Why do people say the Miata is "too slow"?

Curious here. I have a Miata that has a good bit of modification to it, and was just out driving. I was having such a blast revving it all the way out and just driving it like a lunatic that if I had a faster car, I'd be in serious trouble. I parked it back in the garage and got thinking...why do people say the Miata is too slow? To me, personally, it feels pretty quick. Its not fast, but its not too slow either. I had planned on installing a turbo to it, but being in college, I have VERY limited funds, so that'll have to wait till I'm more financially stable. However, its really fun the way it is. So why do people think that the Miata is too slow? Is it just because it can't go to 60mph in under 3 seconds?

that is probably the gist of it.

Miatas are fun, but they're clearly not fast in a straight line. Hence, people say they're slow. :) Good on you for having a fun car while in school. Don't worry about what other people think about them and if you really feel the need to defend your decision, it's the most road raced car in history for a reason.

Snrub said:

Miatas are fun, but they're clearly not fast in a straight line. Hence, people say they're slow. :) Good on you for having a fun car while in school. Don't worry about what other people think about them and if you really feel the need to defend your decision, it's the most road raced car in history for a reason.

unlike all the mustangs that keep trying to kill spectators while leaving car shows?

Drive something with 300+ horsepower sometime (M3, Corvette, most late model v6 sedans anymore). Quick and fast are different things.

Huh? I drive an FR-S. I wasn't listening.

They say that not because it’s unacceptable but because it’s too slow to give a thrill from the speed or acceleration.

But it’s a fantastic car and great fun. I sometimes think of picking one up. 

"Too slow" is relative.  I don't think Miatas are "too slow", but they are objectively slow when compared to a comparable year Mustang or Camaro. 

Japspec said:

Curious here. I have a Miata that has a good bit of modification to it, and was just out driving. I was having such a blast revving it all the way out and just driving it like a lunatic that if I had a faster car, I'd be in serious trouble. I parked it back in the garage and got thinking...why do people say the Miata is too slow? To me, personally, it feels pretty quick. Its not fast, but its not too slow either. I had planned on installing a turbo to it, but being in college, I have VERY limited funds, so that'll have to wait till I'm more financially stable. However, its really fun the way it is. So why do people think that the Miata is too slow? Is it just because it can't go to 60mph in under 3 seconds?

First, you said you have a Miata that has a "good bit of modification to it", so that may have something to do with it.  Also, what generation are you talking about?  The current ND is pretty quick.  I love the NA as much as the next Miata enthusiast, I've had 4 of them, but face it...it's slow.  No way to sugar coat it, it was a slow car in a straight line.  0-60 is something around 8.5-9.0 seconds.  My 4500lb family minivan can lay waste to it.   NB was a bit better, and the NC was decently quick but never fast (the NC is faster than it feels, IMO, given its larger size and less need to rev the snot out of it).

However, if you buy an NA for straight line speed, you're a moron anyway.  That's not what the car was about.

Miatas ARE slow....there's no denying it. They're fun to drive and quick in corners, but the majority of time people are driving them is on the road usually. This is coming from someone who tracks an Integra (another SLOW car)

Cactus said:

Drive something with 300+ horsepower sometime (M3, Corvette, most late model v6 sedans anymore). Quick and fast are different things.

300hp cars are slow too.  Just less slow.

Then you drive an 800hp car, and then your 500hp car is slow.  IMO the "power tickle" stops after that level because you generally will not get that much power to hook up on unprepared surfaces at anything approaching legal speeds.  Doing a burnout at 80mph feels the same no matter how much power you have

Slow is all relative.  When Miata's spritual ancestor, the RX-7, came out, it too weighed about the same and had 100hp like the Miata did.  It was also a fast car, relative to the other things on the market.  Same for the 90hp GTI.

...because they have never driven a 1984 Grand Marquis.

ebonyandivory said:

...because they have never driven a 1984 Grand Marquis.

Diesel.

Miatas are fast in a straight line. I can keep up in the corners but when we hit the straights those things blow me away. There's nothing like putting the moves on a Miata through the corners, thinking you're about to make a pass and then we pull onto the straight and the Miata takes off like a rocket.

And that's why I want to make my 300SD faster.

Yeh a minivan is faster to 60 than a Miata but I don’t want to drag race in a minivan. I know some may but I don’t. Driving the snot out of a Miata on the street is a blast and you probably won’t get in trouble with the law. To me an old VW bug is slow or Geo Metro. A Miata no! My 914 is slow on the street. It has less power than the Miata and the shifter is slow and imprecise. Still love it though.

