2011 Mazda MX5 Miata Review - All of the virtues and none of the vices of the original Miata
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- It's been a long time since a car has made us spontaneously giggle like an excited child, but the Mazda MX-5 managed to evoke that reaction within 15 seconds of climbing in the driver's seat. Having spent time in previous iterations, we approached the newest MX-5 with some ambivalence.
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Produced/Shot/Edited by Chris Blanchette
It has hydraulic not electric power steering. Electric power steering didn't come till the ND.
lol how did they mess that up. just to show how unprofessional autoguild sometimes are.
Opening the roof... you don't select "one" of the two buttons on the dash, you select the right button. The left one closes the top.
My '97 is still going strong with 172,000 miles. I'm 48 and have owned all kinds of cars. The MX5 is, hands down, the best car I've ever owned.
Brock Landers Is it better than a Honda S2000?
@@azizhachimi8744 a lot of people think the S2000 as a "better Miata". I mean it's bigger, more powerful and stuff right? Well, seems it's not. I love the S2000 but it's a different car and there's a reason the Miata is the top selling roadster and still in production since the 89 :) but again, I love the S2000 too!
Mazda perfected the roadster. MX-5 an affordable 2nd motor to own and drive.
@@azizhachimi8744 MX 5 build quality surpasses HS2000
FYI: the original MX-5 engine was a 1.6L not 1.8 and as of 2014 has always had hydraulic power steering not electronic as stated by this video.
I have a 97 M Edition. I love it! My wife and I can go all day in it with no physical problems. I've done a few performance mods so keeping up with V8's on the highway is no problem either. Out on the back roads the V8's can not corner like the MX-5 does. If I put $20k into my 97 I'd have a supercar that would out perform and out run bigger heavier muscle cars.
First car, 2006 Miata 3rd gen limited.. Best choice ever :D I am having a blast
I wonder how big his sunglasses are
Actually the cubby hole behind the seats holds quite a lot - I keep two baseball caps, 2 pairs of sunglasses and my iPod charger back there and there's still room to spare.
The dashboard glove box holds a fair amount of stuff too so all in all I'm pretty impressed with the storage space. The boot/trunk is big enough to hold luggage for a long weekend or a weekly shop.
I don't find the plastic on the dashboard cheap - its actually a bit more robust than having Merc Benz leather everywhere that
the RTHTOP will cost you an additional 3500 msrp and when it breaks down it will cost a small fortune to fix- just ask my brother- i stayed with the soft top
+Maximus Minimus where can we find your brother to ask him ?
The soft top looks better, weighs less, opens and closes quicker and you save 3500! But i can see the hard top has advantages too, it just a personal choice.
how much was it to fix the PRHT?
Cheap plastics? I think not. I have a 2006 NC MX-5 & the plastic bits are still in perfect condition even though I live in a regional town in Australia where temperatures get into the high 40's (celcius) in summertime.
As a point of reference I used to own a 2001 MGF soft top " british sportscar" which was "MAGNIFICENTLY " unreliable & something would break at least every 6 months. ie suspension, wheel bearings, radiator , coolant system & yes the engine ceased to function too! ( a blown head due to the shitty coolant system & radiator) & yes the PLASTIC used in the MGF was total shit, degrading to a very unpleasant look & feel!
I AM SO GLAD I BOUGHT THE NC MAZDA MX5 HARDTOP!
Instead of paying for costly repairs on an MG again & again, I can now enjoy the FAMOUS reliability of a MAZDA & choose to UPGRADE certain aspects of the car
as I choose, instead of " unexpectedly being forced to pay for repairs"......... NUFF SAID!!!
@Nightbird I own a Miata and participate in clubsport events with my local Miata club. I've rolled it a total of zero times. You might want to consider driving school if rollovers are such a big issue for you.
20 years ago, the stick shift was stored in the trunk for retrieval whenever one needed to shift thru one of the three speeds available.
does the NC suffer from non-working air conditioning after a certain amount of miles?
my NB does not have AC anymore and it seems like a common thing.
A lot of reviewers complain about the hard plastics in the cabin. I have to say I'd rather have those than the typical "soft touch" coating a lot of European manufacturers use on their plastics that just end up peeling off and aging the interior faster than necessary. LOVE THE MX-5! WANT THE MX-5!
The power steering is not electric.
Yes electric. I have exactly the same
+Ray Page the NC does not have an electric power steering.
Quang Lam sorry! I was wrong...
Clean, simple, and quick. Excellent budget roadster
Yes, the MX-5 is most definitely a sportscar...Best selling one in the world, according to Guiness Book of World Records. By definition, a sportscar, in its purest sense, is RWD, 2-seater, Front or Mid-Engine. So, MX-5 qualifies on ALL counts.
The Miata was released in 1989, not 1997.
I agree, most of these reviews just high-light the pros but never the cons. It was a good idea to get a previous Miata owner to inspect the differences.
@josh1303 They've actually made it larger than the one made back in the 90s. So try it out, you may have just the right amount of room in there.
