Forget the midlife crisis, the Mazda MX-5 is a brilliant sports car

MY MIDLIFE crisis has arrived at least a decade early.

That's the reckoning of my Facebook friends, reacting to the news that I've bought what I reckon is a seminal small sports car. After a lot of saving up and careful searching, I've finally got myself a Mazda MX-5!

Regular readers will remember that last week I failed in my pub-based exploits to buy an early MK1 on eBay (thanks for all your tips and suggestions, everyone who emailed in) but in the end I found what I was looking for in the classifieds of this very newspaper. A tidy blue roadster which, despite having clocked up over 100,000 miles in its 20 year life, felt tight as a drum to drive.

I've already braced myself for the armchair pundits' argument; the MX-5, lots of you have already told me, is either a girl's car or a flashing belisha beacon alerting other road users to an impending midlife crisis. Luckily, I have my ripposte ready to go, and it comes in the form of a question to all you MX-5 cynics. Have you actually driven one?

If you have then you'll have felt the finesse of its handling, revelled in the go-kart responsiveness of its steering and enjoyed what I reckon has always been its best feature; the flick-of-the-wrist gearchange. The first time I drove two years ago, is forever etched into my memory as a masterclass of how well a good car can handle.

True, these are features you'll find fitted to my MGB as standard, but the difference between a British sports car and a Japanese one is that the latter is built properly. MX-5s, in a nutshell, are fun sports cars that work properly. That's why it is by far and away the world's best selling sports car and why every car maker on Earth has copied it; if it wasn't for the MX-5 there wouldn't have been an MGF, an SLK or a Boxster.

When I was lucky enough to take a brand new one into the wilds of Wales last year, I fell in love with it, and that's why I decided to take the plunge and actually get one all of my own. Will it be better to drive, to own, and to live with than the Minis I'm used to? I look forward to letting you know.

If a midlife crisis is anywhere near as much as fun as an MX-5 is mid-corner on some twisty mountain road, then bring it on.