1

January 2016 | Issue 13 | £1.50 where bought

AUTOBIOGRAPHIESAllnewMazdaMX-5

January BluesFun things to do with the kids

THIS MONTH..

january issue 2016

HOUSE AND GARDENS

Planning Matters...… it really does. Whether you’re applying or livingin a neighbourhood, what goes on (or up or isremoved) can be important to our community.Take a look at the latest applications.

MOTORING

22 Auto BiographiesThe all new Mazda MX5. Smooth lines, roof off andiconic goodlooks. What did Tim make of this newroadster?

CHILDREN, PETS & EDUCATION

12 It’s all child’s playSome lovely suggestions from Sue of things to do inthe cold weather with your little people.

HEALTH, BEAUTY & LIFESTYLE

10 Absolute Running

ASTROLOGY

16 Russell GrantWhat will the new year bring for you? Check outthe centre spread for your star sign and see whatthe stars have in store.

COMMUNITYYour Special Day

A step by step checklist to make sure your big daygoes off to perfection, and to budget!

16

SmSmalal ltalkltalk

Pearl Publications01329 630630

Joint EditorsCoralie Todd & Sean Middletoneditor@bigvoicedirectories.co.uk

Advertising Salessales@bigvoicedirectories.co.uk

DistributionThis Big Voice Bigazine is deliveredto residents and businesses inGosport, Elson and surroundingareas. For distribution enquiries

please give us a call andspeak to Sean.

Six other editions are alsopublished in Alverstoke,

Stubbington & Hill Head, Lee onSolent , Locks Heath, Warsash &

Sarisbury Green, Whiteley,Titchfield Park and Burridge.

Whilst Big Voice Directories aim to provide aquality publication for local reference, it cannotbe held responsible for the services, reputation orcost of any of the advertisers, and content ofadverts or editorial herein. Readers must maketheir own enquiries to establish the credentials ofeach entry. Reproduction in whole or in part isstrictly prohibited without prior writtenpermission from the Publishers. The magazinesare produced on paper sourced from FSCapproved paper mills and printed using vegetablebased inks. They love being recycled but pleasepass to a friend first!Magazine, adverts, design, layout and content© Copyright Pearl Publications Ltd

Follow us on Twitter@BVDirectories

Visit our Facebook pageBig Voice Directories

Visit our websitewww.bigvoicedirectories.co.uk

Advertise with us!

Reliably delivered by our local teams, reaching over 35000homes each issue, SEVEN editions of Big Voice provideexceptional monthly coverage of our area every single month.Call our friendly team now on 01329 630630, jump on ourwebsite and have a chat or link up with us on Facebook.

“What’s your idea of success”?

This was a question that we asked our kids on oneof our longish jaunts in the car recently.

We were on our way up to see my Auntie Lynda in Derby who, according toour little people, “lives in a mansion and must have lots of money”.

Auntie Lynda, a successful children's author, is a literary genius and modestwith it. Her house décor is traditional yet homely and everything needs tohave history or a story to pass the gates and be kept treasured.

The 20ft or so Christmas tree in the stone floored hallway has the children ingasps every year and when they run up and down to the cellars or come hurt-ling around the sweeping staircase it’s no wonder they feel like they’re on theset of a classic film.

So knowing they were travelling to such a wonderful venue it got us onto thesubject of what they’d like to achieve or own when they were ‘grown up’.

Lucy is pretty easy to guess. Aged 9 she’s developed a passion for sign lan-guage and will no doubt be happy living out of a VW camper van, with a guitar(yet to learn), painting things and training hearing dogs for the deaf.

The boys quickly listed all the material possessions they would need (includinga ten bedroom mansion, Olympic size swimming pool and an Apache gunshipon the driveway) and Ava didn’t know, as long as cake featured somewhere.Although she’s only 7, Sean and I couldn’t help feeling this was actually acover for our wide-eyed youngest who is likely to become a Lara Croft/JamesBond type character with her Teflon skin and obsession with noticing whensomething has changed.

