Long-term test: Mazda MX-5 Roadster coupe 2.0i Sport Tech

It’s happened. My time spent in the Mazda MX-5 has finally given me something to complain about.

Until now, my experiences in our driver-friendly little roadster coupé have all been stress free.

In fact, the car has proven itself quite a stress-buster, as gunning it to the 7,000rpm mark and swooping round traffic-free roundabouts has become quite a tonic after the occasional work-day trauma.

The cause for complaint arose shortly before Christmas, as the temperatures began regularly dropping to low single figures.

And it came to a peak during a cross-country jaunt, heading from Volkswagen Group UK’s headquarters in Milton Keynes up to the plush confines of Walton Hall in Warwickshire.

During that single 60-odd mile journey, my Garmin aftermarket sat-nav unit fell off of the windscreen four times. The first time it happened was mildly irritating, as it was in queuing traffic so refitting the unit was easy.

By the third occurrence the air inside the MX-5’s cabin was turning blue, as it forced me to pull over to the side soon afterwards to reattach it.

The fourth occurrence could have resulted in the sat-nav making a sharp exit out of the nearside window, had I not been nearing Walton Hall on a pitch black December evening with no clue which country lane ultimately led to it and my hosts already waiting. Nor did I have a back-up road atlas inside the car.

Of course, none of this is the fault of the MX-5.

It performed as wonderfully as ever. But this particular drive was tarnished.

Perhaps my Garmin’s suction mount disliked the coldness or cleanliness of the recently-replaced windscreen.

It certainly hadn’t happened in the summer months.

I can see one side of an argument that an integral sat-nav wouldn’t suit the MX-5’s ‘essentials-only’ roadster format.

After all, this is a sports car with no light or boot lid lining in the luggage compartment. Its design ethos is “every gram counts”.

But our Sport Tech derivative is the top-spec version, already with driver comforts such as heated seats, Bluetooth connectivity, multi-function steering wheel and an awesome Bose CD/MP3 audio system.

With built-in navigation becoming a standard requirement for many top-trim cars across the market, hopefully the next generation MX-5 will accommodate.