Long-Term Road Tests
2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
April 30, 2007
For all the ways in which the Miata slaughters the Solstice -- steering, handling, balance, acceleration, fuel economy, shift quality, clutch feel, exhaust note, seat comfort, storage space, cupholders, top operation, reliability (just to name thirteen) -- the Pontiac trumps Mazda in at least one department: sound quality. Even with the top dropped, a Solstice shod with that 225-watt Monsoon option seems to pack enough punch to blow the tops off the cars around you. By contrast, the system in the Miata, Bose or otherwise (ours was otherwise), lacks the will to win the war with the outside world. After 50 MPH, notes just kind of get lost in the shuffle and fade away. While we're on it, it's a little repulsive of Mazda to require buying the 6-disc changer to get MP3 playback, and those looking for an iPod plug are completely SOL.
Call it one small but sure victory in Pontiac's favor. Aside from that 17% annual sales lead, of course.
Brian Sy, Automotive Editor, 21,150 miles
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- Posted by: April 30, 2007, 1:55 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
March 26, 2007
My buddy Ken saw my since-retracted "dibs" post about our 2006 Mazda Miata and gave me a call.
"You don't even like blue cars. You hated my blue CRX. Why would you buy that?" he groused.
"Umm Errr," mumbled I. Then I retorted with some unkind comment about the lameness of his CRX's particular shade of baby blue. But basically, he had me dead to rights.
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- Posted by: Dan Edmunds March 26, 2007, 3:20 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
March 22, 2007
I hereby retract my decelaration of "Dibs" vis-à-vis the 2006 Mazda Miata...
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- Posted by: Dan Edmunds March 22, 2007, 1:08 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
March 19, 2007
On Saturday morning, the Miata's odometer was 750 miles short of the 20,000-mile mark. On Sunday night, it was 67 miles beyond it. In-between, the MX-5 went on an 800-mile tour of central California, because, well, this is the kind of car that gives meaning to otherwise arbitrary milestones and makes you want to celebrate them. So I found a bunch of empty, twisty roads -- CA Hwy 146, CA Hwy 25 and Panoche Rd...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches March 19, 2007, 10:43 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
March 14, 2007
This is our Mazda MX-5's last week in the long-term test fleet. Next week it goes to the body shop and after it's back, we'll put it up for sale, unless of course Dan calls in his dibs. So here's your opportunity to offer parting comments on the roadster -- good, bad, friendly, mean or otherwise.
I'll start: I'll miss the Miata's insistent, sportbike-like exhaust note, super straight tracking on the freeway, and near infinite U-turnability...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches March 14, 2007, 10:03 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
March 12, 2007
Poor Miata :( Getting rear-ended once back in October (while minding its own biz stopped at a red light) wasn't enough. Sunday, while I was waiting to pull into a rotary, it got nailed again.
I was waiting to enter the rotary, moved up closer to the circle entry and stopped (there was a minivan coming 'round the circle so I wanted to wait for it to go by) and Bam!, got rear-ended. I'm guessing that the girl in the TrailBlazer behind me expected me to just blast out there and hug the circle's right lane. But as you can't predict that someone in the circle (who has the right-of-way) isn't going to change lanes without warning, I wasn't going to chance it.
After the jolt and subsequent head-snap I received, I expected the rear of the Miata to be crumpled yet at a glance it looks almost unharmed. The give-aways are the larger than normal gap between the trunk lid and rear filler panel as well as the scuff and slight waviness in the bumper. The other driver was all apologies and we quickly exchanged information after we found a safe place to pull over. Now it's off to the body shop...
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- Posted by: johnnyturbo March 12, 2007, 11:58 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
March 8, 2007
Since I joined Edmunds.com, I haven't driven my own car very much. For the record, it's a 1991 Mazda Miata with 175,000 miles on the clock. The soft top is rotted out, so I keep the hard top on most of the time. The red paint on the bumpers and mirrors has faded to a grody patina and the moldings are looking powdery...