Sean and I, on the other hand, have a different view of success. But it wasn’tone we wanted to share with the kids until we achieve it one day, in a ‘ta dah’sort of way. The New Year is agood time to re-evaluate whereyou are and what you mightwant to achieve. Have a go asyou never know where youmight end up, Apache or noApache.

Stay healthy, safe and look aftereach otherMuch love

C oralie and Seanx

4

5

Nave Contemplation

Many thanks to all the people whohave emailed responses to myarticles and asked questions! It’sbeen stimulating and encouraging.A number of you have asked if Icould say a little bit more about myunderstanding of what it means tohave a Christian Faith. Luckily, I hadwritten something about thisrecently, for a discussion group I’min, so I can share it with you in afew extracts, over the comingmonths.

Here is the second:

Let me give you an analogy, whichhelps illuminate why rationalarguments don't persuade peopleto reject faith. The people I amdescribing are happy for thefollowing information to be shared.I once met a couple who, whenthey married, were told byeveryone they knew (family and"close" friends) that they shouldn'tmarry.

She was Irish Protestant, he wasIrish Catholic. She was a good dealolder than him. He was anacademic (an anthropologist) shewas someone who struggled withreading and writing, and found itvery difficult to follow the logic ofany discussion. He had a potentiallydebilitating illness. Both familiesthreatened to cut them off if theymarried (and did exactly as theyhad threatened).

One of his closest colleagues (aSocial Anthropologist) bombardedhim with all the arguments aboutmonogamy and marriage beingunworkable and destructivenonsense. In the face of all this,

because they loved each otherdeeply (and their love for eachother was their "truth") they didmarry; they had enormousstruggles financially, and they hadto cope with his illness (which,thankfully, reached a plateau and"stabilized").

When I met them, they had beenmarried 38 years; had had a veryhappy life together, and were stillvery much a happy and devotedcouple.

Much like those of faith, beset bythose who question their faith withbewildered hostility, and withmany perfectly reasonablearguments against their marriage,they carried on regardless, becausethey saw and knew what was truefor them......and their ownexperience (38 years of it) has – asfar as they are concerned,conclusively "proved" that truth forthem.

Comparing religious faith withsexuality.

Critics of religious faith say that itshould be rejected and abandonedbecause:- it enslaves humanity;- it causes violence, bigotry andnarrow-mindedness;- it contributes hugely to theamount of human suffering andmisery;- it is governed by irrational drivesand irrational thoughts;- it causes people to behave inunacceptable ways;- it contributes hugely to thesubjugation of women;- it is the enemy of civilized

behaviourandreasonedthought.

But allthese arguments also apply tosexuality. Our sexuality (and itsexpression) causes misery,enslavement, violence, jealousy,hatred, irrationality, the extremeoppression of women, dangerousand narrow-minded thinking, theextreme oppression of all agesof humanity, but especially ofwomen and children.

In the same way, sexuality (likereligion) can also make us feel mostalive, loved, cherished, andexuberant. It makes lifeworthwhile....and, like religion, itinspires wondrous prose, poetry,art, music and sculpture......it can -in short - bring out the very best inus, and make life worth living.

To say "religion causes nothing buttrouble for humanity....get rid of it"is as pointless as saying "sexualitycauses nothing but trouble forhumanity....get rid of it". As well asthe misery they undoubtedly cancause, both also give rise to, andare responsible for, everything thatmakes life meaningful, good andtrue.....

The Revd Andy Davis, Vicar ofChrist Church and Holy Trinity,Gosportandy@christchurchgosport.co.ukor andy@holytrinitygosport.co.uk

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE ACHRISTIAN FAITH?

6

P lant of the month

PRIMROSEThe first sight of a primrose can never fail to warm the cockles of one’s heart, especially if the wintermonths have been somewhat dreary.

Growing these pretty plants is relatively easy and can be grown from seed, sown outdoors in a cold frameduring winter. Once they’ve got their second or third leaves they can be put out into the garden, either atthe front of a bed or in a container. They don’t grow overly tall and need planting in lightly shaded areasabout 6-12 inches apart. Keep an eye on slugs and snails as these can often affect the plants otherwiseenjoy the white, yellow, red and pink colours that will bloom.

