I've wanted an MX-5 Miata since they appeared on the scene in the late 1980s. Unfortunately, I'm now a poor college student on a tight budget, so when it came to buying a car recently, I settled for the Miata's little brother, the Mazda MX-3. The car was a 1993 MX-3 in mint condition, with 47,000 miles for just $5,000.

The MX-3 (known as the "MX-3 Precidia" in Canada) was discontinued in the United States in 1995 and worldwide in 1998. Mazda cited the fact that sports coupes were not as in demand as sedans and that the car maker wanted to refocus its efforts on producing sedans. Too bad for Mazda. The MX-3 is a worthy car to keep in any car manufacturer's lineup.

My 1993 MX-3 is the base model, including air conditioning, rear defroster, trunk and gas tank releases, and AM/FM cassette stereo. The only non-standard item on the car is the presence of automatic transmission.

This is a car that screams for a manual transmission. Unfortunately, the original owner ordered an automatic transmission. The transmission is geared very well for general everyday driving, but the car would certainly get better performance with a manual transmission. Overall, pickup is relatively quick for the extremely small 88 HP engine under the hood.

The 4 cylinder engine in the base model is extremely underpowered for this car. Even though performance is adequate, there are times when the car is sluggish. This is perhaps why a large percentage of MX-3s were sold with the 6 cylinder engine option.

I have taken a few lengthy (6+ hours) road trips in this car since I bought it, and although the interior is cramped (but normal for a sports car this size), it is comfortable for long hauls. The front bucket seats provide excellent back support. The rear seats, however, are another story. Don't expect anyone to be comfortable for more than a few minutes in the back seats. Besides head room being at a minimum due to the low slope of the rear window, the seats themselves are terribly contoured for someone to sit in them comfortably.

Being a hatchback, the car has quite a bit of storage space, especially after folding down the rear seats.

My biggest complaint about the MX-3 is the terrible blind spots. There are no rear side windows, so the driver must lean forward to look out the side door window to see if there is a car in the blind spots before switching lanes or merging. You have to really take a long glance to make sure no cars are in your way.

Overall, I would recommend this car to anyone looking for a compact sports car. If I had to do it over again, I would search for a model with a V6 because the V4 does not do this car justice, but when shopping for used cars, you can't always get every option. This is a very low maintenance, stylish, fun to drive sports car. Mazda had a winner. Too bad they let it go so soon.