Drove a thing. AMA

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
11/22/2016 at 13:55 • Filed to: miata, review, nd

Kinja'd!!!0 Kinja'd!!! 26

2016 Mazda MX-5 GT. I requested the GT because leather and the manual because manual. Review after the break. TL;DR I wasn’t blown away.

Kinja'd!!!

Styling:

I don’t like it. Squinty-eyed and wide-hipped and far too Japanese looking for a nameplate I was drawn to initially by its European-ness. Looks far bigger in photos than it is in person. Almost comically small. The wheels are nice, though. Mazda is really good at making attractive wheels lately.

Storage:

Smaller trunk than my NA, roughly the same size as my NB but you don’t get a spare tire. If I took the spare tire out of my NB and replaced it with the fix-a-flat and well wishes you get in the ND I could carry far more in my NB

Interior:

More cubbies than the NA or NB, more legroom, less hip room. I’m a tiny guy and the bolsters of the seat were hugging me. I loved it, the seat was superb, but anyone larger than my 5'6" 135lbs frame might find themselves a bit constrained. The touchscreen was whatever that’s been beaten to death. The steering wheel felt nice in the hand, the shifter fell easily to hand as well. The gauge cluster has a large center-mounted tach which was a nice touch and the interior generally feels pretty well screwed together. Had glossy body-colored (in this case fingerprint-magnet-piano-black) accents in the door cards, which I always love. Less headroom with the top up than my NB, though I couldn’t figure out if the seats go up or down.

Transmission:

Wide shift gates and easy shifting was reminiscent of the 5 speed NAs transmission, but you get a 6th gear. Reverse is up and to the left with a lockout. Personally I hate lockout reverses but whatever. Unlike the freshly rebuilt shifter in my NB the ND’s shifter had a bit of play to it when in gear. Bummer. The clutch was light and I continue to think my NB’s clutch is broken because literally every other Miata feels different. That said, felt a lot like my NA. Very light, didn’t strain my leg when crawling through traffic in a construction zone.

Steering:

I didn’t research to figure out if the Miata has electronic power steering or hydraulic, but it’s tuned interestingly. In the parking lot the wheel was disturbingly light. Like, Buick light. Like, LS400-with-working-power-steering-booster light. It was weird and I found myself fearing that they had taken all of the road feel out of the steering. Nope. Once up to speed the wheel got heavier and more direct feeling. More Miata feeling. Heavier than my NA, not as heavy as my NB. It was pretty alright.

Engine:

Eeeeh. Eeeeeeeehhhh . My issue with the engine is thus: It’s not smooth. The reason there’s slop in the shifter is probably because if there was no slop that shifter would look like a marital aid that’s been left on. That said the power was good and it absolutely loved being in the upper 2k rpm of the rev range (I felt dirty taking a car with 56 miles to redline but the salesman insisted. It was a slow day at the dealership.) The real dealbreaker though is the throttle response: It’s garbage . The drive-by-wire system is so laggy I could blip the throttle and have my foot off of the pedal before the results are felt. Heel-toeing? Fuggheddaboutit. I tried repeatedly and failed every time. A quick blip of the throttle wasn’t enough to bring the revs up to match the next gear down, I had to sort of hold the pedal. It blew.

Noise:

The radio was a radio. It actually sounded worse than the Bose system in my NB, but not enough to really matter. Very few rattles, not much wind noise was present. My passenger and I were able to talk to each other without straining to be heard. The exhaust note was great. Not as quirky and cheerful as the NA, but more of a “I’m a real sports car now” wail that encourages hooliganism. Anything is better than the stock NB exhaust.

Handling:

It’s a Miata. It handles well. Relative to other cars, it’s a step up from the NB, mostly because the chassis is far, far stiffer. I didn’t go hog-wild in the corners due to wet roads from a recent rain, but the car retains the perfect Miata balance of a car that is soft enough to daily drive but light enough to fling around corners just as you like. Body roll is present but controlled without the “beached whale” effect of some older Miata. Very little squat on acceleration, which was a pleasant surprise.

Conclusion:

This is the most expensive full-featured Miata you can buy. MSRP is $30,900. I personally don’t think it’s worth it. Cars I would rather have include the V6 Camaro or Ecoboost Mustang, which are in a similar price bracket. I have yet to drive a Fiat 124 Spyder but if the throttle response is improved I’d probably rather have it as well. And that’s not even counting all of the used or pre-owned options to choose from such as the 350Z, 370Z, NB Miata, Mazdaspeed Miata, Corvettes, etc. that make it really hard to justify the impracticality of the ND Miata over its competitors.

Got other questions? Ask me. It’s a slow day.


DISCUSSION (26)


Kinja'd!!! TheHondaBro > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 13:59

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I don’t like the styling either. The Fiat 124 looks way better.


Kinja'd!!! OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 13:59

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Holy cow you’re a tiny human. At 6' 185lb I want to see how small this bolster room is for me. Would you buy this or a FR-S?


Kinja'd!!! Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 14:01

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Yeah I didn’t quite fit last time I tried. And it might be hard to put more than a backpack in the trunk.