7

8

9

10

11

12

P lanning MattersGOSPORT BOROUGH COUNCIL

REF LOCATION PROPOSAL STATUS

15/00609/Full 20 - 24 High StreetGosport HampshirePO12 1DE

Part Demolition Of Rear Addition, InternalAnd External Alterations And Erection OfRear And Second Floor Extensions And Par-

Registered

15/00504/Full 6 Prince Alfred StreetGosport Hampshire

Alterations To Existing Roof To Raise RidgeAnd Erection Of Rear Dormer Window, Erec-tion Of First Floor Rear Extension, Single

Decided

15/00419/Full 28 - 29 High StreetGosport Hampshire

Extension To Existing Beer Garden(Conservation Area)

Registered

15/00513/Full 3 - 4 Haslar MarinaHaslar Road Gosport

Repairs To Breakwater Registered

15/00479/Full 21 Wingate Road Gos-port Hampshire PO12

Continued Use Of Part Of Ground Floor AsPlace Of Worship (Synagogue) (Class D1)

Decided

15/00537/Full 35 Stanley Close Gos-port Hampshire PO12

Erection Of Single Storey Rear And Side Ex-tension

Registered

A monthly round up of planning applications submitted since 1 October 2015

For more details go to:

eoc.fareham.gov.uk/ocellaweb/planningsearch

13

14

Picture a grey January day and kids goingcrazy from being cooped up indoors.Children it seems are immune to ‘badweather’, but without sun or snow totempt us out of our cosy centrally heatedhomes, we adults sometimes need anudge. If you’re looking for someinspiration on those cold grey Januarydays, then mother of two and author SueGascoyne is on hand with some tried andtested fun ideas for things to dooutdoors:

Make a mud pit as this is great forsplashing in; experimenting withconsistency for creating mud pictures;mixing up hearty concoctions with oldpots and pans; and of course, makingmud pies.

Make ice sculptures to hang on the trees.Simply arrange holly and other foliage orsliced citrus fruit in transparent plastictakeaway containers. Add a loop of stringfor hanging, fill with water, put the lid onand leave to freeze over night. Freezingaccentuates the colours in the leaves,berries and fruit creating a trulymesmerising display guaranteed to melteven the frostiest heart!

Use icicles as magic melt in your handpens!

Collect sheets of ice form a puddle andadd slowly drops of food colouring towatch the colour spread like fingersthrough the ice.

Go puddle jumping as there’s somethingirresistible about cracking the glass-likelayer of ice on a puddle. Add powderpaints for some fun welly printing!

Fill an old ice cube tray with mud andleave outside overnight to freeze. Turnthe mini bricks out for lots of building fun.Add small toy animals for firingimagination.

If you don’t fancy getting messy, makefrozen mini ice bricks instead to buildigloos with or to create a polar landscapecomplete with frozen shaving foam snow,glass cubes, a safety mirror andpolystyrene pieces.

If it’s damp and cold outdoors then whynot create a fire pit for charcoal making,toasting of marshmallows and warmingchilly fingers by the fire? Share a flask ofhot chocolate for the best snack ever!

Go on a family walk, armed with a list ofthings for you all to spot. Include a mix ofunusual as well as unexpected things thatwill add challenge and excitement.

In Winter time birds can really struggle tofind enough food to eat so why not makebird cakes and encourage an interest inbird spotting? Heat up some lard andcarefully mix with bird seed. Use thewarm mixture to fill coconut shells, smallterracotta plant pots or recycled yoghurtpots. (You will need to make a small holein the bottom of the containers and insert

and knot a loop of string to hang it.) onceset cut away the plastic containers if usedthen hang in a position where you canspot which birds it attracts. Children cancreate a tally to record and identify thewinged diners or why not get involved ina national Birdwatch campaign.

If your New Year resolution was recyclingmore why not upcycle your old deadChristmas tree into a didgeridoo? You’llneed to be patient as the wood needsseveral months to dry out, but what anawesome project to do with an adult. Ifthat’s too much machinery and time youcould craft a bird feeder instead. Simplycut the tree into smaller pieces, about 30cm long would work well. Drill out thetrunk to create a hole for the bird seedand prepare to watch the birds flock toyour garden sculpture. If these projectshave whet your creative appetite there’salways coaster making or sculptures, togive you a head start on Christmaspresents!

