I LOVE THIS CAR! Can you tell by my name?
Pros:
Great handling, very responsive. Reliable. Easy maintenance. FUN!
Cons:
Insufficient firewall insulation - passenger compartment gets hot from engine.
The Bottom Line:
I would buy this car all over again. In fact, I like it better than the current Miata.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
After more than 20 years of wanting a sporty car without the means. After suffering through a Ford Pinto and a Chevy Citation, one of which was prone to exploding and the other of which did. After my poor Datsun B210 that had too many accidents for me to even remember. After the stalwart 1986 Nissan Pulsar, with over 220,000 miles of faithful service over 15 years.
It was time for a Mazda Miata.
And it is just as much fun as I imagined it would be. Oh! If only I'd have been able to have something like this when I was young. Single. Carefree. The world as my oyster. Maybe the wait has made it even that much sweeter. Or maybe just a touch bittersweet.
I'd lusted after sporty cars ever since I saw a photo of Bobby Sherman's Porsche 911 Targa. When I bought the B210 in '81 I toyed with the idea of buying a "Z" car, but it was just beyond my financial reach. When the Miata was first introduced in 1989 and a colleague at Apple bought one, I asked him how he liked it and he broke out into a big grin. I always remembered that.
To make sure I liked the Miata's ride, I rented one for a day several months before, and our experience was completely positive despite stormy conditions.
It's a beauty. Crystal Blue, standard black top. I didn't go for the high-performance upgrade, because I'll get into plenty of trouble already with the existing setup. Our local Miata dealer, literally two blocks away, had this one Blue in a sea of British Racing Green special editions. It turned out Blue was a 3-month old used car with 1100 miles on it that had just been traded in by a dot-commer who fell in love with the Miata so much he had to upgrade to the BRG. I took Blue for a test drive up the winding hillside and down Hwy 280, an excellent demonstration of its handling and horsepower abilities, with the added benefit of scaring the crap out of my sales guy!
As we drove around after closing the deal, hubby thought he saw several jealous glares aimed in our direction. He had the opportunity to use the Miata for his commute that Monday and reported having a religious experience! I commuted with it the next day. My experience wasn't quite as exhilarating; I felt satisfaction, happiness, a sense of just rewards. It's about time. Finally!
Track record over six years:
Two trips to Mendocino/Fort Bragg.
One trip to Scottsdale.
Three trips to Las Vegas.
One trip to Scottsdale AND Vegas.
Two trips to Los Angeles
Two trips to Reno/Lake Tahoe.
One glorious marathon: Carrizo Plain, Palm Springs, Scottsdale, Santa Monica.
One lovely local backroads excursion with the local Miata club.
Two new sets of tires.
One new cam sensor.
One incident with road debris destroying a fog lamp.
NO speeding tickets!
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