much less refined than modern counterparts. The 1.6 litre engine means you'll need to 'wind it up' a bit to get up big hills, but that's another good excuse to change down and hear that exhaust rasp. This no frills sports car was made for drivers to really enjoy the drive, so just go seek out those curves...it's all about feeling and tuning into the car, and there's no more fun to be had than driving a 'slow' car, fast.

Being a Mazda, reliability is a given. She's regularly serviced and has to pass the Certificate of Fitness (CoF) test required for all rental cars every 6 months. Given the age of the car with only basic safety designs compared to modern cars though, (there's no ABS or airbags or traction control), the only driver safety aid along with the servo assisted disc brakes and inertia reel 3 point safety belts is....you, the driver. Hence given you sit low down, do ensure you drive appropriately to the car and road conditions. The 1.6 litre engine has absolutely no issue in keeping up with / passing modern traffic or climbing big hills in such a lightweight roadster though.

Superb, nothing is at all tatty inside or out, you've got some customised additions like the Nardi wooden steering wheel and specialist silver interior trim. The seats, fabric roof and rear perspex window are all in great condition, everything essential is in good working order, even the heater....not that you'll need that much...

Fun = lightness ≠ luggage! You can just about fit an adequate amount for two but you'll both need to pack light, definitely with multiple smaller soft bags only to squash into the odd shaped boot moulds. The spare wheel can be removed for extra luggage space though and there's a rear parcel shelf for small bags but not when the roof is down. Please refer to the Seating and Luggage tab above for exact dimensions.  

Seriously spoilt for pop-tastic choice in 1990 but we're going with these fantastic four:

Now we acknowledge driving music is a very subjective thing, but clearly here, we’re right. So download, hire our Portable Bluetooth Speaker & enjoy!

It's not actually that fast but it feels like you're flying.

"....The fact is that if you want a sports car, the MX-5 is perfect. Nothing on the road will give you better value. Nothing will give you so much fun."

"The fact is, there's now nothing to stop you hiring so much fun on your New Zealand Road Trip...."