Faults:

An annoying rattle from inside the a/con ducts, only occurring @ 2200 rpm (which happened to correspond to my favorite cruising speed in the suburbs of approx 65km/h). Took me weeks to hunt it down fixing with wooden wedges jammed between a/con and car body in the dash.

Left soft top clip does not lock as easily as the right clip.

Back window replaced by previous owner because it turned yellow and cracked (!!!). The new UV stabilized window is holding out in the Aussie sun very well so far.

General Comments:

A very well balanced machine with excellent dynamics; result= takes corners very well.

Stability and feel is even better with the Hard Top on.

Soft top / Hard top provides excellent seal on windows & there's no leaking problems in the rain.

Do go for the better quality and more powerful sound system on offer as you'll need to turn it up with the top down over 80km/h.

Can consume a surprising amount of fuel when pushed and the 48L tank goes very quickly.

Faults:

In the year since I bought this car The only things I've had to replace were spark plug wires and windshield wiper blades. These are both items that are considered expendable parts of the car and both were very easy to replace in under ten minutes.

There is an occasional rattle in the exhaust system. It sounds like a loose heat shield, but could be something broken loose inside the catalytic converter.

I also have an occasional ticking noise from the engine. I'm reasonably certain that it's nothing more than a sticky valve lifter. The noise disappeared after an oil change and appeared again about a thousand miles later. I should probably replace it, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

General Comments:

This car is tiny for a 6'2" driver! I had to take out the driver side interior door handle just to get my knee between the door and steering wheel. Head room is sufficient and I can even get the seat back far enough to get my legs in comfortable positions, but I still feel like I'm wearing the car instead of driving it. This car is great for short trips, especially with the top down, but gets very tight with the top up.

The engine and transmission are perfectly matched and it has the smoothest and easiest shifting of any car I've ever driven. The engine is a bit rev-happy, but still putters around well at low speeds. Acceleration is good for such a small engine and the handling is superb. Mazda did an excellent job of keeping the chassis rigid in spite of the fact that it doesn't have a top.

I've driven this car for a year in the Midwest now and was very happy with it's winter time handling. Mine has the optional limited slip differential and this makes driving in snow much easier.

I would recommend this car to anyone under six feet tall who wants to feel the wind in their hair and some fun driving without spending a fortune.

ZOOM!

Faults:

Synchronization from 1st to 2nd gear is almost gone.

"Miss" under medium acceleration since 35,000 miles.

General Comments:

Despite its few faults, this has been a very enjoyable car to own and drive.

It's not luxurious, but it's not meant to be. The interior is noisy at highway speeds, the seats are rather thin, and the defroster is next to useless.

Still, on a sunny day, with the top down, I can forgive all that. The Miata performs as advertised. It's a thrill to drive, inexpensive to operate, and even at age 5 draws admiring comments.

Everyone should drive a Miata at least once in their life.

Faults:

Nothing so far.

General Comments:

The hard top is worth having for security and it looks better than having the soft top up, when you take it off the car really comes into its own.

What it lacks in power it makes up for in handling ability, fantastic.

The best convertible sports car for the money, as BBC's TOPGEAR pointed out.

Faults:

Nothing that was not self induced ie. crashing it.

General Comments:

Wonderful to drive with precise steering, beautiful handling, Great with the roof down, Could do with a bit more power.

A great sports convertible for the money £18,000 new.