Completely agree, it's just a dash! Your car doesnt get faster or slower from it, in fact, this plastic is lighter than leather or metal, so it makes the whole car lighter, resulting in extra speed! (Not noticably ofcourse)
@ilovecats748 Yes and no: the 1989-1993 had the 1.6 engine. In '94, all American models received the 1.8 featured in this guy's Miata. Elsewhere in the world, customers could choose either the 1.6 or 1.8 engine. The current car is available with only the 2.0 in the US, while a 1.8 130 hp variant is available overseas.
First Miata came out in 1990, it's been about 20 years.
Depends if you want a dedicated sportscar/roadster or a flat-out muscle car. Of course, you can now get the Camaro as a convertible...then you'd have the best of both worlds, I guess. MX-5 will provide more precise handling thru the twisties, the Camaro will obviously go faster in a straight line, but less precise handling...both are good cars, just depends what you really want the car to do for you :)
A 5feet10 guy fits to every single car, so nc guys pls. tell me if i fit into a soft top, or an RHT better? I am 6feet4, cant fit into the NA, NB, ND but never tried the NC, and i heard that that is the roomiest.
@RedAffinity UPDATE: I just received an email from Mazda and my local dealer was correct, the "roll bars" are ONLY cosmetic. Here is what they said: "I'm calling from Mazda Customer Assistance, and I just spoke with you regarding the 2012 MX 5. I did confirm internally here along with my supervisor as well, that the the roll bars are just cosmetic. Again this is cosmetic they do not serve a purpose in terms of safety protection. So, again, their cosmetic."
Sad..Mazda should be ashamed of this.
Does it finally have a tilt steering wheel?
@uRabbit
he meant 20 years ago since the first Miata, which was the 1990 Miata
the 1997 Miata was the same model as the first 1990 Miata.
"A flick of the snatch"
which is better the chevrolet camaro or this
I wonder if he meant the car's introduction, which was 1989.
Great review accept there was one factual error. The Mx-5 Miata DOES NOT HAVE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING. It's still a hydraulic unit. This is straight out of the spec sheet on mazdausa.com "Hydraulic Power Assist Steering (HPAS)". Common guys, this car's been out since 2005 as a 2006 model year, there were very few electric steering units back then. The Miata's steering isn't even a electro-hydraulic systems let alone rack-assisted electric.
The first Miata came out in 1990. He wasn't talking about that car in specific.
Mazda needs to work on their interiors. My 95' Miata has a two-tone full leather interior. New Miata interiors are just a sea of Tic-Tac plastics. Hopefully Mazda gets their act together with the 2013 model.
I like the car low maintenance interior.glove box is good size foe a roadster. Engine is sufficient. Don’t compare it to something European. That junk you’ll work on all the time and cost twice as much. The guy reviewing the car needs to stay on his schwinn because he don’t know much about cars.
where do they get that white trim
where is this?
The front of this car looks like the stay puft marshmallow man from Ghostbusters
LZ, I've had a few muscle cars in my life. First off I don't have an extra $20k. Secondly MC's do not handle like the MX-5. Thirdly, MC's do not get 30 mpg. Fourthly, a MC won't fit in my garage. Fifthly, a convertable muscle car weighs way more. I had a 64 Ford Galaxy 500 XL convertable powered by a 429 police intercepter motor with a T-10 four speed. It was way heavier than a 2 door. Though I'd love to have that car back for the local car shows!!
"The shifter still has that great tight little feeling"
Is that really the best you could do to describe what is probably the best modern shifter?!?
Also, the MZR 2.0 engine is heavily modified from what you'll find in a 3, although technically, like you said it is the same basic engine architecture.
kind of torn between this and the camaro which has decisively more power and still gets 30 MPG on 87 vs 91 octane with the mx5
@ajeemama for overall day to day use, the miata would probably be better. From a performance standpoint, the camaro would probably be better. It is all up to your personal preferences
The first miatas were 1.6s...
I say get the soft top
last summer my buddy and i were going coasting in his miata and we crashed and totaled the fucker. the airbag got punctured by the shattered windshield and exploded in my face. what i had to say about it when i recovered was " fuck, we cant go coasting anymore"
I'll always place handling before power looks like the MX-5 assuming I find one for 5k
And 20 years later, it still looks the same. I don't hate the car, but really, you don't think 20 years later it would look MUCH better?
1997 wasn't 20 years ago, but that is what it sounds like he is saying. I know he is referring to the 89-97 NA Miata, but still - phrasing. Second, for a Miata "expert" he failed a pretty simple fact - the original Miata was NOT a 1.8L engine, the 1.8 wasn't in the Miata until 94 - that is the year it got the Protege / 323 engine. Anyone who knows even the slightest thing about Miata engines knows THAT - the reviewer is no expert.
Your comment does not validate his any more than ice cream validates world hunger.
@0:45
I didn't realize that 1997 was 20 years ago...
