Pros:  Looks, Performance,Handling, Fuel Economy, Folding hardtop
Cons: Interior comfort

The Miata continues pretty much as it has for two decades, save for some 20th anniversary styling changes that leave the car looking much more aggressive and downright mean. The small sports car offers excellent suspension with handling that is as good as cars costing many thousands of dollars more with a ride that’s neither too hard, nor too soft. The car has excellent fit and finish with a tight body structure and panels that look as if screwed together by artisans.

The car isn’t particularly fast, but you can be zipping along,going through the gears with great gusto and not worry about getting busted. Fuel economy remains a plus with the low-power Miata.

Thanks to well-shaped sport seats the Miata is pretty comfortable inside, if you’re less than five-foot-nine and in the car no longer than an hour. Our six-foot-four tester had had enough after about twenty minutes. A five-foot-four-inch passenger began to feel cramped after an hour’s drive. The car is small and there’s just no room to stretch out. Thankfully, the new folding hardtop has much more headroom than the canvas ragtop. The new top also makes news with its ability to fold away without taking up any trunk room. We thought surely this must be some long wheelbase model that enables this to happen. Every folding hardtop we can think of cuts into trunk space, but not the Miata. The top stacks on top of itself just behind the passengers and ahead of the trunk. Kudos to Mazda for being able to pull it off.

The new Miata remains great fun to drive and a lot more practical thanks to the hard top. It’s appeal may be limited, but for those for whom it makes sense, they’ll get a great little car.
 
EPA mileage city 21, highway 28
Fuel tank capacity 12.7 gallons
Engine: 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder
Horsepower 166 @ 6,700  rpm
Acceleration 0-60 mph 5.3 seconds
Braking 60-0 mph 114 feet
Curb weight 2,445 pounds