2006 Mazda Miata: long-distance driving

2006 Mazda Miata -- Brent Romans Yesterday, I used our long-term 2006 Mazda Miata for a five-hour drive to central California. To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to it. A Miata has many strengths, but long-distance touring on the highway isn't one of them. However, this was my first experience in a third-generation Miata, and I must say that the experience wasn't as dreary as I had envisioned.

I was impressed by the car's highway ride quality. The suspension did an admirable job of soaking up concrete expansion joints, and the car's short wheelbase rarely provoked any kind of fore-and-aft bouciness. The main negative I found with driving our Miata at elevated speeds for a long duration was wind noise. It wasn't very quiet in that little cockpit and the radio's sound quality was very mediocre in my opinion.

I was getting a bit sore after those five hours, so I was happy to make a stop for dinner. After that, the sun was setting and I was near my destination. I lowered the top and motored for the next 10 minutes on city back streets. The finishing touch was when I crossed a water-filled gutter while making a right-hand turn. Knowing that this would get the rear tires wet and reduce traction, I applied some extra throttle while still cornering. The Miata's rear-end stepped out and I compensated with a dab of opposite-lock to the steering. I got a kick out of that.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com

Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata

2 Comments

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actualsize says:

01:16 PM, 06/29/06

If anyone wanted to know the definition of the term "puddle racer," that was it. ;-)

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sixwheeler says:

09:05 AM, 05/31/09

I've been doing that almost every single week since September 2008, when I quit my job in Jeddah for another one in Riyadh. That's a 600-mile drive either way. So every weekend, without fail, I leave Riyadh on Wednesday (sometimes Tuesday) afternoon and head west, then double back on Friday. At first, I had the same feeling about my Miata, but nine months and 70,000 kilometers later, everything else feels too dull and disconnected, including my 2005 Mazda 6i.