2006 Mazda Miata Sports Car Reviews & Ratings

The all-new 2006 Miata is bigger than before, which results in a marginally roomier cabin. It's still not accommodating for full-figured or especially tall sports car lovers. Most notably, and although the official yardstick records the legroom added by the longer wheelbase and overall length at less than a half-inch, the rearward seat travel is extended by about an inch. And the car's expanded girth yields an additional 1.4 inches in hip room. Otherwise, the 0.7-inch higher roofline boosts headroom by less than half an inch, and even without the spare tire, the trunk's 5.3 cubic feet capacity is but 0.2 cubic feet larger than the '05's, leading to the conclusion the spare tire was left out more to save weight than to add space for golf clubs.

Overall, interior quality and appearance are way up the charts. Fit and finish is tight and smooth. Expansive, seamless panels and accents bode well for a long life free of squeaks and rattles. Materials are mostly impressive grade. Even the base cloth upholstery is nice, with tightly woven, smooth-finish bolsters and waffle-weave insets. Depending on the weather, the cloth upholstery's waffle-like weave can be more comfortable than leather. Which is a good thing, as leather doesn't appear until the top-of-the-line Grand Touring model. The standard urethane steering wheel and shift knob wrappings are obviously not leather, but they're not offensive, either. Likewise, in ergonomics, the interior of the new Miata rates both pluses and minuses.

Seats are neither overly firm nor too plush, properly bolstered for the type of driving the Miata invites but with only acceptable thigh support. Be ready for noticeable lumbar, too, for which there's no adjustment. Nor is there a seat height adjustment. The tilt steering wheel helps with this, at least a little. The properly stubby shift lever is where it should be. The hand brake isn't, ratcheting up out of the passenger's side of the drive tunnel instead of next to the driver's right thigh.

A single set of power window buttons is located in the center console aft of the shift boot, behind which a retracting cover conceals two cupholders. The center stack hosts intuitively positioned stereo and air conditioning knobs, buttons and recessed toggles that are easy to grasp and manipulate. A power outlet conveniently placed at the base of the C-stack waits for a radar detector or cell phone. Four air registers are spaced across the dash in a hard, shiny accent panel that changes to brushed aluminum for the Limited Edition.

All gauges are analog, with a large, round tachometer and matching speedometer straddling the steering column and shaded from all but trailing sunlight by an arched hood. Fuel level is reported in a small circle to the lower left, coolant temperature by one to the lower right and, thank you very much, oil pressure by a matching triplet positioned top center between the tach and speedo. Running lights are managed by a stalk on the left side of the steering column, windshield wiper and washer by a stalk on the right side. On the Touring model and above, cruise and secondary audio controls utilize the horizontal spokes of the steering wheel. The on/off switch for the stability control system shares space with a pair of switch blanks in the lower dash by the driver's door.

The premium sound system has a function Bose calls Audiopilot that goes beyond simple speed-sensing volume control by actually re-mixing in real time the sound coming out of the speakers to help the stereo punch through the ambient wind and road noises that accompany open-air motoring.

Oversize speakers dominate the forward part of the door panels. Water bottle holders are molded into the space between the speakers and the door pulls/armrests. Inside door latches are mounted up high and forward. There are no map pockets; Mazda officials say this is to make room for strengthened side impact protective hardware. For the most part, only the map pockets ready accessibility is missed, as other storage compensates. There's a lockable glove box that's surprisingly roomy for such a compact interior, a lockable, CD-size bin between the seatbacks, the pouch on the backside of the driver's seat, the bins behind each of the seats and on the Touring model and higher, a small net pocket on the center tunnel in the passenger-side footwell.

Trunk capacity is limited, but semi-functional, as Mazda says the floor is deep enough for a case of tall, 1.5-liter beverage bottles.

Mazda's engineers worked overtime to keep the new Miata from gaining performance-dulling weight. Liberal and expanded use of lightweight and high tensile metals, along with fresh thinking in such basics as mounting accessories to the engine and even how much a rearview mirror weighs, held the '06's weight gain to a mere 22 pounds over the '05. Oh, yeah, dropping the spare tire no doubt helped. But the Miata's designated dieticians still faced added calories from the larger engine, the head-and-thorax side-impact airbags, more robust side-impact hardware, larger wheels and those stylish seatback hoops.

