In surveys that J.D. Power and Associates has conducted with verified owners of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the people that actually own one told us what they like and don’t like about their car.

What Owners Like:

“Overall, it is a great car to drive.”

“I bought the MX-5 for pure driving pleasure.”

“Excellent handling, balance, and power-to-weight ratio. It provides all of this 100%.”

“Handling – car is brilliant around corners.”

“The way it handles [is] the best!”

“Steering is very quick and precise.”

“Responsive steering rules the road on curves.”

“Fun car to drive and go around corners.”

“Fantastic shifter [and] clutch – perfect ratios on gears 1-4.”

“Engine power is exceptional.”

“Great acceleration and braking.”

“Very quick and agile, very fun to drive.”

“The car is a speed demon. Very surprising.”

“Driving dynamics – handling, acceleration, shifting, braking.”

“Performance. [It’s a] joy to put it through the turns.”

“Driving gives real pleasure.”

“Appearance. I was looking for a replacement for my last Miata. Nothing else I saw on the road appealed to me.”

“Styling is beautiful and aggressive.”

“Exterior appearance is fabulous.”

“Power retractable hardtop [is a] masterful design.”

“Power retractable hardtop [is] convenient for Pacific Northwest.”

“Power retractable hardtop is the reason I bought the car.”

“[I like the] height adjuster on seat. I can see out!”

“More trunk space than competition.”

“Great trunk space for a 2-seat convertible.”

“Solidly built; not tinny at all for a small car.”

“Fit, finish, overall quality look and feel.”

“Great interior design and materials.”

“The paint job and colors are outstanding.”

“Value for money – well priced for a sports car.”

“Value – much more bang for the buck!”

“It’s a neat little car. I feel young in it.”

“Zoom zoom.”


What Owners Don’t Like:

“Driving in snow.”

“Gas mileage – I was hoping for 30-35.”

“Location of gas tank release, behind the driver.”

“Option of more power would be nice.”

“Engine could use a little more power.”

“5th and 6th gear ratios – why so close together?”

“Manual transmission – would prefer wider spaced ratios, taller 6th gear.”

“Harshness on bad roads.”

“Noisy on rough, bumpy roads.”

“Run-flat tires give rough ride over bumps and bad roads.”

“Roof rattles a bit on turns, bumps.”

“Road noise.”

“Could be quieter, but I wanted a sports car and did not expect the silence of a Lexus.”

“Wind noise even with hard top closed.”

“Interior noise from the road and wind is annoying.”

“Location/arrangement of storage spaces.”

“Lockable storage in the interior feels insufficient.”

“Practically no storage inside the car.”

“Cupholders [are] not needed [and] waste space.”

“Cupholders should be eliminated.”

“Interior storage – lose the door bottle holders and replace with small item storage.”

“Center console cup holders – make this storage.”

“Center cupholders are useless with manual transmission but door panel bottle holder is good.”

“Cupholders in center console – tall cups get in way of shifting gears.”

“[Model with power retractable hardtop has] less storage than soft top convertible.”

“It’s a bit difficult to get in and out.”

“Hard to get in and out of.”

“Visibility with top up could be better.”

“Visibility to change lanes.”

“Blind spots on side of vehicle – very dangerous.”

“Visibility with top up is poor in rear quarters.”

“With the top up, lane changing is dangerous – can’t see.”

“Foot/leg room on passenger side is a little tight.”

“Passenger leg room less than driver’s side.”

“Leg room is tight on passenger side.”

“Not enough leg room.”

“Limited space for driver’s feet.”

“Room/space – could use more leg room.”

“Seats – backrest isn’t comfortable.”

“Seats are too stiff and leather should be perfect.”

“The seats are horrible. I almost returned the car and will not be likely to buy another Mazda.”

“Driver seat comfort – seat back re-contoured for obese Americans. Not as comfortable as previous model.”

“Right front seat needs to be adjustable like driver’s seat.”

“Would like to be able to drop seat lower. My head feels too high.”

“Quality and look of interior upholstery seems cheap for level of car.”

“Interior materials could have a better feel.”

“Interior needs more soft-touch surfaces.”

“Interior trim and materials could be better.”

“Cheap interior plastic.”

“Visors are cheap! Hard to use/adjust.”

“Sun visor is too small and not very adjustable.”

“Visors not very useful in preventing sun glare from many angles.”

“Sun visors – limited range of adjustability.”

“Fancy Bose sound system audio quality was a disappointment.”

“Audio system bass response lacking.”

“High volume music really crummy.”

“Needs navigation system.”

“Advanced Keyless Entry – [I] prefer a key.”

“Controls on arm rest/center console actuated by elbows, very hard to use.”

“Controls for power door locks [and] power mirrors – position is awkward.”

“Placement of window and door lock – just weird.”

“No spare tire.”

“Bigger trunk with spare tire desired.”

“Trunk is more useful but opening [is] smaller than old Miata.”

“Lack of color choices.”

Note: This review was published on February 4, 2010. It may not reflect data that has become available for this vehicle since that date.