Mazda Miata: Top of the Tops

Driving a Mazda Miata, top down:

                                   .._i
           ///\\\               >>>/!\#--
          ////\\\\                 >#//\\#K<-_
         //OO\\            7X#/OO\#/!!<
          \ __/                    \ __/
        Before                  After

The more modern cars I drive, the more I appreciate simplicity in design. A good, clean shape. A smart, convenient execution.

Now before you start getting all ageist on me, let me say that I love all the high-tech wonders that today's cars are offering up...

I think the new S-Class is brilliant (and I also think it has more computing power than the Pentagon did during the first Gulf War). But the real beauty of the S-Class lies in its simplicity--you can adjust everything 10,000 different ways, or you can just get in and drive it. Simple.

That's what I love about our long-term Mazda MX-5 Miata. It's a simple front-engine/rear-drive lightweight roadster. It also sounds like heaven and shifts like a dream. There's nothing fancy about it, and it's got a manual top. Who needs an electric top? Not me, I'm simple. And at 24 grand, the MX-5's not going to cause my bank account to seize up either. It ain't real quick, but it feels quick and that's what really matters most of the time.

Top up, it does tend to get a hair claustrophobic, but top down -- a step as simple as pushing a latch-release button and pulling back the top with one hand, then snapping it into place behind you -- the universe opens up and you start having this thing called "fun." Open it up at midnight on your favorite stretch of road on a still-warm September evening, and you'll remember that "simple" and "happy" are still good goals to have.

And the way it shakes up your coif is just a bonus.

Richard Homan -- Editor in Chief, Inside Line

Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata