Daily Driving A Mazda Miata can be a tricky situation. Many people considering purchasing a Miata often find themselves in a position where they can only own one car. This brings up the question of whether or not it is a good idea to daily drive a Miata as your one and only car.
I purchased this 1991 Mazda Miata British Racing Green in December of 2015 and have used it as my one and only car ever since. When I first bought the car it had approximately 126,000 miles and now in June of 2018 it is now at 139,000 miles. So, I have had my fair share of Miata driving and ownership time. I decided I would share my experience daily driving this car to give some insight for potential Miata owners.
A quick rundown of my car as it is slightly modified which may affect my experience. It has Rokkor coilovers (not my best decision), upgraded sway bars, Jackson Racing cold air intake, Racing Beat cat back exhaust, Rota MSR 15×6.5 wheels with Hankook Ventus V2 205 50 15 tires.
So the first and most obvious point: this car only has 2 seats. If you are a person who finds them self driving friends around a lot then this car is obviously not a good option for you. On the plus side people won’t be asking you for rides to or from the airport. However, for me the 2 seats makes the car a more exciting experience because it makes the interior feel more like a cockpit and all you need to do is drive.
On the topic of limited seating, there is of course limited storage space. Inside there is a very small glove box, a little bit of space inside the center console but the best part is the shelf behind the seats. I have the soft top removed in my car and only run the hardtop so there is plenty of place to store things back here, I usually but 2 backpacks here and my camera bag here with no problem on longer trips. For trunk storage, it is quite limited and very shallow you can fit a few bags of groceries back here but that is about it. A surprising fact is that I was able to fit my 5’9” surfboard in here by placing it in the passenger footwell and letting the board go through the center of the seats into this shelf area, the video at the bottom of this page will demonstrate. So, if you need to transport things on a regular basis this is clearly not the vehicle for you.
I know, these points above are quite redundant as this is a very small Japanese sports car but I think it is best to get them out of the way first. Now we get into the driving experience, what we care most about here at Driving Purity. My car being a na6 comes equipped with a 1.6l DOHC engine putting out 116bhp and 100ft/lb of torque. If you get a na8 or nb Miata you will see a decent increase of power to around 130bhp and 110ft/lb of torque. Either way, the Miata is not going to impress with power alone. The fun shines through in this car through its nimble handling and extremely light weight at 2,150 pounds. I live in Southern California an we have an excellent selection of curvy exciting and scenic roads that are prime for Miata driving. The best part of with the limited power is that it is pretty rare that you find yourself blowing past the speed limit even while having fun. Going into corners this car inspires full confidence and can really teach you how to carry momentum through the corners as the power is not going to make up speed for you. For commuting to work the Miata can definitely put a smile on your face. I find myself excited to get off work and drive mine home, the car is just rewarding all around to drive. At the end of the day, if you want a fun car at a reasonable price I think the Miata is the way to go.
One essential part of a daily driver is reliability, and the Miata most definitely can hold its ground in this department. I came from a 1995 Honda Civic hatchback before buying this car so when I was deciding on my next car, I wanted something that could come close to the reliability I had with that. Over my 2 and a half years I have had a very good experience with the Miata in terms of reliability. I have only had the car break down on me twice, one of them being completely avoidable with some easy maintenance. The first time the clutch slave cylinder was leaking slowly and one day I was driving the clutch went straight to the floor. I could have avoided this by changing the slave cylinder immediately when I noticed the dropping fluid. I believe the part was about $18 at autozone and only took an hour or two to replace. No big deal but this is a quite common issue on this car so be on the lookout for disappearing clutch fluid. The next time was simply some alternator bolts falling out which left no tension in the alternator belt. I easily found these bolts at autozone and used some loctite to ensure they would hold for good. This was probably just been the fault of another person working on the car before me and not the car itself. I bought the car with blown OEM shocks and “upgraded” to some Rokkor coilovers. Also the air conditioning was not working but with about $100 I was able to get that back to working condition. I also had the PCV collapse and cause a high idle but I ordered a $13 OEM Mazda piece online and fixed that in a matter of minutes. A common theme you may be noticing here is the affordability of parts, and that is one of the many pluses of the Mazda Miata. There is many of these on the road, over 1 million Miatas have been produced to this day. That brings a large supply of replacement of aftermarket parts that can be had for great prices. Overall, I think the Miata excels in the field of reliability as my car is 27 years old and has not had any serious problems. This ownership experience can vary for different Miata’s as with this old of a car the condition and previous treatment can vary a lot.
As for gas mileage I typically get around 21 city and 26 highway. This is not the greatest when consider this car is a 1.6l 4 cylinder and only weighs 2,150 pounds but it is important to keep in mind that the car has short gearing to make up for the lack in power and being a 90’s affordable sports car it is only a 5 speed so the final drive is not the greatest for highway driving. Also the aerodynamics are not the greatest considering there is pop up headlights and many are convertibles that tend to disrupt air heavily. The gearing has not been a problem for me though even in traffic, I find it bearable and do not have much to complain about.
Another piece of the daily driving puzzle is comfort. Once again this is a 90’s japanese sports car and you will not get much in terms of comfort. My Miata does have power steering, air conditioning, and power steering but some models will not come equipped with that. The Miata is loud inside at high speeds and with my fiberglass hardtop it gets hot inside pretty quick. Obviously if you have a soft top this can be solved quickly by dropping the top and enjoying one of the Miata’s best parts, convertible fun. A car this age will typically have some rattles and mine for sure does. At the end of the day you can’t expect this car to feel like a cloud and relax while you drive, the point of the Miata is to keep you engaged and enjoy driving, comfort comes last when this is your goal.
In summary, if you are a younger person without a need to transport things or people I think the Miata can make a good candidate for a daily driver. I would even go as far to say that this is the most fun you can have for the price when factoring in daily drivability and reliability. If you are considering getting a Miata as your one and only car and none of the above things bother you much like me, I would say go for it!
Thank you if you made it this far, I wish you the best in your Miata searches. For some more information about my thoughts on daily driving a Mazda Miata check out the videos below and for more information on my car check out the article below.
