[RajahX]

I was really close to pulling the trigger on a ND2 RF Miata before I ended up going with my 24 Boxster. I'm 5' 8", so i fit in the driver's seat of both fine, but I will say the few times I rented the RF my passengers were less than thrilled. My wife ultimately talked me into spending more to get something more "practical". Fantastic cars though, and the RF looks so amazing with the roof up and down. I never really liked the look of a soft top Miata.

I fit perfectly in the Miata and I am 5'11", but anyone over 6' may find it a bit more difficult. I agree with you. I think the RF, especially the side profile, looks nicer than the soft top. The side profile of the RF has some Ferrari vibes .

 

[slilley]

Fellow Miata lover and former owner here. I had an '06 NC that I tracked and autocrossed for 10 years - and even taught both my daughters how to drive in it (doing my duty as a car-obsessed father). All Miatas are a blast to drive on the street - mostly because you can drive them safely at 9/10ths without going insane speeds. They are certainly much more toy-like and low-rent than our beloved P-cars, but that doesn't take away from their charm. They are terrible on long highway drives - I always wore noise cancelling headphones on my drives to the track (anywhere from 1.5 to 4.5 hours away from home). But dollar for dollar, you really can't beat them for the smiles they deliver. My neighbor caught me sliding sideways into our development with a big grin on my face back when I owned the NC. That same trick would be a lot faster and riskier in the Cayman, imho...not going to happen.

Given my current fun-car use case (some track, some autoX, lots of back-road drives with my P-car friends), it would probably take a Mazdaspeed version of the current Miata to lure me back. For my tastes/uses, I could never drive a stock Miata again. I'm tired of doing my own suspension swaps, but I don't trust any local shops or dealers enough to turn the job over to them. So I wait on the sidelines for Mazda to re-introduce another Mazdaspeed version of their beloved roadster. Then, maybe I'd consider it - but it would be really hard to give up that 4-liter song and the cachet of the Porsche brand.

 

[IIIAWOLIII]

Fellow Miata lover and former owner here. I had an '06 NC that I tracked and autocrossed for 10 years - and even taught both my daughters how to drive in it (doing my duty as a car-obsessed father). All Miatas are a blast to drive on the street - mostly because you can drive them safely at 9/10ths without going insane speeds. They are certainly much more toy-like and low-rent than our beloved P-cars, but that doesn't take away from their charm. They are terrible on long highway drives - I always wore noise cancelling headphones on my drives to the track (anywhere from 1.5 to 4.5 hours away from home). But dollar for dollar, you really can't beat them for the smiles they deliver. My neighbor caught me sliding sideways into our development with a big grin on my face back when I owned the NC. That same trick would be a lot faster and riskier in the Cayman, imho...not going to happen.

Given my current fun-car use case (some track, some autoX, lots of back-road drives with my P-car friends), it would probably take a Mazdaspeed version of the current Miata to lure me back. For my tastes/uses, I could never drive a stock Miata again. I'm tired of doing my own suspension swaps, but I don't trust any local shops or dealers enough to turn the job over to them. So I wait on the sidelines for Mazda to re-introduce another Mazdaspeed version of their beloved roadster. Then, maybe I'd consider it - but it would be really hard to give up that 4-liter song and the cachet of the Porsche brand.

Agree 100%. My first ride was a 79 RX7 manual. You could toss that car around, too, and drive pretty much to its limits without going to jail or the morgue.

Definitely can't drive the 718 to its limits on the street, but I prefer that I set the limits, not my car.

 

[GBS303]

Pound for pound the Mitata is one of the best sports cars available in the past 20 years. It's loads of fun even at lower speeds which is probably the best design for a road going sports car. I love my Boxster and it's on a different level, but no reason not to love the Miata as well.

 

[Raymond]

Chuckle. I live in South Dakota, so the stigma w/either an M5 or a Porsche is because neither is a US brand vehicle & neither is a practical & useful pickup or @ least an SUV.

ha ha. I often go to Northern Maine and just back from Northern NH...PIckup trucks reign supreme and convertibles are extremely rare. I saw 2 Porsches Sports car both from the mid 80s. 944 and 911 convertible with the duck wing that's it. A few Mustangs but could count them in one hand.

