Our Miata is meant for snaking around tight corners or hitting up a racetrack. But it's also pretty good at highway travel(*) in the mountains. The supercharger gives it a nice boost in torque to climb grades with ease in fifth gear. And as the Miata's nimble and pretty easy to see out of, it's fun to nip through traffic and pass slower moving vehicles.
Though it's not a winter car you'd take to go skiing, summer recreation could certainly be on the docket.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
*This is not to say our Miata is comfortable on the highway. It's not. It's loud, buzzy, stiff-riding and probably not too far away from what I imagine it's like riding on an ox cart. But it's a first-generation Miata. What do you expect?
cjasis says:
04:24 PM, 01/25/12
Is that the toll road headed to the 91?
doss1 says:
11:10 PM, 01/25/12
Amen to that post script. The first generation Miata is definitely a city car. The seats are not comfortable for long trips, it has horrible range (lucky to reach 300 miles on a tank), and it is quite loud. The stiff ride doesn't bother me much, as you know what you're getting into when you enter the Miata (pure sports car).
tomslick2 says:
05:42 AM, 01/26/12
Put snow tires and a ski rack on it and it would be fine for skiing.
revs29 says:
06:08 AM, 01/26/12
Makes me miss my S2000...which is only tolerable on the highway for about 2 hours at a time before I have to take a break...only a couple more months before I pry it out of winter storage!
viss1 says:
06:59 AM, 01/26/12
"... it's fun to nip through traffic and pass slower moving vehicles."
Ain't that the truth. The Miata encourages hooliganism like few other cars.
cjasis says:
08:01 AM, 01/26/12
"Amen to that post script. The first generation Miata is definitely a city car. The seats are not comfortable for long trips, it has horrible range (lucky to reach 300 miles on a tank), and it is quite loud. The stiff ride doesn't bother me much, as you know what you're getting into when you enter the Miata (pure sports car)."
Totally agree on the fuel range but I disagree on the other points.
I drove our old 1991 Miata several times between S. CA and San Jose, CA when I was in college and my parents were up in the bay area. That car was a base model with no a/c, no radio and no frills and I loved the drive.
Moreover, I took my Honda S2000 to Scottsdale for spring training one year and had a blast in that thing. Yeh.. the ride is loud (I never ever drove those cars with the tops up unless it was really comnig down) but you know that when you buy them. They were relatively simple, elemental cars that allowed the driver to actually enjoy driving.