Sunday, October 19, 2008

Which Miata?



I bought my '05 Mazdaspeed Miata last September and sold it a year later. I drove it about 10,000 miles in twelve months and loved nearly every minute of it.

It was far faster and better handling than the base Miata. I also liked it better than the new version, which looks like it's wearing waders.

With as much fun as I had, there were two primary drawbacks. 1) I didn't want to drive it in the snow, especially for my 80 mile round trip commute. 2) At 6'2" and 220lb, it was a tight squeeze. I finally got tired of driving with my shoes off, the only way I could get behind the wheel.

If I had to do it again, I'd buy a 1st generation Miata with a documented maintenance history and +100,000 miles. The first gen is underpowered but it has a bigger interior and they're quite a bit less money.

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