One of the best things about getting coldoutdoors is the pleasure of warming upafterwards with a cup of hot chocolateand a roaring fire. There’s nothing like thetingle of cold cheeks to make you feelalive, so what are you waiting for, theoutdoors awaits!

Sue GascoyneFor fun sensory play activities, Sue’s latest

research, resources and training go towww.playtoz.co.uk.

sue@playtoz.co.uk 01206 796722

It’s al l child’s playJanuary Blues

15

16

17

18

Running around Gosport 2015

Can't dress it up any otherway...2015 has been aphenomenal year for our town.The obvious positives are howwell the Enterprise Academy atthe old Daedalus site is goingfrom strength to strength; newlink roads; Aldi brightening up atired corner of Mumby Road, topclass sailing from the Ben Ainslielot over the water and our veryown Alex Thompson 'road testinghis new Boss/Mercedes superyacht in preparation for nextyear's round the world challenge.Local boy Matt Ritchie making hisinternational football debut forScotland and now being chased

by the Premier League's big boys.Cracking stuff and proof that youdon't need to live in a City toenjoy success.

On a more personal level, we atAbsolute Running have been on aroller coaster journey in a yearthat saw us change the nameabove the door and in doing so,removing a name that has beenknown in Gosport since 1937.NOBES SPORTS will always behere we hope. The name stillexists beneath our new facadeand we hope that we cancontinue to provide the personalservice that the NOBES family

were synonymous with fordecades.

Running has once again becomehuge, have you noticed? Whetherit was the Olympics, Paralympicsor the rise of the parkrunphenomena the simple facts are,more and more folk are having ago. We see runners of all shapesand sizes wherever we go at alltimes of day and night. It'sbrilliant! Kids are getting involvedand they actually enjoy it? Why isthat? It's because parents andteachers are getting involved andmaking it fun again. Every step isapplauded and the rewards are

ABSOLUTE

RUNNING

huge. Happier, healthier familiesdoing stuff together. This wasevident more than ever at thisyear's 3rd Gosport Golden Milewhen for the first time, weatherconditions were frankly awful.Our attempt to be the first townto stage a Wheelchair GoldenMile was thwarted and wealmost had to cancel our GoldenMile due to high winds andtides. We didn't because kidsdragged their parents out of bedand turned up in their hundredsto take on The Mile.

School running clubs and crosscountry teams are seeing aresurgence in popularity likenever before and local heroes likeElise Gower are staging their ownevents on our very own GosportGolden Mile for charities specialto them...and the kids andparents love it. Gosport BoroughCouncil did their bit and paintedStart & Finish lines on ourpromenade so that it's there allyear round for anyone to have ago. They're doing their bit too.Can you run The Mile? Why nothave a go?

Next year's official race will beon Sunday 19th June and you caneither enter via the shop in StokeRoad or via our new racewebsite www.gosportgoldenmile.uk

Every runner gets a medal and acheer and there are spot prizestoo. Elite runners will be trying tobeat our course record of 4minutes and 16 seconds whilstthe majority will simply be seeinghow quickly they can complete 1mile. Next year sees theintroduction of a CorporateChallenge where team of 4 fromlocal business will race eachother and in doing so raisemoney for our friends at GAFIRS.

If you're disabled and fancy acrack at wheelchair racing, wehave the Golden 800 metre sprintfor you to have a go at. Why not?Go on!

You can also get involved as asponsor if you prefer and detailscan be found on the website.

For all of you embarking on your

running adventure; you'll find itaddictive and like us, you willmake so many new friends.Before long you'll be having a goat the weekly Lee on the Solentparkrun (Saturday's 9am onMarine a Parade) or even signingup for our Bayside Summer 5Kseries which gives you a wholesummer to measure yourprogress over our fast and flatcourse at Stokes Bay. With a raceevery month from May toSeptember, it's a great way tomeet your local running clubswho add a splash of colour toproceedings with their proudlyworn club vests. Each race startsand ends at Bayside Cabin whokindly help with race sponsorshipand look after the dietary andliquid refreshment needs pre andpost race. You won't find afriendlier race anywhere...ever!

