The ever-popular MX-5 gets a fresh look for 2009, detail upgrades, an auto option and slight improvements to both emissions and fuel efficiency, the MX-5 is apparently a lot of fun to drive, rear-wheel drive balance, improved 2.0-litre engine, quick and easy manual hood, fuss-free Roadster-Coupé option. 

The price range for the new Madza MX-5 is between £16,350 – £20-695, and is available from April 2009, its key rivals are Peugeot 207 CC, Audi TT Convertible, Lotus Elise and the Honda S2000. 

Why wouldn’t you want to own a MX-5? If your answer is you need more than two seats then fair enough. But if you’re about to mouth the words ‘because it’s a hairdresser’s car’ you’re wrong. End of. Because the Mazda roadster here in new facelifted form is about as joyful a car as you could wish to drive.

Nissan have made a properly sorted and internationally appealing sportscar called the Nissan 350Z. It’s far from perfect, but the rawness and emotion it dishes up is almost unique in this price range.

The 350Z has a 3.5-litre V6 engine which provides 309bhp, making it good for a limited 155mph and capable of hitting 60mph in under six seconds and it feels and sounds amazing as you get yourself up to the 155mph mark. 

The 350Z is not a car to be trifled with, being compact, powerful and rear-wheel drive. It transmits its intentions slowly and clearly, but a regular one of those is power over-steer. 

The practicality of the 350Z doesn’t stretch too far though, there are a fair few clever storage solutions around the cosy cockpit, but the boot is massively hampered by a huge rear strut brace. A real afterthought by Nissan, that one, but at least it handles as a result…

Another all-round fun car for real driving enthusiasts, especially with all this icy weather and rear wheel drive, can be a be dangerous but if you know how to handle the car correctly then the fun you will have will be endless!

The Honda S2000 and the Lotus Elise – two roadsters, both originally produced in the 1990s, both using high-revving four-cylinder engines and both symbolising long-held traditions of their builders.

Even so, the similarities of the two roadsters end there, one using a classic front-engined layout, the other combining cutting-edge construction and a mid-engined configuration. Of course, Honda and Lotus have formidable motorsport experience, and both channel this into their road cars and use it as a basis for their trademark engineering approaches.

Honda’s high-revving, naturally aspirated engines are justly famed. And Lotus is equally hailed for its lightweight, minimalist approach and application of innovative chassis technology.

The Honda S2000′s handsome, classical roadster proportions were matched with a simply incredible 2.0-litre engine capable of revving to 9,000rpm. A true drivers car, the S2000 gained a reputation for somewhat snappy handling that Honda has addressed with a number of tweaks and upgrades, most recently at the beginning of 2007 models – including Honda introducing traction control, which was a must for this lairy ‘rear end happy’ car!

But can an updated version of a nine-year-old car really take on Lotus’s latest and greatest?  The British corner being fought by the supercharged Elise SC. Weighing just over 900kg and powered by a supercharged 1.8-litre Toyota engine revving to over 8,000rpm, this latest Elise is a formidable package.

I think if these two roadsters were put together on a track, i think we can safely say it would be very entertaining and we would be standing back and watching the sparks fly…!

Lotus Elise Statistics 

Engine – 1.8 litre supercharged

Power (BHP) – 218 @ 8,000

Torque (lb/ft) – 156 @ 5,000

0 – 62 MPH (secs) – 4.6

Top Speed (MPH) – 148

Combined MPG – 33.2

List Price – £33,500 

Honda S2000′s Statistics

Engine – 2.0 Litre four-cylinder

Power (BHP) – 240 @ 8,300

Torque (lb/ft) – 153 @ 7,500

0 – 62 MPH (secs) – 6.2

Top Speed (MPH) – 150

Combined MPG – 28.2

List Price – £29,500

Today it has been confirmed by Honda that the long-lived Honda S2000 will be no more from next year, the car was introduced in 1999 and although not to everyone’s tastes it has won over the hearts of many road testers, then S2000 is a true drivers car and ALOT of fun, trust me – i own one myself! (pictured)

Very sadly a replacement for the high-revving two-seater, bike technology sports car is in doubt as carmakers are scaling back on their niche products.

Car critic Jeremy Clarkson famously quoted his admiration for the Honda S2000 by saying, “If Dr Jekyll had owned one of these, he wouldn’t have needed a potion to turn him into a right nutter!”

“It is a sports car that papers over some less than ideal dynamic characteristics with a superbly high-revving VTEC engine and the sort of gearbox you can enjoy for hours without even turning a wheel, purpose built as a soft-top, the S2000 is definitely cooler than retrospective hatchet jobs like the heavy and ugly Nissan 350Z Roadster.”

The Honda S2000 is a sports car that papers over some less than ideal dynamic characteristics with a superbly high-revving VTEC engine and the sort of gearbox you can enjoy for hours without even turning a wheel

‘The S2000 is a sports car designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts,’ said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ‘It raised the bar for all future roadsters, and it’s already considered a classic by many Honda fans.’

The S2000 was only supposed to be a limited edition to mark Honda’s birthday but survived for ten years and production is due to end in June 2009.