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- Posted by: Dan Edmunds March 8, 2007, 8:47 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
March 5, 2007
Tired of hearing how much useful storage space our long-term Miata has? Well, then, you should probably skip over this post. However, in my rush to get to the airport on Saturday morning (while running late... as usual), I can't tell you how grateful I was when my 20" rollaboard carry-on bag, even in "expanded" form, dropped right into the the Miata's trunk and allowed the lid to close...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches March 5, 2007, 2:13 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
March 1, 2007
One area in which I can't give our long-term MX-5 a bye is interior plastics quality. The questionable pebble-grain stuff on the Miata's pillars and dash was easier to overlook when the cheaply outfitted Solstice was in the fleet. Now almost 19,000 miles on, reality is showing through in the form of ugly scratches on the driver-side A-pillar and glovebox.
Maybe an interior detail would help mask the blemishes, but there's no getting rid of them entirely.
Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor, 18,723 miles
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- Posted by: Erin Riches March 1, 2007, 12:11 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
February 27, 2007
We'll admit it. This is not the sort of tire wear that you see in normal use. We've abused these tires. When you've got a few minutes after the testing schedule has been completed and there's all this empty asphalt, you just can't help yourself (or so one of our test crew reports).
No wonder. Since production began in April 1989, the Miata has become the most popular two-passenger sports car of all time by a large margin. It's become a standard of reference, a car that has taught an entire generation how to drive...
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- Posted by: February 27, 2007, 2:33 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
February 22, 2007
After 18,000 miles in just 11 months our Miata is in desperate need of a detailing. Nothing major mind you, but the carpet looks like it was last vacuumed when the Iraq war was popular and there's enough beverage spillage on the console to keep a CSI team buzzing for a week. The paint could use a little wax too.
So we're slobs...
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- Posted by: Scott Oldham February 22, 2007, 1:36 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
February 14, 2007
I'd noticed several times that the Miata's wipers weren't doing much more than moving water around the windshield, and the washer function was useless. Inspecting the blades, I could see they were dried out.
So a couple nights ago, I broke down and bought a new pair of 18-inch blades, assembly and all, for $7.99 apiece at the auto parts store. They snapped right on to the wiper arms.
The store clerk had suggested the more expensive Bosch blades, but given the lack of significant weather in LA, I decided the generic set would be adequate. Total bill was $17.30 with tax...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches February 14, 2007, 12:02 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
February 13, 2007
Our long-term Mazda Miata has a "smart" oil pressure gauge. This basically means it gives immediate oil pressure readings as rapidly as the pressure changes. A cool trait that is very "performance car" oriented. But -- it also means that when the Miata is idling the gauge accurately represents the associated drop in oil pressure that occurs...
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- Posted by: Karl Brauer February 13, 2007, 12:30 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
February 8, 2007
Stop me, stop me
The Mazda MX-5 Miata is still the standard of reference for people who care about driving. It's the best car with which to learn about driving, and nearly everybody you know has driven one or wants to drive one.
So our current long-term MX-5 surprised me a little. At 17,000 miles, our MX-5's brake pedal doesn't feel quite right. The pedal action is initially very light and lacks any feedback, and then the brake pads really bite. The overall braking action is not abrupt exactly, but it's not smooth, either.
It's not an issue when you're braking hard, but it can be difficult to brake lightly and smoothly in traffic situations. It's probably only something I'd notice, since I'm the kind of guy who doesn't like to stand the car on its nose under braking...
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- Posted by: February 8, 2007, 1:50 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
February 7, 2007
I'm a night owl, so the quality of a car's nighttime illumination usually has a big effect on how much I like it or don't like it. As I've pretty much established in my previous dozen or so entries on the Mazda MX-5 Miata, this is a car I like with very few reservations (those being its softy suspension and touchy brake pedal). The fact that the MX-5 has terrific cabin lighting makes me want to bring it home for good.
In fact, I actually feel closer to the Miata at night...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches February 7, 2007, 2:38 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
January 30, 2007
Over the weekend I drove the R500, which weighs nearly 5,000 pounds. Last night I hopped into our Mazda MX-5, which weighs half that.
Over the weekend I thought like a consumer. I reveled in the simulated surround sound from the optional Harman-Kardon stereo and couldn't imagine living without the optional front and rear Parktronic sensors...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches January 30, 2007, 5:49 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
January 25, 2007
Okay people, here's the lowdown. I found the answer in the owner's manual -- section 3, page 32 (who woulda thought?!). The Miata has a button in the trunk that disables both electric releases (the one on the dash and the one on the key fob). According to the manual, this is to prevent "...anyone in the vehicle from opening the trunk." That seems odd to me. Let's say you lent the car to a friend, in that case they'd have the key and could open it manually. If you were driving and had a passenger, I guess that means that if you stopped for gas or to run into the 7-11, you wouldn't have to worry about them reaching over to the other side of the dash, popping the trunk and running off down the street with your valuable trunk contents in their greedy hands.
My guess is that the button got pushed (thus deactivating the remote releases) while someone was loading up the trunk. After I opened the trunk with the key and pushed the button, both of the remote releases worked again.
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor
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- Posted by: johnnyturbo January 25, 2007, 10:57 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
January 24, 2007
So after failing miserably at my New Year's resolution, I decided to make today count as my first day of the new year and go to the gym. But when I tried to use the MX-5's key fob to unlock the trunk to throw in my hardly used gym bag, nothing happened. No unlatch noise, no trunk lid movement, nothing...except the red light on the key fob blinking every time I pressed the "unlock trunk" button. The unlock/lock buttons work, however...
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- Posted by: Caroline Pardilla January 24, 2007, 12:36 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
January 17, 2007
After putting in a grueling amount of work hours over the last few weeks I was hoping to make the best of a long weekend. A nice drive up the coast to relax for a couple of days in the wine country around Paso Robles sounded great. I had a vision my trip would be like Dustin Hoffman's in The Graduate, ripping up the coast highway in an import roadster with the top down and the engine roaring.
Mother nature had other ideas as one of the coldest weather fronts in recent memory rolled through the area...
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- Posted by: January 17, 2007, 5:43 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
January 8, 2007
After many moons, I finally scored the Miata on this warmish and sunny weekend in January...and I fumbled it. I drove it barefoot since I can't do clutch in high-heeled mules and I tried it in boots and then flat driving shoes, but for some reason I couldn't get a smooth gear change. I don't know if it's because I'm not used to driving stick anymore or because of my heavy feet or because the Miata is getting rougher with age or if it was always like that and I just didn't notice before, but yeah, it was a jerky ride. Or maybe like Erin had pointed out in a previous post, I was just not in the right frame of mind for Miata manipulation...
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- Posted by: Caroline Pardilla January 8, 2007, 2:56 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
January 5, 2007
Add one more raspy voice to the choir of those singing the praises of the Miata's trunk. It's true, 5.3 cubic feet doesn't sound like much. And, well, it isn't. But it's big enough to scarf down a couple of rather large boxes that were the end result of some online purchases...
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- Posted by: Warren Clarke January 5, 2007, 12:48 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
December 26, 2006
Our long-term Miata's trunk has a recessed area between the wheel wells. While shopping for the holiday meal (for 2), I learned how handy this can be for the single MX-5 owner.
You see, the recessed area is ideal for holding three bags of groceries in a mostly upright position during the drive home from the store. And this is exactly how many bags I end up with during my weekly shopping trip...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches December 26, 2006, 11:29 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
December 22, 2006
Some of my non-California family and friends scoff at the idea that it ever gets cold in LA. But the truth is after you've lived here several years, 50 degrees starts to feel quite cold. The weather has not been convertible-friendly this week, but today, with the Mazda MX-5 key in hand, I was determined to take in the bright sunshine in spite of the 30-mph northerly wind gusts. So I put on my convertible winter driving uniform (above)...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches December 22, 2006, 2:38 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
December 14, 2006
Last week I drove our long-term Pontiac Solstice, which has now been sold. Since my grandmother told me that if I can't say anything nice about something, don't say anything at all, I will simply sing the praises of its competitor, the absolutely exquisite Mazda Miata.
