1997 Mazda MX-5 Miata Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Performance - out of the box these cars are ready for a great deal of street fun. Older Miatas are plagued with heavier add ons like Power Steering, Air Bag, and Air Conditions. Most of the accessories serve a good purpose and you can still improve handling by getting a coil over kit and sway bars that will make it an instantaneous fun track car. NA engine is weak for muscle car enthusiasts but plenty powerful for sharp cornering. Brakes are great, racing pads and SS lines make them even better. Build Quality - It's a Japanese car, however because Miatas were supposed to be the affordable British roadster, things like the mirrors hood and exhaust shield vibrating are very common. Appearance - Styled to mimic the old Lotus Elan, the Miata looks awesome in every color. Plus the huge market of aftermarket parts makes it very easy to customize and any Miata's appearance. Cost of Ownership - With mid grade gas and averaging 28 mpg, the car is surprisingly economical for something people take to the track. Parts are available, there are a few common mechanical issues that pop up at different mileages but overall, if you keep a Miata properly maintained, it should outlast a lot of newer cars with more ECU guided systems. Fun Factor - It has it.

I enjoy the car, mechanically it hasn't given me hardly any trouble and I've taken it on a 2000 mile road trip. It gets good gas mileage and the power isn't terrible, but isn't anything to brag about either. I would like to upgrade the suspension and replace the top, as they are both getting a little worn after being used for close to 14 years. Altogether though a great little car, corners great and would be an amazing driving experience with some serious money put into the engine (perhaps a supercharger or v8 swap?).

Medium acceleration and top speed. Fair braking, good handling. Great built quality, excellent appearance, good driving position. Extremely low cost of ownership. If it "had" a "European badge", it would have been much much more expensive. Fun factor? Sky is the limit!

It's a driver's car like no other, and one that can be thoroughly enjoyed on regular surface roads without being too dangerous to one's self or others. It may not be terribly fast in a straight line or practical but it is far and away more fun than just about any car on the rod. Doesn't hurt it's very reliable.

Classic design, dependable, great handling, fun car

There isn't a whole lot more to say about the Mazda Miata that hasn't already been said, but you haven't heard it from me! I purchased my Miata from a dealer with 50,500 miles in 2008. CarFax listed the car as having 3 previous owners: 1 year lease, dealer-owned for 2 years, sold to a private owner who put 10,000 miles on it in 7 years. At time of review (11/2010) I have 75,0XX miles. My Miata is a bit more uncommon because it has an automatic transmission. This eliminates the stunning manual transmission the Miata is famous for, and the acceleration suffers greatly from it. It will not be winning any drag races any time soon. However, this is never what the Miata was about. It was always meant to be the small, top-down roadster that had disappeared from the landscape. It handles very predictably, and changing tires from a Grand Touring to a Summer performance tire has payed in dividends. Performing a panic swerve at 65 mph to miss a deer on the freeway at night with little more than half a second notice can only be done in this car. It's almost like driving a go-kart. The same goes for braking. With discs at every corner, it comes to a stop quicker than most everything else on the road. My car does not have the optional ABS, but the pedal is so responsive, that you know exactly how far you can push until they lock. Mazda has been known for much better than average build quality, and the Miata is no exception. I have had no major repairs on the car, other than regular wear-and-tear items. There have been minor, non-essential electrical issues, but it's to be expected with it's age. With an automatic transmission, 87 octane gasoline, K&N air filter, summer tires, and synthetic oil, I am averaging around 25 mpg. This is mostly urban highway driving, and it changes with AC usage and temperature change. The 1.8L enging is very sensitive to change, and it will let you know, good or bad. Another misnomer is that it is too small to be functional. I am 6'1" and I drive this car daily. I also managed to pack an amazing amount of things into it for a two-week road trip through the Rockies. Pictures to prove it!

Good handling car, decent performance, with acceptable gas mileage. Fun with the top up or down. Gives good feedback. The seats are a bit uncomfortable, unfortunately.

Simple to tune, plenty of trick stuff out there for them. Being an 1.8 it's got some stick, and handles too. Boot is a bit small for a week's groceries. Wanted one for years, finally got around to it with no regrets.

The Miata is all about fun. It's not fast and plenty of cars can corner harder, however, very few cars in the world deliver a purer driving experience. It's a car you can jump in and almost immediately feel comfortable exploring it's limits. Not the best car for a cross country trek, but perfect for a back road blast on a Saturday morning!

This is like the best damn thing ever, fun to drive, a bit little but stronger in the curves, absolutely love the handling since i get use to it. it's amazing the feeling freedom when the top is down :D:p But the top up is great too, fast and furious