Mazda: More Miata For The Money

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Up Front

The affordable two-seat roadster is the new black. It's also the old black. And, frankly, it's likely to be the next new black, too. So goes fashion in the auto industry. The cheap-but-fun sports car has been a perennial favorite since the late 1980s as a low-volume, high-energy image maker that can cast a zippy aura on less exciting but more practical models on the same lot.



General Motors (GM) breathed resuscitating life into its flagging Pontiac and Saturn divisions with two such sexy beauties, the heaven-sent Solstice [see BusinessWeek.com, 10/14/05, "Solstice: A Brawny Beauty"] and Sky [see BusinessWeek.com, 5/21/06, "Sky High"] roadsters. Honda (HMC) has garnered a fanatical fan following with its high-high-revving S2000. Nissan (NSANY), Volkswagen, Mini Cooper, and Chrysler are all on board as well. But before everybody was doing it, Mazda did it first.



The company's Miata reinvented the roadster market that had once been the domain of British brands like MG, Triumph, Lotus, and Austin-Healey, legendary in the 1960s. The Miata's 1989 introduction reopened an industry segment that still thrives today and one in which that model, no less, still occupies center stage.



Some 850,000 sales later, Mazda has managed to maintain its momentum for an astonishingly long time, nearly 17 years. That kind of sustained success is largely unheard of in the auto sector and a testament to the model's virtuous simplicity. According to Automotive News, the company sold 15,873 Miatas in the first 11 months of 2006, up some 45% from the same period last year.



The Miata has managed to stay true to itself -- that is, inexpensive, fun, and uncomplicated. The car debuted with a reasonable base price around 13 grand. Adjusted for inflation, a 1989 Miata cost about $1,500 more than today's basic model. On top of an easily digestible sticker price, the car still ranks high in reliability and low on ownership costs. In fact, last year's model cost less to operate over the long haul than the Solstice, the Mini [see BusinessWeek.com, 7/11/06, "Maximum Mini"], and the convertible versions of the Ford Mustang [see BusinessWeek.com, 8/25/06, "Detroit Thoroughbred"] and Volkswagen New Beetle.



My test Miata, the top-of-the-line Grand Touring edition, carried a base price of $26,360. Mazda threw in a $500 suspension package and a premium package with keyless entry, xenon headlights, and traction control to the tune of $1,250. With $560 delivery fee, the total weighed in at $28,670 -- a paltry sum for the package.



That's because the car also came with one big new feature that is intended to keep the badge, once again, ahead of the curve: a power-folding hardtop worthy of vehicles costing three times as much. That's right; this Miata wears a hard hat.



Behind the Wheel

Even more significant than the major new accessory is the driving experience. The 166-horsepower, 2-liter 4-cylinder power plant under the hood might seem like a non-starter in a market where two-seaters pack engines that produce twice as much firepower. But where lightweight roadsters are concerned, balance preempts brute force. You won't find BMW or Porsche inflating horsepower values unless it's a requirement of engineering. Mazda neither.



That's also why the company made sure the Miata maintained its near-perfect weight ratio, with 50% of the vehicle's weight resting on the front wheels and the other half on the rear wheels. To ensure that distribution, given the new models' changed underbody layout, engineers moved the fuel tank forward, swapped the battery's location, and minimized the A/C unit.



The result of such eye-glazing, yawn-inducing changes is a deeply exhilarating driving experience which places the driver -- or so it feels -- at the pinpoint center of the driven universe. Blissfully short gear changes courtesy of a crisp six-speed manual and a nicely tuned suspension round out the experience. The steering is more responsive than ever.



There are innumerable roadsters out there that are faster off the mark or hustle through slalom tests and breaking trials quicker. But in the segment, for sheer driving pleasure, the Miata honestly can't be beat.



The exterior gained some nice touches for 2006. In particular, the muscular wheel arches do more to masculinize the car's exterior than any design change in the car's 17-year life span. The front maw is more taut than the second generation's, and the reworked back end gives the car a forward-leaning grace. I, for one, have enjoyed watching the Miata's evolution from unassuming road tourer to a sleek, muscled Tic Tac with the soul of a true sports car.



The interior isn't quite the same, however, and it's the Miata's biggest drawback. Its sporty stylized dials and dash controls look great from afar but don't feel so solid up close. Some of the plastics in the cabin are unwelcomingly cheap-feeling. This is my biggest gripe with all of Mazda's cars I have test-driven this year, including the excellent new CX-7 crossover: tinny interiors that look good but don't gel with the rest of the package's quality.



Headlining the show, of course, is the new power-retractable hardtop. Hard-tops are the new soft-tops, from Volkswagen to Pontiac. Mazda's is the least expensive and a little marvel of engineering. Going up or down in about 12 seconds, the top works as advertised, creating a no-hassle, quiet, cozy space when the weather won't cooperate.



The company still offers a less expensive Miata with a soft top. And though that particular piece of technology is about as good as it gets as far as ragtops are concerned, with a hardtop base price of $24,350 -- it's not worth resisting long. The option is a no-brainer for consumers and a sure-win for Mazda.



Buy It or Bag It?

Snarky critics say the Miata's main problem in the market is its feminine image. Mazda didn't make it any better when it tried to rebadge the vehicle with a more masculine [and less endearing] alphanumeric tag: MX-5. It didn't stick. And it seems a bit like industry nonsense. The Miata isn't about gender identity. It's about the bottom line: pure driving fun.



The Miata has always made a great second car. And this iteration would be no different. On top of great performance, low cost of ownership, and high predicted reliability, the new model gets between 24 and 30 mpg. My test of mostly vigorous highway driving produced an average of 28.3 mpg, in fact. Now, with a weather-defying hardtop on the block, it just might make a good first car, too.



Click here to learn more about the Mazda Miata.