I currently own a 1989 honda crx si (see my review on that car) which is modified quite a bit for weekend racing purposes. It gets very good gas mileage (40mpg) and moves like stink. It represents a very raw ride in the sense that it is loud, every bump on the road can be felt, and the seats are less then ideal for long trips. All this information that is given back to me from the car is good as the driver... as a passenger it can be less then appealing to ride in the car for any length of time. Enter my 2001 Mazda Miata LS with 6 Speed manual transmission and ABS brakes. The Miata represents a very civilized ride and has all the creature comforts one would expect from a luxury car, power everything, Bose sound system, soft leather seats that are extremely comfortable and supportive, stylish 16" wheels, chrome door handles on the interior and even plush floor mats are standard, not to mention the car comes standard with larger brakes then the base model Miata, and has a limited slip differential stock (used to transfer power to the drive wheel with the most grip)

that being said, let me tell you my comparison between the 2 cars.

things I like about the Miata:
1) top down fun is the ultimate... I have been driving with the top down every single chance I get... night time, day time, high way, local... I really love having no roof!

2) drives like a Cadillac in comparison to my crx... its quiet, rides softer, sits higher, easier to get in and out of, and has all the luxuries I can imagine useful in a car. Even my mom commented how nice it is inside and that the ride was MUCH better then the crx (my crx is very raw, lots of information going on... but most passengers don't want information)

3) the seats are the best... they may look like a surfboard sticking out the back, but they are extremely comfortable... much more so then any other generation IMO and even more supportive then my crx seats (which I thought were supportive, but uncomfortable on long drives)

4) Bose radio system is loud... it's not the clearest, but when you have the top down, does it matter? the acoustics are so horrible at that point, that you just want to hear the music, never mind listening to it... I still need to do some comparisons against my crx's after-market sound system...

5) the looks I get when I am on the road... not sure if it's because all the guys on the road think its a "chick" driving the car or just because it's a very attractive car... in either case, whether I am on the road or it's parked on the street at lunch... lots of people look at the car (too bad the girls are looking at the car and not at me *sniff*)

6) the handling is good... the limits are higher then my crx, if not only because it has better tires then my crx, but regardless, this car will most likely run rings around my csp crx in an auto-x (running current street tires on crx) I think the crx might be able to put down a bit faster times with the race rubber on and the Miata with stock tires. but we will see

7) the steering response is phenomenal... really point and shoot driving...

8) AC is strong and it doesn't seem to impede the acceleration as much as my crx's I usually end up shutting the AC off when I need to go off the line in the crx... in the Miata, I just let it keep going and its quite nice

things I dislike or am not pleased with in the Miata:

1) fuel economy is ok so far... I am not totally disappointed, but obviously anything less then my crx is going to take some getting used to. thus far I have managed 37.5, 29, 33mpg for the 3 times I have filled up. the car was getting premium until this last tank in which 87 octane went in... it's cheaper and the owners manual clearly states that you can use regular or super instead of premium at a slight decrease in performance... we'll see how slight that decrease is (also mazda defines premium as anything 91 and over)

2) the car is too quiet stock... I understand that previous generations had really good sounding exhaust notes from the factory... well they made this one quiet... too quiet in my opinion, especially since I am used to driving a crx with all the breathing mods, lots of wonderful noises when I drive the crx... the Miata is so quiet, it causes me to just drive mellow and not really want to push it hard on the highway... after all there is no audible reward for flooring it, so it seems less worthwhile...

3) that brings me to my next thing, the Miata seems to have less throttle response then my crx... I'm not sure if its just a psychological thing or my butt dyno is busted, but I would swear my crx is quicker then the Miata... I think it might have something to do with the gearing, but when I am doing 70 in the Miata in 6th gear, and I stomp on it, I don't feel the car pulling at all, in the crx at 70, there is still urgency to go faster... and I like how it actually feels like I am accelerating... maybe I just need to start downshifting instead of stepping on the gas... mind you this is all seat of the pants feel, I haven't actually timed the Miata from 70-90 to see how long it takes to pull in top gear, but the crx did it in like 15-18 seconds I think (it's been a while)

4) the boot cover is a PITA to put on... I'm still not quite sure what the purpose of the thing is, other then to maybe prevent sun damage to the interior part of the roof or possibly aerodynamic reasons, but otherwise, it seems pointless to put on, especially since its a chore to do so...