I’ve heard some same a Miata is hard to keep up with traffic. I don’t know where you are driving, but 98% of the drivers are getting blown away by my Miata if I want. Most drivers are too busy on there phone to worry about my Miata. It’s the 2% of drag cars, mustangs or  Camaros the try to race me that I just ignore.

I've definitely driven in places where I'd be uncomfortable getting on the highway in something as slow as a 1.6 NA due to 70+ mph traffic and having a very short distance to get up to speed and merge.  

rslifkin said:

I've definitely driven in places where I'd be uncomfortable getting on the highway in something as slow as a 1.6 NA due to 70+ mph traffic and having a very short distance to get up to speed and merge.  

I don't think I have ever seen such a place.  A 1.6L Miata will still hit 70 in well under 1/4 mile... from a dead stop.

ProDarwin said:

rslifkin said:

I've definitely driven in places where I'd be uncomfortable getting on the highway in something as slow as a 1.6 NA due to 70+ mph traffic and having a very short distance to get up to speed and merge.  

I don't think I have ever seen such a place.  A 1.6L Miata will still hit 70 in well under 1/4 mile... from a dead stop.

Merging onto Route 70 near Scranton PA in a loaded rollback is uncomfortable not in a Miata. 

ProDarwin said:

rslifkin said:

I've definitely driven in places where I'd be uncomfortable getting on the highway in something as slow as a 1.6 NA due to 70+ mph traffic and having a very short distance to get up to speed and merge.  

I don't think I have ever seen such a place.  A 1.6L Miata will still hit 70 in well under 1/4 mile... from a dead stop.

I've heard that argument before, too.  Never once did I find a place where a Miata could not enter the freeway being fast enough.  What's even more funny about the argument is how few people even attempt to merge at speed.  I see many cars who corner very, very well crawling on the ramp, because of the driver, not the car.  

IMHO, the Miata is "slow" because it's so easy and comfortable to drive at it's limits.  So it seems slow.  

Because the same people who take 15 seconds to get through the intersection after a red light, are mesmerized by 0-60 times when doing the car buying.

If you think it is weird with the Miata, you should hear the rending of garments and gnashing of teeth  from the FRS critics! I keep asking and no one can answer "What function is it unable to perform due to the power level?

What the unwashed masses do not get, is that both of these cars have the Superpower of light weight. Light weight is more fun than power in the same way that torque is more fun than HP; you get to use it all the time, not just when you are breaking the law.

Pete

ProDarwin said:

rslifkin said:

I've definitely driven in places where I'd be uncomfortable getting on the highway in something as slow as a 1.6 NA due to 70+ mph traffic and having a very short distance to get up to speed and merge.  

I don't think I have ever seen such a place.  A 1.6L Miata will still hit 70 in well under 1/4 mile... from a dead stop.

Go drive on the Merritt in CT.  There are a few places where the on-ramp ends in a stop sign and you have 50 feet or less of merge lane and less than 1/4 mile visibility for traffic coming towards you.  Some decent amount of power is greatly appreciated in those situations.  

Driven a miata with a turbo and over 250hp. Distinctly different drive than my NA 95.

Miata is a car you can mat the throttle without too many consequences, well as long as you arent G-loaded in a turn. Add a Turbo and it becomes a car that has consequences, but has good capability in turns as well.  

Distinctly different drives. Do you want the car that you can hoon and abuse and not get too out of shape in, or one that can bite back if you push too much (hence having to restrain yourself more)?

I have a great appreciation for both.  Then again, I have a Mustang as well as a Miata.

It's not "too" slow, but it is slow. 

ebonyandivory said:

...because they have never driven a 1984 Grand Marquis.

or an air cooled beetle. Most people forget that at one time the Mustang only had 200ish hp and the BMW M3 was pushing 192hp

I wonder how much tire technology has to do with the perception of a car's speed and power. When the NA was new, it probably wasn't hard to get loose with even the best rubber of the day. You have to really hate your clutch to get a stock Miata to step out with RE71Rs. Likewise, the current Camaros handle way better than they should for ground pounders that are pushing the 2 ton mark.

I heard a lot of praise for whoever specced narrow all-season tires for the Toyobaru twins. I like that they intended for that car to get tail happy with it's modest power output. That said, my favorite driving BMWs from the 80s made less power with nearly double the displacement, so HP isn't everything.