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. You are supposed to feel ever little bump or undulation in the road. The car is more fully conveying to your senses ever little crack or undulation on the road. Fast, accurate inputs require it.

Manufacturers make compromises between ride quality and handling... they are 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.