This summer also gave localrunners an opportunity to meet alad from Bristol called Ben Smith.As a way of dealing with his owndemons, Ben found that runninghelped and launched anoutrageous attempt to run 401

20

marathons over 401 consecutivedays! Crazy right? At the time ofgoing to print, Ben is currently onmarathon number 95 and eachday is a newWorld Record.Having met Ben during hismarathon around Gosport andFareham, we firmly believe thathe can achieve his goal. You willrarely meet such a charming yetdetermined man and his chosencharities of Stonewall andKidscape will see their fight tohelp prevent bullying greatlyenhanced by the end of Ben's401st run. Big Voice weredelighted to sponsor Ben for hisStubbington Marathon. You canfind out more about this greatchallengeat www.the401challenge.co.uk

If you are thinking about startingrunning but lack confidence, westarted a 'Family Fun Run' fromour shop in Stoke Road. Nowaffectionately known as the 545RunClub, we conveneevery Wednesday at the shopat...5.45pm and depart for a runof between 3 and 6KM's (1.5 or 3miles) at a pace to suit whoeverturns up. We're not here to coachor make you faster. We're here toprove that running can be funand we now see upwards of 40men, women, children and dogsturn up each week. Sometimeswe have 'guests' join us and oftenwe have interesting refreshmentsawaiting our return but always,we have a laugh and no-one canbe too slow. So, you know wherewe are. Come and join us.

Finally and proof that running canhelp bring communities together.We were approached by a lovely

lady (Nikki Edwards) who workswith vulnerable adults. Shewanted her guys and girls to alsobe able to have a crack at ourGosport Golden Mile but wantedadvice. Obviously, such an eventwould prove challenging for up to40 vulnerable adults and theircarers and marshalling the routekey to keeping everyone safe.With only a few days to go andfollowing a Facebook plea, localrunners and their friendsvolunteered their Sunday forpeople they had never met andwe had the green light. Restoresfaith in mankind that sort of stuff.That event is at 11am on Sunday6th December starting at GAFIRS.We hope that we may see someof you there.

Thanks for reading and join us onour adventures next year. Believein your community and getinvolved. You'll enjoy being partof something special.

Keep it local. Follow the shoe

Have a fabulous Christmaswhatever your faith and apeaceful New Year.

Nick, Harry & Kim

21

@MoneySavingExpertMartin Lewis

Dust off your long johns, grab a cup of Bovriland snuggle up with my checklist to keepyour costs down and the heat up.

Save £250+ on energy bills.

Winter is of course the highest-use energyperiod. So the key is to ensure you’re on thecheapest possible deal – that may bechanging tariff with your existing provider, itmay be switching. The move across takes 17days, so do it now to ensure you’re on theright deal before the cold snaps.

Those who worry about this, don’t – it’s thesame pipes, gas, meter and safety, and youdon’t lose supply. The only difference is priceand customer service. But savings can behuge.

About 70% are on their provider’s standardtariff – across the big six this is an average of£1,095/year based on typical usage. Yet thecheapest open market’s deal is around £830a year – that’s £260 a year saved, much ofthat in the winter months.

However, as your exact cheapest depends onwhat you use and where you live – to findout, always do a comparison. Just make sureyou select ‘all tariffs’ on a comparison site.You can use my www.CheapEnergyClub.comwhich also gives switchers up to £30cashback and then monitors you tariff afterto check no one beats it, or anyOfgem.gov.uk approved comparison site.

Switch energy now and you could get £100sback.

If you pay by direct debit, it’s likely you’re incredit after the low-use summer. Mostproviders give it back automatically, but ifthey don’t, call and ask. If you’ve switched inthe past five years, your old supplier may stillowe you too.

