OWNERS of Mazda’s popular affordable roadster are certain they attract admiring glances, it has been claimed.

As the weather improves, the reasonably-priced sports car containing balding men and their wives is once again ubiquitous on UK roads. And according to research 94 percent of Mx-5 drivers would describe themselves as ‘cool’.

Expert Julian Cook said: “You wouldn’t see George Clooney driving one, unless he’d just had an incredibly expensive divorce.

“However I imagine the man who played the put-upon husband in 90s BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances might be a fan.”

He added: “The Mx-5 says of the driver, ‘I am a maverick who plays by his own rules’ and also, ‘I am sensible enough to appreciate a vehicle with low running costs and reasonably-priced insurance’.”

46-year-old Mx-5 owner Tom Logan said: “It hasn’t exactly cured my mild erectile dysfunction but it has compensated for it.

“Driving it makes me feel like a 60s secret agent, albeit a relatively junior one on a modest pay grade.”