Just as significant from the driver's seat is how the car's mass is distributed. More obvious is that the lower the mass is in the car's chassis, the lower the car's center of gravity and the more stable its ride and handling. But especially important for a sports car, the closer weight is clustered around what engineers call the vertical yaw axis the better. Imagine a broomstick with two five-pound weights attached. It weighs about 10 pounds regardless of where the weights are positioned. Put the weights at the ends of the broomstick, and try to spin it like a baton. It's not so easy to get started, and once started it's difficult to stop. But move the weights next to each other at the center of the broomstick, and starting it spinning and stopping it requires much less effort. This is a simplification because concentrating too much of the mass around the yaw axis can make a car unstable, but you get the point. And so did the Miata's engineers. The engine in the '06 has been moved rearward more than five inches from its relative location in the '05. The gas tank has been moved forward and lowered in the chassis. Relocating the battery from the trunk to under the hood positioned it closer to the yaw axis.

What all this has accomplished in pursuit of the ideal 50/50 front/rear weight balance is, well, if not perfection, then close, depending on how the Miata is loaded. With two people buckled in, Mazda pegs the new Miata's weight distribution at 50/50. With their luggage, it tends to a rear bias; empty, with a full gas tank, it tends to a front bias.

So much for what gratifies the left brain. What's so cool about all this shifting around of mechanicals and components is, it works. The new Miata is a blast to drive. The added 28 horsepower and 15 pound-feet of torque give it a nice kick in the, well, back end. With the wider track and lower center of gravity, it corners flatter than should be possible. Balance is so close to perfect, with two people on board, of course, and with the sporty, asymmetrical-tread tires on the Sport and Grand Touring models, that it holds its line through corners like it was highway striping paint.

Quick, left-right-left transitions on a winding two-lane running along a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Big Island of Hawaii succumb to nearly perfect steering response: light but not twitchy, with good feel regardless of the speed. Crank in more steering to keep it off the rock wall on the outside of a tight switchback on that two-lane, and the rear tires step tentatively sideways. A touch of counter steer and a soft feathering of the gas and the tires stick again, and away you go. What a rush. This is with the stability control system deactivated. With it active, the new Miata's still fun, just not as much.

We didn't have the opportunity to drive any of the three models with the 16-inch wheels and standard tires and five-speed manual, but from experience with last year's Miata, we'd expect a similar experience, albeit at lower thresholds.

The new Miata cruises well, too. Not that this is its forte, but when it must, it can crawl along with stop-and-go traffic, which we thoroughly tested on the Big Island, with no complaint. Ordering the sport suspension buys a firmer ride and increased feel of the road, but not to the point of discomfort. Brake feel is solid, thanks to improved brake system rigidity and strengthened brake hoses, making repetitive and smooth stops a breeze.

The clutch pedal is light and easy to depress. The six-speed manual is a new, in-house unit for 2006 and, sadly, doesn't shift with the same crispness as the '05's; frankly, it's also overkill in traffic, as all that are really needed are three or four gears. The automatic transmission felt right at home in these circumstances. In Activematic mode, gears are selected either by tapping the shift lever forward or back or with steering wheel-mounted paddles. Shifts are smooth, but noticeable, in either mode. In Activematic, the automatic transmission works as it should, too, declining to shift up even with the engine zinging along at its electronically limited 7000 rpm, or to shift down no matter how hard you stomp the gas pedal.

Playing with the gears in a sports car should entertain not only in how the car moves down the road and through curves, but also aurally, in what you hear as well as what you feel. The new Miata's exhaust was less than satisfying, sounding more buzzy than throaty, except under hard acceleration, when it finally generated sounds approaching entertaining. The exhaust note was something Mazda's engineers worked very hard at for the original Miata and we miss that classic sports car sound.