Asking for it back is simple and here’s asuccess to encourage you: “The balanceowed to me from 17 months ago (which theynever got back to me about) was £1,364.22.A brilliant result but I do feel an idiot for notknowing how much I'd overpaid, so I urgeeveryone to do the same as me and check.” –Col.escargot.

Free winter car check.

Halfords.com is offering a free £15 winter carcheck, which includes checks to your battery,bulbs, wiper blades, oil and screenwashlevels. You don’t need to book in advance,

though you can online if you want, and thecheck should take about 15 minutes. There isno obligation to buy anything, but beprepared that staff might try to upsell you.The winter car check is on until spring 2016.

Are you entitled to any extra winter help?

Winter is a tough time for many as the coldsets in. But there are funds which may help…

Winter fuel payments. If you were born on orbefore 5 January 1953 (and met otherqualifying criteria throughout the weekcommencing 21 September 2015), you’reeligible for the up to £300 winter fuelpayment. If you get certain

benefits, eg, state pension, pension credit orjobseeker’s allowance, you’ll usually get itautomatically – otherwise you may have toclaim it. You do that by calling 03459 15 1515.

Cold weather payments. Anyone on certainbenefits, eg, specific income support,jobseeker’s allowance, pension credit, gets£25 for every seven days where there aresub-zero temperatures. It’s paidautomatically from 1 November 2015.

Choosing between heating and eating? Ifyou’re seriously behind, or in generalfinancial hardship, you may be eligible forspecial tariffs/help. Try theHomeHeatHelpline.org.uk on 0800 33 66 99.

Do you know where your water cock is?

Everyone should know where their mainwater off-switch is, otherwise known as astopcock. Frozen pipe bursts create anaverage of £4k of damage, worse if you can’tfind the off switch as your home floods. So ifyou don’t know, spend five minutes nowfinding out – typically it’s under the kitchensink, in the boiler cupboard, or outside.

Full service car breakdown cover £41, basicfor £16 – and if you’re renewing, haggle.

Problems are more likely in winter and theconsequences are more severe. Forbreakdown, home start and onward travelcover, AutoAidBreakdown.co.uk charges£41/year, though if it sends a truck anddriver you pay, then reclaim.

Or if you’ve got cover and are at renewal,haggle. In a recent poll I conducted, 84% ofAA and 78% of RAC customers who tried gotlower rates, like Graham did: “Thanks for the

haggling advice. Just spent five minutes onthe phone to the RAC and got my renewalslashed from £252 to £151. Just over £100for about five minutes’ work – that’ll donicely!” Full help to do this in www.mse.me/breakdown

For basic policies, buy through a cashbacksite like Topcashback.co.uk or Quidco.comand you can reduce the cost, eg, RAC basic is£27.99 a year and you get around £12cashback, AA is a little more.

Free loft/cavity wall insulation, open to all.

Energy firms face sanctions if they don’tmeet Eco quotas, so some, eg, BritishGas.co.uk, EDFEnergy.com and Npower.comgive free insulation to anyone in England,Scotland or Wales with a suitable home (youdon’t have to be their customer or on a lowincome). If you paid for this commercially, itcould cost around £700.

The savings can be huge. The Energy SavingTrust estimates you’ll see a reduction in billsof £300 a year compared with a typicaluninsulated home. On average it takes 3-4weeks to book a survey and a further twoweeks for the insulation to be fitted (thoughit can take longer).

22

After Christmas day, don’t pile up empty gift boxes from your new computer, DVD player,or stereo receiver on the street for the bin men.

Burglars appreciate knowing that you have expensive gifts inside for them to steal. Breakthe boxes down or cut them up to conceal the items better.

Be extra cautious about locking doors and windows when you leave yourproperty even if only for a few minutes.

Find your local Neighbourhood Policing Team www.hampshire.police.uk

Need the police? Dial 101 or 999 for crime in progress101 makes it quicker and easier to contact the police when you don’t need an emergency

response.

Keep up to date with crime news with Neighbourhood Watch www.facebook.com/GOSPORTNHW

To contact Gosport Neighbourhood Watchwww.gosportnhw.co.uk or call 07946 678264

23

24

25

SSTTANDAND OUTOUT FROM TFROM THEHE CROWD!CROWD!

