By: New Car Test Drive Staff
Photo Credit: Mazda

Overview

Eighteen years after its late 1989 introduction, the Mazda Miata still puts a big grin on our faces. The Mazda MX-5, as it's now called, has been thoroughly updated twice, including a full re-design for 2006, but its lighthearted spirit remains intact.

This is a car to love, a car that delivers what the English sports cars of the 1950s and 60s promised but never quite managed: a delightful, supremely capable, well-engineered driving experience in a vehicle that starts every time and runs seemingly forever, with near-faultless Japanese quality and reliability.

A Power Retractable Hard Top, a solid roof that lowers in seconds at the touch of a button, is available for the MX-5. Called the PRHT, it provides the advantages of a hardtop overhead: reduced wind and road noise, increased security and a sense of solidity. Yet it folds completely out of sight for stylish cruising. What's more, not a whit of the driving experience has been sacrificed by the addition of hardtop practicality.

Traditional soft tops in cloth or vinyl come standard.

Five trim packages are available, along with two suspension setups and a dozen standalone options. So there are lots of choices, ranging from a $21,000 stripper to a loaded $28,000 model. In any case, the MX-5 is a rewarding sports car at an enticing price.

New for 2008: A six-disc CD changer comes on Touring and Grand Touring models; a seat-height adjustment has been added, and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System comes on all models.