I wish the Miata came as a proper, attractive coupe. The removable hardtop and the RF don't do it for me. I think most of it is because the Miata is so small (Not a bad thing, in and of itself) it makes it difficult to accommodate a tallish driver without compromising the proportions. The NA, NB and NC did this better. (I'll assume they don't handle tall drivers as well) The ND is just awkward, especially the rearward part of the roofline.
The GR86/BRZ twins are better aesthetically and are probably fine from the handling and trackability standpoint but there just seem to be too many reports of engine issues to pull that trigger. Not without seriously considering the aftermath of a blown engine.
The Civic Type R is nice, but getting pricey and not exactly light. On the other hand all my track experience to date is FWD...
I will probably regret selling mine, but I I need a more practical daily and I have a shop full of classics for restoration. Hopefully someone here will buy it. Car is bone stock and as rust free as you will find. Nice 10 footer, but would greatly benefit from paint and suspension refresh and I have most of the parts for the transmission swap.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/1991-miata-mine-affiliated/261216/page1/
calteg
SuperDork
1/8/24 3:29 p.m.
Every subsequent generation has been faster, but I prefer the NA. Partially because pop-up headlights and partially because it still feels raw and pure and purposeful.
I like the NA best (mostly because i'm a sucker for popup headlights and simplicity), but i like the NB's feel as an MMC (minor model change), feels like they tried to improve lots of small squeaks and rattles and small quirks.
With the caveat that they were all rental cars, I have not been impressed with the ND. Very, very noisy (wind noise, road noise, diff noise). So bad that i thought the car must have been in an accident and not repaired properly. But I've had 2-3, and they all had it to an extent. I know its meant to be a lightweight sporty roadster, but 30+ years of material science and NVH improvement should yield a more comfortable ride than my '96 NA.
In reply to Flynlow (FS) :
If you don't think an ND rides better than an NA, you must have only driven the 2016-17 soft top Club. Mazda screwed up the Bilstein valving on those, they're badly overdamped. Otherwise, they ride quite well. Wind noise...well, yes. Especially the early Club with the single layer tops.
In reply to Keith Tanner
Sorry for the confusion, "comfortable ride" for me encompasses the full NVH experience, not just suspension tuning. I can see where that would have been unclear. The spring/damper tuning didn't strike me as particularly good or bad, but the diff noise/whine and wind buffeting were bad enough that i pulled over and looked for damage underneath and missing or torn window seals.
Again, these were rental cars, and i know what sort of life they lead. I would love to be wrong on this one, my dataset is 1<n<4 ;). I really like the exterior and interior styling on the NDs, so it was a real "don't meet your heroes" let down for me. If any GRMers with an ND in the greater richmond area want to meet up for a test drive and lunch, i can offer an NA, cappuccino, or s2000 in kind :)
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I'd really like to drive an ND. I was afraid if I drove one, I'd buy one vs the BRZ.