Kinja'd!!! Milky > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 14:07

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Think it’d make a better DD than a 12 year old Chrysler/Mercedes mashup?


Kinja'd!!! carzcarzcarz > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 14:08

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I didn’t think the seats were all that tight for me, and I’m 6'1" @ 200lbs. Cabin felt a lot smaller than my BRZ, obviously. But I only got to take it for a quick spin around the block of the dealership while waiting for my wife’s free oil change.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
11/22/2016 at 14:09

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I’m adorable.

I can’t get on board with the FR-S. I drove a stock one and one with MAWDS and I can’t remember specifically what but I wasn’t a fan. Definitely far more practical, but I believe they’re actually slower than an ND in stock form. It’s been a couple years.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > TheHondaBro
11/22/2016 at 14:10

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Wow. We finally agree on something styling-related.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Milky
11/22/2016 at 14:14

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It’ll run longer, be cheaper to fix, and the interior won’t rattle as much. You lose out on storage though.


Kinja'd!!! TheHondaBro > Milky
11/22/2016 at 14:14

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A mule would make a better DD than a 12-year-old Chrysler/Mercedes mashup.


Kinja'd!!! OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 14:14

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My fiancé is 5'2" and combined with my 80lb Greyhound still lighter then me. She’s also adorable.

I feel like I could definitely go for either the ND or the FR-S with MAWDS. Either would be a nice step from the LS400 but I’m not getting rid of the Ls400 so I still have that when needed.


Kinja'd!!! Vicente Esteve > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 14:18

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Highly doubt the throttle response on the 124 Spider will be better. I have read a lot of reviews the say that due to the great response of the NA, the 124 feels extremely laggy.


Kinja'd!!! Arrivederci > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 14:27

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Drove one myself over the weekend at an autoshow and was severely disappointed. Now, the “test drive” wasn’t a fair shake for the ND because it was done on downtown city streets and it was an automatic.

That said, it felt substantially slower than my (admittedly modded) BRZ, the engine sounded wheezy and I had a lot of trouble getting my 6' tall 190lb frame squeezed in there comfortably.

Seats are nice, fit and finish is nice, interior is nice and I like the styling. I never expected to be underwhelmed by the drive, but again, it wasn’t a fair shake for the ND.


Kinja'd!!! Milky > TheHondaBro
11/22/2016 at 14:27

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Well duh.

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Kinja'd!!! Milky > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 14:29

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I seriously forgot how rattly the interior was, then it got cold again. Man its loud.


Kinja'd!!! Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 14:40

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You definitely should try an ND at an autocross (like they did with those test events). In that setting, the car felt exactly like my own NB but with shitty tires and a boatload more power. Didn’t know about the trunk and no spare though. I already run my NB with no spare in the trunk just to have more space. Couldnt imagine getting by with even less!

And you are right, the EPS while moving around slowly felt extremely alien for a Miata. I didnt notice the throttle delay but I was only driving it at WOT the whole time anyways.


Kinja'd!!! RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
11/22/2016 at 14:59

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I test drove an ND Miata and kept hitting my head on the side of the roof while getting in or out. I’m only 5'7" and I’m generally used to being cramped in an S2000. Feels to me like they went maybe 5% too small with the whole thing.


Kinja'd!!! RotaryLover > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 15:05

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Thanks for the review. I was high on getting one, but I’ll test drive one first. I still got my NA...in pieces, but it’s there.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/22/2016 at 15:41

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I heel-toe my NB at every possible opportunity so the throttle response in the ND is pretty much a dealbreaker for me. It might be calibrated differently in the Club Sport or whatever. The one with the brembo brakes and stuff.


Kinja'd!!! Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 15:53

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Off topic but Miatas anyways. I finally found someone selling a roadstersport3 muffler for cheap locally! I am getting a Cobalt Header, RS midpipe, RS muffler, DDM intake, and some new foglights all lightly used for $600. I am so excited for all of this.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/22/2016 at 15:59

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So jealous


Kinja'd!!! Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 16:05

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Only problem is I plan on moving to California next year so CARB is going to hate me. I think I am planning to just swap for the testing and then swap back the next day.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/22/2016 at 16:14

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Or send me the muffler. That works too :P


Kinja'd!!! jsemerica > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/22/2016 at 20:09

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I was curious and looked up the base msrp of my 97 M edition, at 24,485 that would be like 36k in todays money.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > jsemerica
11/22/2016 at 21:52

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My 2002 SE was $25,755 in 2002, which is $34,474 in today’s money.


Kinja'd!!! Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/23/2016 at 07:32

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Haha that’s like the one part that is certified. Looking into it though, it will only take like 30 minutes to swap out the whole thing once I am using non rusty bolts. I have a feeling the first install is going to take all day though thanks to terrible rusty bolts. I am trying to figure out if I can just remove header-midpipe-muffler all as one piece.


Kinja'd!!! Sam > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
12/28/2016 at 17:00

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6' 1" 200lbs here, and I did fit. I had to play with the settings a bit to get comfortable, but it was good. I liked the feel of shifting, but that’s mostly because it’s one of two modern manuals I’ve driven. The other was a Boostang.