As a very rough guide the Roadster and old +8 are more GT touring than sports cars, though as Morgan has shown the new 3.7 Roadster can be a potent track weapon.
The new GDI +4 is possibly the best all round model, especially if ordered with a narrow body and the 4/4 is a rev machine that I found tedious on a long run. It is a sports car, rather than a tourer.
Our only real criticism is the gearbox: it is slow and a bit notchy: the Mazda box used in the smaller engined cars is far faster. Quite why MMC didn't use it in the S2 Roadster I don't know.
I will probably go back to a 4/4 width car at some stage, with a 2 litre engine. The Roadster is great in many ways but I had more fun in my 4/4 with its throttle bodies although it could be a very frustrating car at times with its lack of torque. The new GDI engine is nice but would be nicer with around 180 bhp.
Peter, gearboxes can be very variable, I've driven cars fitted with the Mazda box and a couple have disappointed me with the change quality...my MX5 had a wonderful change. My 4/4s MT75 box had a dreadful change, others I drove were pretty good and I think a lot of it is down to the rather Heath Robinson remote mechanism.
The reason why the S2 Roadster has the Ford box is that MMC were not using Mazda boxes at that stage as there were still supplies of the Ford box.
