Comments on: Review: 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring

By: ohsnapback

ohsnapback — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:50:46 +0000

This car, especially with the ‘baseball glove leather’ interior, has the best gauges, ergonomics and build quality of any car I’ve ever sat in.

It’s a marvel. Mazda hit a grand slam.

By: BEAT

BEAT — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:22:31 +0000

Is the car smiling? It has a face a Miata face

No thank you

By: Landcrusher

Landcrusher — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:53:05 +0000

Yet many taller people fit fine. It stinks, but manufacturers often choose other benefits over fitting some of us comfortably.

By: kichy

kichy — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:36:56 +0000

Im 6-1 and I look thru the top inch of the windshield with my head jammed into the roof supports. Why do they do this? The old MR2 Spyder had oodles of room.

By: davey49

davey49 — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:57:29 +0000

I’m sure somebody will design “angry” eyelids for the headlights on this car.

By: Porsche986

Porsche986 — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:49:29 +0000

I’ve owned two Miata’s… a 1995 R-Pkg, and a 2005 … they really are about as much fun as you can have behind the wheel on a public road… steering, shifting, etc… but the 06-current left me cold… it just felt more sedan like than my others. Reason? The higher doors and dash. I didn’t like feeling like I was driving from a bathtub.

As for reliability… the 1995 had just under 100K and nothing EVER broke.

I didn’t have the 05 long enough to tell…

By: ZoomZoom

ZoomZoom — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:43:56 +0000

What a great car. I’d buy another Miata in a moment if it came with “mild” hybrid capabilities (could at least shut off the ICE when stopped at traffic lights and railroad tracks).

I love my Prius and I wouldn’t get rid of it because it’s so utilitarian for me. But my ‘93 Miata may have been my second-best car ever, closely tied with my BMW Z3. Of course, the Prius is #1 for me.

By: SupaMan

SupaMan — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:06:39 +0000

I drove one of these at one of Mazda’s driving events (anyone of the B&B care to remind me what the event is called?…they’re great fun!)and I agree with you Frank. The Miata would make a great second car if money wasn’t so tight.

By: geggamoya

geggamoya — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:16:44 +0000

johnny ro:
“I also want a v6 manual MX3 but they are all gone.”

There’s a silver MX-3 V6 manual sitting in the yard here at work, under the snow with smashed windows and rusty steering column and parts of the interior dismantled.. I’m not sure if it’s someones project or if it’s waiting to get scrapped though.

Edit: Apparently stolen, wires hanging under the steering column and police tape inside..

By: Landcrusher

Landcrusher — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:24:02 +0000

I owned 2 new miatas when I was young, thin, and spent too much money on cars. Not that these are expensive, just that I didn’t have much money.

I am smaller than Frank, but likewise hate getting in and out of one of these cars. When it was easier, it was worth it.

The downside is that nothing anywhere close to the price compares for driving fun, which is probably why I no longer own a sports car.

By: Demetri

Demetri — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:50:34 +0000

“I think folding hardtops are a really bad idea.”

I don’t have a problem with it in theory, but my thing is, why pay an extra 2.6k and take a weight penalty, when they could have made a true coupe version that would have cost and weighed less than even the soft top.

By: Thinx

Thinx — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:38:17 +0000

Now, this is the kind of front end Mazda could put on it…

http://www.paul-davis.com/vehicles/miata/aston1.jpg

They don’t have to openly copy the Aston, but certainly shows you what they could do with it – at least as a limited edition to test the waters.

By: psarhjinian

psarhjinian — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:00:22 +0000

I’m 6′4″, have size 15 shoes and want a two seat sports car. I don’t fit this or the RX-8. So what do I get?

Caterham SV.

Seriously, they rate them to 6′7″ and I can personally attest to fitting in one at 6′8″ and change.

By: argentla

argentla — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:18:25 +0000

I don’t see the Mazda RX-8 as a substitute for an MX-5 fixed-head coupe. The Renesis is fun when it works, but its horrific gas and oil consumption and the alarming frequency with which the words “catastrophic engine failure” occur in connection with it makes it a non-sale. The RX-8 is also bigger, heavier, and has the awkward four-door coupe thing, which I still think is the answer to a question nobody asked. I would never buy one, whereas an MX-5 FHC would actually tempt me.

I think folding hardtops are a really bad idea. I know Mazda has at least kept the weight penalty to a minimum, but what happens when the seals fail or one of the motors die outside of warranty? In places with weather, it also seems to offer a bunch of new opportunities for structural corrosion. Do. Not. Want.