BBEE SEEN - ISEEN - IN A BIGAZIN A BIGAZINE!NE!CCALL TALL THE BIG VHE BIG VOICE TOICE TEAMEAM ON 0ON 01329 61329 63063030630

26

27

28

The all-new Mazda MX-5 rocks. Itreally does.

And it’s not just me that thinks it - theawesome sports car has already beennamed Roadster of the Year inBritain.

But why does the MX-5 rock? Andwhy is it awesome? Well, quitesimply, the car is a brand icon. It isbrilliant fun to drive – and that hasbeen the case in all of its incarnationsover the last 25 years.

Having made its British debut at the2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed,the all-new fourth-generation MazdaMX-5 has an excellent power toweight ratio, rear-wheel drive,perfect 50:50 weight distribution andmore comfort and tech than everbefore.

The MX-5 is offered with a choice oftwo petrol engines, and with ninemodels across five trim levels, themighty yet minute Mazda looksalready set to repeat the Japanesemotor manufacturer’s influence

within the reasonably pricedsports car sector.

Maintaining the driver-focusednature that has made the MX-5the best-selling two-seatersports car of all time, it isobvious the engineeringphilosophy behind the up-to-the-minute model has allowedMazda to retain the dexterity,enjoyment and engagementthat has always characterisedit.

The lightest MX-5 since thecelebrated original, the freshcar is shorter, lower and widerthan the outgoing one, withthe smallest overhangs andlowest centre of gravity yet.These dynamic proportionscombined with Mazda’sKODO: Soul of Motion designvalues ensure that the

model’s styling reflects itsemphasis on driving pleasure in anunmistakably contemporary andenergetic way.

Featuring Mazda’s award-winningSKYACTIV technology, the MX-5’sultra-efficient lightweight petrolpowered engines deliver new heightsof performance and economy. Acrossthe line-up the MX-5 features alloywheels, LED headlights, a leathersteering wheel, as well as a light andsleek fabric hood.

SE-L models add LED daytime runninglights, climate control air-conditioning, DAB radio, Bluetoothand cruise control, plus Mazda’sconnectivity and infotainment systemwith seven-inch colour touch-screendisplay and Multimedia Commander.SE-L models with the 2.0-litre 160psengine are distinguished by 17-inchGunmetal alloy wheels and pianoblack door mirrors, and benefit froma strut tower bar and limited slipdifferential.

Step up to Sport trim and both the 1.5and 2.0-litre cars feature rain sensing

wipers, rear parking sensors, smartkeyless entry, Premium BoseSurround-Sound and heated leatherseats. With the 1.5-litre engine, Sporttrim MX-5’s come with 16-inchGunmetal alloy wheels and pianoblack door mirrors. Sport models withthe 2.0-litre 160ps engine benefitfrom a

dynamic set-up that includes Sportssuspension featuring Bilsteindampers, a limited slip differentialand strut tower bar, while visually,they are marked out by their 17-inchBright alloy wheels and bodycoloured mirrors.

But perhaps the most amazing aspectof the MX-5 is that when the originalmodel was launched in 1990, it cost£14,249 (equal to £31,687 in today’smoney), yet quarter of a century laterwith far more standard equipment,the all-new Mazda MX-5 costs from£18,495. This means, more than ever,the car sets the benchmark as theone of the world’s best and mostaffordable sports cars.

Indeed, it seems with its lightweightdesign, cool cabin, exquisitelyengineered mechanicals and balancedhandling the all-new Mazda MX-5 isready to further boost its place in thehearts of automotive aficionados.

FAST FACTS

Max speed: 133 mph

0-62 mph: 7.3 secs

Combined mpg: 40.9

Engine layout: 1998cc, 4cylinder, 16 valve petrol

Max. power (bhp): 158

Max. torque (lb.ft): 148

CO2: 161 g/km

Price: £18,495 - £23,295

PROS ‘N’ CONS

Fun √Handling √Looks √Equipment √Limited room X

Auto biographiesTim Barnes-Clay @carwriteups

29

All New Mazda MX-5

30

31

32