5) the roof is a bit heavy to pull up... especially compared to the mr2 spyder... I wish they would design the new one to have a roof that folds forward like the mr2 spyder... it would make it so much more convenient. (my friend has one, so we were comparing)

6) 6 speed is nice, it's very mechanical feeling, it is smooth, but I'm still not completely sold on it yet... if you are shifting easy, it is very easy to row the gears, if you put emphasis in your shifts, you are greeted with lots of grinding and sometimes missed shifts... could be the transmission/clutch, or it could be me hamfisting still in those times of urgency.

7) the storage compartment on the armrest opens the wrong way in my opinion... the catch should be on the other side so that it opens up to you... getting to the catch is quite tough on this side... either that or it should have opened up towards the rear of the car... that would have been best probably.

8) although steering response is almost immediate, I feel that I am not getting as much information from the steering wheel as I do in the crx... that goes the same with the brakes in the Miata, although they are quite good, and with ABS, I am sure I can stop in shorter distances more consistently then in my crx, the brakes on my crx feel stronger and I can definitely feel myself modulating braking power better in the crx... I guess that is to be expected from a car with manual everything Vs a car with power everything.

9) I am slightly disappointed at the amount of interior pockets on the car... I think previous generations had more storage bins etc... but I am not totally sure about that... with the center console bin being filled with a few CD's, that leaves the cubby below the radio, and the 2 small compartments on the doors for storage... that's not enough in my opinion... also the glovebox and the lone map pocket on the back of the passenger seat, I would have liked it if they had a matching map pocket on the back of the drivers seat.

======UPDATE======
Jan. 2, 2002:

I've now owned my Miata for almost 5 months and the car has gotten quite a bit better with age. I have about 9500 miles on the car now and it is officially "broken in". (the first of those 9000 to happen in the first 3 months or so) The car felt more broken in at about 5000-6000 miles. The car being "broken in" has quite a few nice benefits, like better acceleration.

A) the car feels much more responsive off the line... i can safely say that the miata feels faster then my crx off the line, that 70-90 test in top gear is still slower, but off the line, i am pretty sure the crx is going to lose a quarter mile race.

B) gas mileage still is poor in my opinion, but it has been right on the money as far as the window sticker goes. i've been averaging 26-30 mpg combined city/highway driving. So I guess I can't complain much.

C) The exhaust note has gotten a bit better, but it's still very quiet and reserved in comparisson to my aftermarket exhaust on the crx. I drive the car much faster and harder then i used to and the car actually told me it likes to driven that way :) *wink* hehe

D) The Bose sound system is still very loud and clear... but there is a distinct hole in the sound field that the music (especially classical music) is severly lacking in mids. Pop music, rock and dance music sounds fine as there isn't much fidelity in that kind of music anyways... for that, the system is perfect (loud and bass heavy). Bass is very strong for a stock system with no subwoofer and only door mounted woofers. It's good enough that I have no plans on changing to an aftermarket system til this one dies.

E) The top feels much easier to pull back up after doing it a bunch of times... perhaps i just got stronger?

F) The boot cover still is stiff and difficult to get on, but manageable now that i'm used to it.

G) The transmission has broken in too, and it's much easier to drive these days... much smoother then when I first got the car.

H) Something I forgot to mention about this car is that the horn is incredibly pathetic. There is only one horn element (most cars have 2, a high and low pitch) the miata only has the high pitch. I once used the horn in anger at somebody who had cut me off, excpecting the usual satisfaction from letting somebody know they ticked me off by driving horribly, i was instantly embarassed and ashamed I even tried to use the horn... as it is SO pathetic. I have since upgraded the horns with an aftermaket horn produced by serious auto... the new horns feature 2 electric horns that sound like a '72 Buick Delta and sound at a deafening 128dB... this is much more satisfying :)

I) Leather seats are cold in the winter... since they don't have any seat heaters, they tend to stay cold until the your butt warms them up or your butt gets cold and just adapts to the cold seat... i think i might add seat heaters if i plan on driving this car more in the winter.

J) The projector beam headlights provide top notch lighting... and clearly define the road, lines and conditions of the road w/o issue. I'm extremely pleased with them.
Amount Paid (US$): 23327
Condition: New
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: Mazda Miata LS w/ 6 speed and ABS