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- Posted by: Doug Lyoyd December 14, 2006, 11:49 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
December 12, 2006
I drove the 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata from Los Angeles to Pebble Beach and back. It was about 800 miles and I got around 31 mpg. Frankly, I was kind of dreading the trip since I thought I would be battered and deaf by the time I got there. But the Miata was remarkably comfortable for the long road trip...
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- Posted by: Philip Reed December 12, 2006, 3:24 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
December 6, 2006
I love the 17-inch wheels that came with our '06 Miata's Sport Package. They're very sporty without looking garrish and aftermarkety. I also like that Mazda took pains to protect them damage: The 205/45R17 Michelin Pilot Preceda tires have a lip on the edge of their sidewalls that extends past the wheel...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches December 6, 2006, 12:33 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
December 4, 2006
Between driving my mom's '93 Accord (chattery clutch, soupy suspension) over the Thanksgiving holidays and our quite nice but still budget-biased Honda Fit last week, I'd forgotten what it was like to engage with a car. Actually, I didn't know I'd forgotten until I got into our long-term Miata over the weekend. When I laid my hand on the shifter while sitting at a stoplight, and felt the smooth vibration of moving parts, it rekindled something inside me. Subsequent throttle inputs were greedier...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches December 4, 2006, 1:07 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
November 27, 2006
Everyone knows that the Miata is about the most fun one can have on four wheels without (grossly) breaking the law. It's a great example of how you don't need 300-plus horsepower to really enjoy the drive. A responsive, agile chassis along with the inherent fun of open-cockpit motoring make for a high entertainment value while behind the wheel.
But another attribute of the Miata that may not be as obvious is how well the car fits. How well it fits me, anyhoo. At 5-feet-5 and 150, it's not like I make big demands as far as leg- or head-room -- I can get comfortable in most vehicles. But I do appreciate controls that are close at hand, a bucket seat that hugs me and a steering wheel/pedal relationship that doesn't have the wheel flirting with my chest so I can work the clutch. That toggle switch of a gear shifter is located perfectly too -- just the right height so snapping through the gears is a mere wrist flick and a constant joy. Lastly, when I'm settled into the Miata, I don't have that "sitting in a bathtub" feeling that I had with our long-term Solstice...
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- Posted by: johnnyturbo November 27, 2006, 2:18 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
November 13, 2006
Earlier this year, I blogged about how well the 2006 Mazda Miata is selling. Here's an update. According to "Automotive News," a weekly industry publication, Mazda has sold 14,878 Miatas for 10 months of 2006 (through October). For comparison, General Motors has sold a combined total of 23,767 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky models...
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- Posted by: Brent Romans November 13, 2006, 8:56 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
November 10, 2006
We aimed a lot of criticism at the lack of storage space in our now-departed Pontiac Solstice. Some readers felt we were overly harsh given that the Solstice is, after all, "just a roadster." Well, the 2006 Mazda Miata is proof that a small roadster can have plenty of storage points if designed properly. Following is a compendium of the Miata's interior storage areas with accompanying photos.
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- Posted by: Brent Romans November 10, 2006, 10:44 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
November 6, 2006
I took command of our 2006 Mazda Miata last week after piloting the long-term Toyota Camry for an extended duration. I was amused by my initial reactions. Compared to the Camry, the Miata was stiff riding and cramped. The quick steering meant I had to constantly pay attention in order to avoid lane deviation. The throttle and clutch pedals were tricky to modulate...