By: Redwood

Redwood — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:42:54 +0000

14EEE? I feel for ya. Sometimes my 13Cs feel too big on some pedals/certain shoes. I’m 6′7″ though. I test drove the Miata when my friend was looking at getting the hard top version (she bought it). Fun little car.

I personally like the facelift, EXCEPT with the license plate. Our auto show had a dark blue hard top (same color as my friend’s coincidentally) and it looked great. They had a red one with the license plate bracket right smack in the middle of the grin and it looked horrible. As a person in a state with a front license plate law, I still blatantly ignore it for looks on 3 of the last 4 cars I’ve owned (one already had a front plate). I would do the same in this car and risk the ticket.

By: Nicholas Weaver

Nicholas Weaver — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:10:16 +0000

The PRH on the Miata is the one exception to the “convertable hardtops bad” rule.

The top is light (only about 75lbs additional weight), fits solid, goes up and down easily, and doesn’t impact the trunk space!

The only impact is you lose the “Top up grocery shelf” that isn’t official storage space anyway.

By: shaker

shaker — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:33:17 +0000

Needs the “Hello Kitty” exhaust tip (from a newer entry here @ TTAC).

New Mazda styling slogan: “Turn That Frown Upside Down”.

Still, a fun car – My company’s Lab Services Group had a Teambuilding event at a local racetrack where we drove stripped, roll-caged Miatas, and it was a total blast. My boss’ wife has a video of me extricating my 6′4″, 230lbs from that little cubbyhole- thank heavens the steering wheel was removable!

By: niky

niky — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:36:40 +0000

I test drove the 08 hardtop and I can’t think of a more perfect accessory than the PRHT. It’s fast, takes up very little space, and only adds about half-a-person’s weight to the Miata.

Didn’t like the 6-speed too much, though… don’t feel that the extra ratio (which was still very buzzy on the highway, despite allowing an extra 1 or 2 mpg on the EPA test) added enough to the experience to justify the tighter (and easier to mis-shift) gating.

The softness of the previous Miata was quite nice, personally… lower limits make for more hooliganism at mere double-digit speeds than you get with most cars nowadays. Sad to see they fixed that…

By: V6

V6 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:20:31 +0000

i hate Mazdas new design direction with their hideous overstyled front ends. they’re the japanese Peugeot

By: jeremie

jeremie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:46:23 +0000

Haven’t we been seeing this gaping grin showing up on Mazda products lately? It really does look ridiculous here. Maybe paint it the same color as the body and delete the chrome trim. Black on black? That’s all I got, it really is unfortunate.

By: hwyhobo

hwyhobo — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:17:31 +0000

Love the car, hate the smiley. And yeah, for my 6-3 and 14 size shoes, the manual version is too tight. Automatic is just fine, but what is the point of Miata with an automatic?

By: Darrencardinal1

Darrencardinal1 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:10:19 +0000

I have a 1990 Miata the first generation. It is everything they say it is and more. It is the most fun car with the greatest pride of ownership of any car I have ever had.

If you have ever even thought of it, get one of these cars, either new or used. You will never regret it. For the money, it is the most fun you can have driving. Other cars are faster but really not as fun for the money.

Don’t let anyone talk you out of it.

By: mesh

mesh — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:37:12 +0000

Oh yeah, and if people were questioning a male Miata driver’s sexual orientation before the most recent “makeover,” the new s__t-eating grin would leave them no doubt (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Sorry Mazda, your new styling direction has just alienated a significant segment of the male population. The MX5 has officially been crossed off of my list.

By: mesh

mesh — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:23:02 +0000

Hopefully the new suspension tweaks fix the problem of hitting the bumpstops on long, fast corners. I had an ‘06 MX-5 that I loved everything about except: the 6th gear was shorter than the 5spd’s 5th gear; and, the transmission gates were so tight that I could never skip a gear downshifting, like 5-3 or 6-4. I never new what gear I’d be in, and it frustrated me too many times. It’s a great +7/10 driving car, but hard to be smooth in when the pace slowed down.

By: theflyersfan

theflyersfan — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:03:25 +0000

285exp :
“…and couldn’t pull a greased string out of a cat’s ass at low rpm…”

That is one of the greatest lines I’ve read in a long time! Thank you.

There’s the “Family Guy” image of Brian, Chris, and mint dental floss.