1995 Mazda MX5 Miata from North America - Comments

Oh dear. All muscle and no style. Get a gas guzzling american car.

Nice one mazda on producing an all out fun car - not particularly quick, but with cornering around small country lanes being a priority - spot on.

The individual who originally posted this review of the MX-5 obviously has quite a different perspective on things... I think I can see it, but I can't relate to it at all.

I've owned (and serviced myself, from engines to crash damage) : 1990 Saab 9000S, 1988 Saab 9000 Turbo, 1988 Porsche 944S (19v), 1980 Saab 99GLi, 1986 944 Turbo (951), 1994 Saab 9000 CSE (naturally aspirated), 1986 BMW 325e, 1986 944 Turbo (yes, again, quite modified), 1992 Audi 100Q, 1996 Saab 9000 CSE high output Turbo (yes, H/O is significant and the car was modified to ~300bhp).

All manual gearboxes. I would never buy an automatic. I've driven far more than that list as well. I'm also not trying to come off as arrogant; someone listing all of the cars he's owned like it's some accomplishment. What I am trying to say is that I have a versed perspective.

You can just dump the clutch (in a Miata) with the wheel at lock and the top down and get little oversteer launches from a standstill down into a sweeping decreasing radius turn with absolute ease. It's so easy to just power oversteer anywhere! In my Porsches you'd have to be insane to set the car into that position on a public road.

I've driven my friend's 2001 Miata and my dad's 1994 limited edition model (the latter far more). On summer days sometimes I wonder why I bother with all the nightmares that are involved with the ownership of a complex high-performance car like the Porsche 951. Mine has less than 80,000 miles and is PRISTINE, always fed OEM or better parts. No cheap boost controllers or variable FPRs.

MX-5s never break. It never has little things going awry... Opening the hood in ANY of my Porsches is just a normal part of any venture to the store. Is the AIC working, oh there might be a vacuum leak. My friends have identical experiences: 1994 Nissan 300zx, 1992 Toyota MR2 Turbo, 1977 Porsche 930...it's all the same! If you want high performance you pay the price!

And parts are cheap even if it does break.

The joy everyone speaks of? Oh yeah, it's actually a light, balanced sports car. Everything these days exceeds 3000 lbs!!

That's ludicrous when you consider the weight of British Leyland cars, or other "real" sports cars like the Elise. Think about it... the minimalism and light weight of this vehicle put it on par with the Elise or Exige... and who in their right mind doesn't consider that a "real" sports car.

You want performance? DON'T complain about bumps. What do you think a real race car feels like? No, it's not a Lincoln Towncar. The car is more fully conveying to your senses every little crack or undulation on the road. Fast, accurate inputs require it.

Manufacturers make compromises between ride quality and handling... they are on either ends of a continuum. Since the Miata is cheap, great ride quality isn't something the designers had to as much keep in mind, and as such it benefits in the area of handling. It was intended to be a sports car, and being cheap made it so that buyers' psychology didn't set an expectation of smoothness.

Either that or you're just smart and realize all this, and that when you own a Miata, to complain about the harsh ride is what an individual who attends race weekends and understands the concept of design and function of mechanical aspects of automobiles would instinctively label as credulous and ignorant.

OK, I've also had quite a few 'high end' sports cars, from the 240Z to Audi to Porsche, even a decidedly 'low end' '62 Midget, etc, etc. No I don't expect the same performance from my Miata but even the stock model I owned was so much fun to drive that during our second ride together I turned to the wife and told her we'd have one in the driveway until I died! My current model is a lowered, supercharged '92 and it is a total blast to drive, it handles great the best thing about the handling is that it is so forgiving if you get out of shape. As for reliability, no comparison, I run my cars hard and, like Timex said, those Miata engines take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. I routinely see them on eBay with 200K or more miles, The stockers get great mileage, even my current model gets 21mpg. You just have to know what you're getting into, it isn't as quiet as a BMW convertible nor is it as powerful as a Porsche but I don't think it's possible to have much more fun than throwing this thing down a twisty road!

