MAZDA MX-5 RF

“THAT’S JUST GREAT.” It took me a few moments to realise the words weren’t coming from the radio, but from a cyclist who’d pulled up next to me at a set of traffic lights.

He was the owner of a soft-top Mazda MX-5 and, having seen me

drive past in the MX-5 RF with the roof down, he’d frantically pedalled after me for a closer look. And he loved what he saw, saying he preferred the styling to his soft-top.

That encounter, and several similar ones in various car parks, came to mind when I read Simon Astley’s letter (Your Views, 21 June) in which, among other things, he called the RF “unattractive”.

It just shows that styling is a personal opinion, which is something everyone is entitled to. And although it may seem superficial, looks do matter with this sort of car. So I decided to so some (entirely unscientific) research: a Twitter poll, asking people whether they preferred the style of the MX-5 soft-top or RF.

Result? A 50/50 tie. An unsatisfying finding, sure, but perhaps one that suggests the RF can, as Mazda hopes, carve out its own appeal.

Mind you, our RF isn’t looking quite so good after a careless driver reversed into it recently, leaving a dent in the bonnet. More on that next time.