I Love This Car

After owning and working on a FWD car, I decided I didn't want to work on another (transmission work on a FWD is a pain). After driving a friend's 1993 Miata Limited Edition, I was hooked. I made an attempt to buy a 1999 Miata a few years ago, but the deal fell through, so I put off my purchase. A few months ago, I picked up my 2002 Miata Special Edition. I have nothing bu good things to say about this car.

I have had no mechanical problems with my Miata. I bought it used (I'm the second owner) and it came with maintenance history; it was always serviced at a Mazda dealership.

The fit and finish on this car is excellent. The handling is superb, and the straight-line acceleration is surprising good, considering it's only rated at 142 horsepower. The 6-speed manual took a little time to acquaint myself with, but it's a magnificent specimen. Still, on hard acceleration, like working my way onto a freeway via the on-ramp, 5th gear is easily missed (there seems to be a dead space beyond 5th gear). If I just shift without putting too much thought into it, it shift perfectly, every time.

While cruising along at 70 MPH, the tach reads about 3500 RPM, which is an improvement from the 1999 I drove a few years ago. I average about 28 MPG with a mix of city of highway driving. This car is used as a daily driver, mostly my wife uses it for her daily commutes, though I sometimes swap vehicles with her because I love to drive this thing.

This one came with the Bose stereo, which sounds great with the top up or down. The when changing from one disk to another the head unit makes some awful sounds, but it works.

Considering my height, or lack thereof (I'm about 5'7"), the comfort of this car is not a problem for me; it works well as a daily driver/commuter.

The ride is a little more rough than many other cars out there, but that's largely due to the short wheel base and little suspension travel, but I have no complaints about this at all; it gives a somewhat more connected feeling when driving.

The only issues I see with it would be comfort for taller/larger drivers, and the incredible blindspot created when the convertible top is in the up position. This can be resolved by having your mirrors properly adjusted, though it can be a bit awkward to get used to. Also, there is minimal storage space in this vehicle. The glove box is of a decent size, and the cup-holders do well at holding cups, but the storage compartment in the center console is small and putting too much stuff in it makes accessing the fuel door and trunk release levers somewhat difficult. The trunk space is adequate; the larger item I've had in there was a playpen for my daughter.

Also, one thing I have simply gotten used to is the window frame. When comfortably seated, I often find it difficult to see traffic lights due to the top of the window frame. I either lean forward to look under the window frame to see when the light changes, or stretch out a bit to see over the frame when the top is down.

Overall, this is a great little car. I took it to my parents' house and they enjoyed it so much that they went and bought a Miata for my mom.