Approximately three decades ago, a college friend of mine was struggling to break into television as a writer. He wrote from sun-up to midnight, seven days a week, and put his desk in a closet so he wouldn’t be distracted. When he finally got his first big payday from a variety show, he promptly went out and bought a sports car. It was a Mazda Miata and he was excited to show it off to me.
There was quite a bit of hype about Miatas when they launched in America, so I’d heard of them but never seen one in the flesh. I must admit that I was a tad disappointed. My first impression was that it was like a kid’s sports car. When I got in, I felt disconcertingly close to the ground. I might’ve made a few jokes like, “Where’s the backpack you store it in?” and “Next time, I’ll sit on my skateboard and race you.” My friend wasn’t amused. He gunned it up Laurel Canyon Boulevard and took me on a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride on Mulholland Drive. It seemed like the little mouse could roar.
Lately, I’ve been hearing about those cars again. U.S. News & World Report ranked the Mazda MX-5 Miata as the best convertible sports car for 2025. There is a spareness to the Miata that is very appealing. Its light weight means that the 181-HP, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine generates more than enough power to make day-touring mountain or coastal roads as much fun as legally possible. Though an automatic model is available, the Club model features a six-speed manual gearbox. Half the fun of owning a fast little sports car is the shifting, so why deprive yourself? There is little in life more satisfying than downshifting in a tight corner, revving the engine to a tight scream, and then accelerating out of the corner and upshifting to high speed.
The MX-5 Miata is not a road-trip car. There is no room to stash anything behind the front seats and precious little room in the so-called trunk. You can probably take the Miata to the store to buy a couple of bags of groceries but not a week’s worth of supplies. If you and a friend take off in the Miata for the weekend, pack light – very light. Along the same vein, the spare cabin can be tight for two larger bodies when the top is up. It’s much more enjoyable to keep the top down and turn up the heat if the wind is sharp and cold.
The exterior styling of the MX-5 Miata feels more grown-up and sophisticated than past models. Though it might not be much bigger than the 1995 model, it feels bigger. And, finally, there is the price. You can drive the 2025 Club model off the showroom floor tomorrow for less than $35,000. That’s a rather astounding value for what you’re getting in return – which is a whole lot of fun.