I bought a 1995 mostly stock Miata with 53300 miles on it in FEB 2007. I have had nothing but a great time with it ever since.

Handling is the best I have experienced, and it is not that fast, but if you let it rev you can stay with all but the most muscular of cars.

It is a drivers car, not a car for cruising.

Nothing but a few oil changes, and it looks great. Probably the oldest car in the parking lot at work, but still the one that most people look at when they walk by.

I've been checking out the Miata's. My brother used to own one, I thought it was a pretty cool car. Now that gas prices are getting sky high, I'm thinking of getting one for myself. Who cares if it's not a race car. They look terrific, parts are cheap and they're great on gas. I own a Honda civic hatchback right now which has an amazing amount of interior room and gets great gas mileage, it just doesn't have the "cool factor" that the Miata does.

To deny that the Miata is a sports car is a bit rash. Though the scale by which we measure these things isn't carved in stone, the general concensus among those considered expert in the field is plain; the Miata is a true sports roadster. To call a car with the MX-5s reputation 'garbage' is laughable. Plus, would a car that's 'garbage' have a larger number of club members devoted to it than any other car in history? Poor build quality doesn't survive no matter how attractive the face. Remember (note tense) the Camaro?

The nail has been hit on the head here. The Miata handles fantastic, as mentioned, but is lacking in every other area.

To call the Miata a sports car because of its handling is like calling a cargo van a jetliner due to its seating capacity. Sure, each share something in common with their comparisons, but neither are what they are compared to.

And that's just it, the Miata does have similarity to sports cars, but other than that it's nothing more than a 2 door coupe with a ragtop. There's nothing wrong at all with this car in the hands of someone that is happy with it, but when you get right down to it, this is a daily driver, cheap production car that offers sport class handling while sharing nothing else in common with sport class vehicles.

The Miata is a low powered "classic style" sports car, period. Remember the alfa romeo spider, fiat spider, mg, etc? All were slow like the Miata but undoubtedly sportscars. Even the mid 70's Corvette was slow with like 165hp and they were of course sports cars.

To me, the basics of a true sports car are that it must have 2 seats, sporty handling, sporty styling, and at least a peppy engine. Convertible or hardtop, too.

I guess it depends on how strictly you define the term. The miata is only missing one important ingredient, as I can tell. Horseopwer. Many other "sportscars " will lack something, as well. Once you start adding seats, like 2+2's, you are really getting into GT territory. 911's, XJS Jags, BMW M3s, etc.

I bought my MX-5 brand new in 2000. I currently have 186,000+ miles on it and I hope it lasts forever. I have only replaced regular maintenance items, no major issues.

This is also my winter car, believe it or not and I live in Connecticut. There have been a few white knuckled rides home during bad winter weather, but we have left many SUV's stuck in the guardrails. I put 4 glacier grip tires on for the winter, stay off the brakes and pray for the best.

This has been the most dependable car I have ever had. So what if it's a little noisy. What do you expect for a car that's about a foot off the ground? I adore this little peapod and hope we get very old together.

The Miata is one of the most enjoyable cars to drive ever built and that's the truth. The thing was never built to be a muscle car, but is super responsive and super fun. I had a 92 and drove it to 122,000 miles with absolutely no problems at all. The car has just enough power to let you feel as though you're pushing it and having fun without getting into trouble. I give the car a solid ten out of ten. You've just got to know what to expect. I now own an RX-8, and though it's a way fun car, I really would love to have my Miata back.

The Miata is absolutely a sports car.

No its not fast as standard, but its not dead slow either.

Its a 2 seat, RWD designed from the ground up as a cheap to run, reliable roadster. How is that not a sports car?

Mine is supercharged - definitely not slow, trust me; it is capable of blowing most day to day traffic into the weeds below 100. How does 0-60 in 6 secs sound? Some are even faster...

So what if it will only do 120 mph. It gets there quick enough and trust me, its plenty in something that only weighs 950 kg.