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- Posted by: Brent Romans November 6, 2006, 8:45 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
October 30, 2006
Okay, this is going to be an apples to watermelons comparison, so here goes. Over the weekend, as a friend and I made our temporary escape from L.A. I was (once again) struck by the startlingly large percentage of full-size pickup trucks and SUVs that had just one or two people in them. Granted, I'm sure some of these people have families, but by and large, these big rigs seemed to be occupied by young singletons. I know these image-conscious folks (who always get the heavier, thirstier 4WD versions of these trucks just in case they decide to someday go trail bashing or in case L.A...
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- Posted by: johnnyturbo October 30, 2006, 12:23 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
October 24, 2006
Last night when I was granted the MX-5 keys, in my eagerness to truly enjoy this convertible, I opted for top-down driving even though it was a cool autumn evening. I rarely get to have this car for the night since it's in demand so I had to take advantage of it while I had the chance, 60-degree weather be damned. I knew I'd be OK though since the MX-5 is equipped with a nifty climate control feature that allows you to adjust for driving with the top down. I haven't been in many convertibles before but this is the first time I've seen such a feature...
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- Posted by: Caroline Pardilla October 24, 2006, 10:21 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
October 23, 2006
I've only driven our long-term MX-5 for maybe 250 or so of
its 12,687 miles in the Edmunds fleet, which is a shame since it's our only
true sports car. Being a sports car guy I've been missing out. Getting out of
SUVs and minivans for four days was real relief. The little roadster refreshed
with honest sports-car intentions, textbook rear-drive handling and brilliant
steering...
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- Posted by: Dark Helmet October 23, 2006, 10:36 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
October 16, 2006
Shifting gears takes more than just a lever, clutch, and a monkey behind the wheel.
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- Posted by: Jay Kavanagh October 16, 2006, 8:50 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
October 12, 2006
I hopped onto the freeway last night and reacquainted myself with one thing I really like about the Miata: its low beltline. The waistlines on cars keep rising in the name of style and safety, but usually the tradeoff is outward visibility. Yet, the ability to see in all directions (and steer around potential trouble) is one of the few advantages you have in a tiny, open-top roadster. And even with its top up, that's exactly what the MX-5 allows me to do...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches October 12, 2006, 12:07 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
October 11, 2006
The last time I drove our long-term MX-5 was in August. Although we didn't part on bad terms, when I got into the Miata last night, top up because it was chilly and we didn't have jackets, and dove into stop-and-go traffic, I just couldn't connect with the car I way I wanted to. Granted, these weren't ideal conditions, and I was hungry and had a million other things on my mind, but every throttle input I made felt jerky, every brake application felt abrupt, and no matter how I adjusted the seat, I couldn't get comfortable.
This morning, though, it was warmer, I was more relaxed, I put the top down, and I began to feel some of the old connection when I drove the MX-5...
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- Posted by: Erin Riches October 11, 2006, 11:09 AM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
October 9, 2006
Our Miata has the base sound system. Although it has four speakers, they're all up front, yet the system has a front/rear fader function. Go ahead and set it all the way to the "back" speakers and you'll get the sounds of silence as the audio signal goes to the non-existent speakers. The head unit also has a "load" button for the CD deck, making the unaware think that there's a changer here…but that's negatory as well...
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- Posted by: johnnyturbo October 9, 2006, 1:28 PM
- Categories: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
October 2, 2006
Last Friday, I left work at around 6:00. The on-ramp to the 10 "freeway" is right up the street from the office. But when I saw the parking lot spilling out from the 10 to the on-ramp, I opted out (like I do most of the time) and took the side streets ("surface streets" here in L.A.) home. While stopped in a line of traffic at a light, the Miata received a love tap from some kid in an F-150 4x2 SuperCab pickup. This happened at a point where it went from 2 lanes to 3, the 3rd lane sprouting out as a left-turn lane.
So how'd it happen? The impatient "dude" (he was sporting tats and droopy pants and his "ride" was sporting 20s) was c