Miatafun's Feature Car

Carlton Joseph
Califorina

The Miata Choice

I needed a car just to have fun in and the Miata was my final choice but other contenders are listed below.

One day after mountain biking I decided to test drive the MX5 (I had already done plenty of  research) and once I got into the car and drove it
I had to have it. Best of all the dealer gave me the price I wanted.

The contenders were:
1 - New - Pontiac Solstice
2 - New - Mustang
3 - New - BMW Mini
4 - Pre Owned - Honda S2000
5 - Pre Owned - Mercedes Benz Slk 230
6 - Pre Owned - BMW Z3
7 - Pre Owned - Porsche Boxster

All of the above cars are good cars and I could have been happy with any of them.

I am sure all of you are familiar with the negatives of the Miata so I won't go into that but will list what I think are the positives.

The MX:
1 - Looks great
2 - Priced reasonably
3 - Is very reliable (i.e. has a great record)
4 - Is good for the environment (good on gas)
5 - Has a huge number of after market kits
6 - Is the most raced (track) car in North America

Now I will list only the major points of why I did not chose one of the other contenders.

Pontiac Solstice
Originally suppose to be released in September but only a limited quantity available due to manufacturing issues. The net says there are leaking problems with the convertible and rattling around the wheel wells.
Bottom line reliability might not be great.

Mustang
Too big and not as gas friendly.

Mini
Was not willing to play the mark-up game (dealer options). Final dollar value was bad compared to every car mentioned here.

Honda S2000
Ride a little harsh for daily use.

SLK 230, Z3, Boxster
There are stigmatisms associated with these cars and I did not want them to be applied to me.

(Stop reading if you only like PG13 stuff)
How do you tell the difference between a cactus and a Porsche?
The cactus has the @#$%^ on the outside. Nuff said.

It would be great to hear what all the Miata lovers think.

CU,
Carlton.