With the top up, there's a little flutter of the unlined fabric at extra-legal speeds, although admittedly, we didn't have much opportunity for this, given the almost police state-like presence of radar-equipped speed cops trolling the island's predominantly two-lane roads. Wind noise is well muted, although the rear window shivers just a bit. Cowl shake, which afflicts most convertibles, is virtually nonexistent, a benefit of bolting the tower struts' bar to the cowl instead of to each other across the engine bay. The re-jiggered top is an exemplar of simplicity and ease of use. Release a single latch at the center of the foremost bow and with one hand push the top back into its recess behind the seats. To reverse the process, reach back with one hand, grab the latch and pull, and the top rises out of its well and settles onto the top of the windshield. Tug down, engage the latch, and it's done. As for wind bluster with the top down, we'll take Mazda's word that the small quarter windows inboard of the outside rearview mirrors do in fact keep the interior calmer, but we could discern no difference with or without the mesh blocker panel in place between the seatback bars.

There's one basic configuration for the 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata, a two-door, two-passenger roadster. Three transmissions are offered, a five-speed manual, a new-for-2006 six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic with Activematic, Mazda's take on a shift-it-yourself slushbox. The automatic isn't as robust as the two manuals, however, so the only engine available, a 2.0-liter, inline four cylinder, comes in two tuning levels, one rated at 170 horsepower, the other, for the automatic, rated at 166 horsepower.

The least expensive Miata, the Club Spec ($20,435), is what once might have been called a stripper model. It's priced to get shoppers in the door or to form the basis for a race car. It comes with a five-speed manual gearbox instead of the six-speed manual; black fabric upholstery; black vinyl top and door panels; urethane-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob; manual door locks; a four-speaker, AM/FM/CD stereo; a storage pocket on the back of the driver's seat; a pair of open storage bins behind the seats; 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels; carpeted floor mats; power outside mirrors and windows. Air conditioning is not offered, nor is cruise control. A tire puncture repair kit fills in for a spare tire; and a four-year/50,000-mile 24-hour roadside assistance program is standard.

Next up is the plain and simple MX-5 ($21,435), which is the Club Spec plus air conditioning and leather-wrapped steering wheel. Mazda offers no factory options on this model.

The list of standard features grows on the MX-5 Touring ($22,435), with the inclusion of cruise control, power door locks, steering wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls, fog lights, a storage net on the passenger side of the center floor tunnel, covers for the storage bins behind the seats and silver trim on the seat back/roll bars. A six-speed Activematic automatic transmission ($1,100) is optional.

The MX-5 Sport model ($22,935) is the first in the line with the six-speed manual; the automatic is optional. Standard features include 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels and a front suspension tower bar. The shift knob is trimmed in leather in place of the urethane used on the lower models. Run-flat tires with performance-oriented, asymmetrical tread and tire-pressure monitoring are optional ($515). And a sport-tuned suspension with Bilstein shocks and limited slip differential ($500) is available for Sport models with the manual transmission.

The top MX-5 that'll be generally available is the Grand Touring ($24,435). This is the classy Miata, with all the standard equipment and options on the lesser models plus a number of high-grade features. Among them: leather seating surfaces in black or tan and leather-like interior door panels; a cloth top in black or tan in place of the the standard black vinyl top; silver-toned on various interior grips and gauges; a seven-speaker Bose stereo.

The Grand Touring Premium Package ($1600) adds Xenon HID headlights, dynamic stability control with traction control, limited-slip rear differential, Smart Key keyless ignition and anti-theft alarm.

Mazda will also sell a limited-edition MX-5 for 2006; hey, this is a Miata, remember? Called the 3rd Generation Limited ($26,700), production will be capped at 3500 world wide, of which 750 are destined for the U.S. market. They're essentially Grand Touring models but painted Velocity Red and with red or black leather interior; bright-finish, 17-inch wheels; bright trim on various exterior and interior fixtures; and a special, numbered badge on the dash.

Accessories include a detachable hardtop, a six-disc CD-changer/MP3 player and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Safety equipment standard across the line comprises dual, two-stage frontal airbags; new-for-2006, seat-mounted, side airbags designed to protect the chest and head; and anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution. The passenger-side frontal airbag has an on/off switch, and that seat is fitted with child safety seat anchors, or LATCH.