Residual values help Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe to open up fleet choice lists

Mazda’s position as the UK’s best-selling sports car brand will be enhanced following the arrival of the MX-5 Roadster Coupe with its retractable hard-top.

Two-seater open-top sports cars are often banned from many company car choice lists, but the launch of the MX-5 Roadster Coupe is expected to reverse that trend.

The new MX-5 soft-top launched last year is already in a class of its own with no clear rival for wind-in-the-hair motoring, and the new derivative featuring the world’s fastest retractable hard-top – only 12 seconds top-up or top-down – will enhance the sports car’s iconic status.

Fleets have a choice of three powertrains in the MX-5 Roadster Coupe (1.8i or 2.0i with 5-speed gearbox, 2.0i Sport with 6-speed gearbox) with models costing just £1,200 over their soft top equivalent.

As well as the retractable hard-top, company car drivers also benefit from both climate control air conditioning and the ‘Option Pack’, which includes alloy wheels, as standard on the 1.8i and 2.0i models, scuff plates and leather steering wheel, leather gear stick and leather handbrake lever for a more premium ‘feel’.

With many company car drivers likely to be delighted at being able to get behind the wheel of a true sports car for the first time, residual value projections from used vehicle experts CAP and EurotaxGlass’s will ensure that the MX-5 Roadster Coupe, like the soft top, finds favour with many fleet operators.

With a list price of £18,022, the 1.8i model will retain 47 per cent of its value at three years/60,000 miles; the 2.0i model at £19,022 list price will retain 46 per cent, while the range-topping 2.0i Sport at £20,482 list price will also retain 46 per cent at the benchmark period, according to EurotaxGlass’s.

Meanwhile, data from CAP forecasts the three?year/60,000 retained values to be at 44 per cent, 43 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

The residual value forecasts are similar to those for equivalent Mazda MX-5 soft-top models after three years/60,000 miles. Jason King, forecasting editor of Glass’s Guide, published by EurotaxGlass’s, said: “The MX-5 Roadster Coupe builds on the appeal of the soft-top model. The added security and improved levels of comfort afforded by the closed roof are real bonuses, and there is no compromise on the handling. The appeal of the MX-5 in the used car market can only be enhanced by this new addition to the Mazda sports car range.”

Martin Ward, CAP’s manufacturer relationships manager added: “The availability of a retractable hard-top option will not impact on MX-5 soft-top sales and will attract new buyers to the model.

“This will be particularly true in the fleet sector where some companies continue to ban soft-tops from vehicle choice lists. Historically, the MX-5 has always been a popular model and if fleets start to put the Roadster Coupe on choice lists I think it will attract a significant following.

“Vehicle handling is just as good with the top down as up. Often the weight of the top when lowered over the rear wheels can upset the smooth handling of cars but this is not the case with the MX-5.”

The MX-5, RX-8 and Mazda6 MPS have all contributed to Mazda’s status as the UK’s favourite sports car brand in 2006 and the addition of the Roadster Coupe will further underline that achievement, alongside the marque’s acknowledged record for affordable, highly-specified and reliable vehicles that appeal to both fleet operators and company car drivers alike.

Mazda sales director Jeremy Thomson commented: “We have established a very strong platform from which to drive fleet business. The MX-5 Roadster Coupe further differentiates Mazda from other manufacturers in the fleet market, as the car has no clear rival.

“We expect the Roadster Coupe to prove popular with company car user-choosers who in the past have not been able to select a sports car and we know that the Contract Hire rentals will be as compelling as the car.”