Drove an ND today. It was fantastic. However, I still feel the NC is more fantastic. Both are miles better (IMO) than the FR-S/BR-Z. There is this absolute immediacy to every control on both the NC and ND that I've experienced in almost no other cars. The ZN6 twins (and also the S2000) feel somehow slightly more elastic in comparison.
I'd disagree on both counts. For me the ND is a step up from the NC - it feels the same as the specs suggest: more compact, lighter, nimbler, faster.
But the BRZ/86 is a step up from the Mazda, grip and engine characteristics aside. More steering feel, better body control, less body roll at speed, no cowl shake, better (lower, straighter) driving position.
The Toyota/Subaru don't have as much outright grip thanks to the Primacy tyres, don't feel as fast unless you really wind it out and don't ride quite as well as the Mazda, but they feel like more serious sports cars.
Two things hobble the ND for me: Mazda's insistence that it should roll to give the illusion you're working the car hard, and the steering. The former isn't a problem when you're just knocking around because the illusion works: it feels like you're getting a lot from the car. But ultimately it feels a bit artificial - my NA rolls, but it's a softer car in the first place, has more give in the tyres, narrower rubber, and moves around a lot more. The ND just feels like they've forgotten to fit dampers that match the spring rate.
I can see what you mean about immediacy in the ND, but I think that's also partly an illusion, because the steering's initial rate of response is quite high - it always feels darty and agile. But past that initial point the response seems to slow, probably because the suspension hasn't yet settled, so it feels a bit odd. And there's not really much feel either - certainly compared to my NA, but also compared to the BRZ/86. Again, compared to the NA that also makes the roll frustrating, because it's harder to tell when the car stops rolling and actually starts loading up. I actually found it was a bit better in the wet. You think you'd need more feel in the wet, but because grip is lower the car doesn't roll as much and it starts moving around in a more predictable fashion.
Don't get me wrong: I do quite like the ND. It looks
way better than the Toyota/Subaru (and the NC, IMO) and has a nicer cabin. It's a feel-good car. But Mazda's insistence on making it handle like an older MX-5 doesn't really work, because it's
not an old car. Would love to try one that's been properly set up on new springs/dampers or coilovers.
👍