How is a hard top not about performance? The hard top makes the car much more ridged and is noticeable in the handling. Obviously these guys dont do a lot of driving other than morning commutes
@winemkr I wish this was true, but I personally contacted Mazda and asked them if the roll bars were "real" and able to function as such, and they called me back after checking with their corporate headquarters and stated No, the roll bars were purely cosmetic and do not offer roll over protection.
Truly disgraceful a large car company like this wouldn't offer this protection, especially when you consider how aggressively these cars are driven. Thank goodness euro car makers offer it.
Vin Diesel's little brother is doing car reviews? lol
He forgot to mention how the "roll bars" are only cosmetic (according to Mazda) which means if some drunk driver hits you and rolls over the car (it's so small & light it wouldn't take much to do this) you would either break your neck from the weight of the car coming down on you..or just lose your head. And don't think the "hard top" would protect you in a roll over..it's made of lightweight plastic.
Mazda doesn't care about your safety in this casket on wheels. Unlike BMW, MB, Audi, or VW.
Same with my Harley. Try not being scared.
@@edwardschmitt5710 A motorcycle doesn't try to fool you with fake roll bars that you are safe. You know what you're getting with a bike and that you better have an organ donor card handy. Not so with the Miata.
@@Nightbird. like a normal car isn't going to insta-crush when it rolls over.
@@edwardschmitt5710 It's not. They are tested for that.
@@Nightbird. So my Sierra that weighs 6500 pounds will just not crush its roof? Wow magical.
Perfect car
Surpasses Porsche for reliability. Built for driving not for repairs.
Really love the car! Now, for the young man who gave the review, well...perhaps some additional training in front of camera would help! For one thing stop looking off camera, really bad and second some excitement in his voice would go a long way in making the review more entertaining to watch. We all have our learning curves, perhaps his is still in the middle of the corner...a lttle ruff but you are making these videos for our intertainment & information, right?!
Can you recline the seats lol
I like this review, very realistic, the material in this car is cheap, for the price 28K, there are much much better out there.
why they discontinue the s2k ! sob
Great, tight little feeling.
WRONG no electric steering....
@RedAffinity The interior of the new Miata's are horrible. My 1995 Miata has a two-tone, full leather interior. Even if you opt for the leather seats in the new Miata, you still get a dashboard made of Tic-Tac boxes. That said, the Miata was never about luxuries (but a handsome interior is never a bad thing).
will be my 1st car .... if i ever got a degree
I think Mazda should have rubberized it like VW does, but then again, they tend to peel off after baking in the sun. Hmm, never mind...
"We expect better" European cars better??? This car rates as one of the most reliable, and easy to fix cars ever made. The European competition are money pits!
Im 20. 1992 (or 1991) was not a good year for cars I guess. Except for beautiful supercars.
why does he think from 1997 to 2011 is 20 years??
first miata was 1.6
Hate to correct this guy but the original had a 1.6 liter not a 1.8 liter...
And the roll bars r real it would not be able to be sold in the usa
I am 6 foot 2 and I could not fit in the 1997 miata so 2011 is probably the same!
What ridiculous comments and incorrect information. Get your facts right before posting a “review”
Me Ya tah
european rivals? Which rival?
Z4, mercedes slk
nice car
What European rivals are there for this price in a rear drive convertible? And yeah, 1997 + 20 = 2011.
hydrolic is better power steering
Good review
This is a car that's dying to be an ev.
2:43 ...... really? that's where it is. coulda fooled me.
Ahhh i do love my honda s2000's engine :)
Actually, that's what HE said.
that guy was being a jerk about the old car. if it was that bad no one would have bought it in the first place
not so much tormenting but,
tough love...yeah, tough love!
seriously, i came for a review,
1 that has info; both qualitative
& quantitive - u know to expand
my knowledge of a car that i wish
i could fit in? if he's not delivering
facts, he needs to know. corrected
somewhere else? i am unaware &
apologize
dont worry about the reviewer.
you gotta be made of somewhat
tough stuff to not only review 1
of the world's most recognized
cars but, to broadcast yourself
here? come on
The music is too loud and at times annoying
I don't think it has electric power steering!!
@sargeantmalakian
Fuck this car it might have more head room but I doubt it be comfortable for my height!
5'10? You're a giant. :-s
the original miata had a 1.6 !!!!!!
why would you not just look at the engine right beside you ???
The na came with a 1.6 then went to a na8 with a 1.8 the original was called a na6 I have one
and its still got that great, tight little feeling ----> that's what she said
@TheJabrother s2000 shifter is 10x better
I dont understand why people complain about the dash having hard plastic-__- its not like ur gonna be touching the dash the whole time, and ive never had a friend come into my car and be like "u have a dash with hard plastic? What a loser!" Like seriously? Cmon now who cars if its hard plastic-___-
Me.
Sports Car?
MA zda
its just.. am to tall for it :(
this guy's ears and teeth are weirding me out.
But your car looks like a freakin' transformer!
inaccurate details, incorrect details and bad math
please try harder next time with regard to the research
presentation and flow were decent but, that other poster that said you were looking around is right - lotta tail in that neighbourhood? because then I understand but, just do a retake next time
Not a very thorough review for a drivers car.