 

[cratervanawesome]

Fellow Miata lover and former owner here. I had an '06 NC that I tracked and autocrossed for 10 years - and even taught both my daughters how to drive in it (doing my duty as a car-obsessed father). All Miatas are a blast to drive on the street - mostly because you can drive them safely at 9/10ths without going insane speeds. They are certainly much more toy-like and low-rent than our beloved P-cars, but that doesn't take away from their charm. They are terrible on long highway drives - I always wore noise cancelling headphones on my drives to the track (anywhere from 1.5 to 4.5 hours away from home). But dollar for dollar, you really can't beat them for the smiles they deliver. My neighbor caught me sliding sideways into our development with a big grin on my face back when I owned the NC. That same trick would be a lot faster and riskier in the Cayman, imho...not going to happen.

Given my current fun-car use case (some track, some autoX, lots of back-road drives with my P-car friends), it would probably take a Mazdaspeed version of the current Miata to lure me back. For my tastes/uses, I could never drive a stock Miata again. I'm tired of doing my own suspension swaps, but I don't trust any local shops or dealers enough to turn the job over to them. So I wait on the sidelines for Mazda to re-introduce another Mazdaspeed version of their beloved roadster. Then, maybe I'd consider it - but it would be really hard to give up that 4-liter song and the cachet of the Porsche brand.

Word on the street is a Mazdaspeed Racing version of the ND with turbo is on the way.

 

[PorscheJohnny]

Around 2000, my wife and had looked at buying a used Miata and thoroughly enjoyed driving it through the Malibu hills, a bit of sliding around corners, the freedom of driving in a 360 degree panorama of hills and ocean but....we were planning a family and decided we need a more practical car and ended up with an Acura Integra GSR (followed by an RSX Type S, then TL Type S) that took us through the early stages of our family.

After countless SUVs, during the midst of Covid 2020, we Turo'd a ND1 and had a blast going up and down the coast of Ventura County. Nothing like the feeling of freedom of being roofless and no pillars behind you, just mountains and the ocean. Being free with our kids in college, we finally took the the plunge to get a Miata and bought the ND2 in February of 2021. We thought about getting the various generations of the Miata but ultimately the safety, reliability, power and revving of the ND2 was compelling.

What an amazing car to drive in the hills of Palos Verdes! There is nothing like quickly getting the top down, feeling the sights and sounds around you. The Miata is perfect for the street and tight peninsula drives and the best way I can describe it is that it’s the safest go-kart with its light tossable weight.

We always drive the ND2 with the top down and music beating, freeway or anywhere, hot or cold. One time in Ojai, it was over 100 degrees and we had to put the top up since the AC couldn't keep up. One thing that is great about the Miata is that it’s never too cold outside to put the top down in LA. It's not drafty inside, the wind doesn't hit below your shoulders and the heated seats can go from warm to pretty hot to toasty. With its small interior and heated seats, you can have the top down in any temperature you'd find in LA...40 degrees is no problem. It's a great advantage for the Miata to be comfortable with the top down at any speed and temperature.

My only two complaints are the steering was super light compared to my preference and the back-end was a bit snappy and not as progressive as I would like. But this is minor, taking the car through hills, corners, hearing the engine rev and being in a convertible is the best. I added a Goodwin SSST exhaust which was awesome in making the car roar to a nice tune and was easy to put in. Such an easy and cost-effective modification for a little extra HP but primarily the sound is awesome. Flexible too....when we take very long trips (6 hours to Yosemite, 14 hours to Arches), Awesome to see nature from the Miata, smell the scent of the forest, drive through the landscape of Utah. We were suprisingly comfortable enough and there is just enough space in the trunk to make these trips work.

I modified the stereo and eventually to improve the stability, a new alignment from Brian Goodwin and better tires (Continental ECS II). The ND steering lost its twitchiness with more grip and a more confidence inspiring stability.

We love the ND so much, that we even sold our 2019 Civic Type R to get our next car. The Type R is fast, great brakes, fairly good ride for a track oriented car, great utility being a hatchback but....its just not as fun as street car and its no competition for the feeling of a convertible, especially one that is so quick and easy to put up and down and fun with some intentional sliding of the ND….the joy of rear wheel drive. I never would have guessed that we would sell the Type R since it was a dream car of mine and I had chosen it over buying a used 1st generation NSX (just don't want to deal with the maintenance of an older car while I'm hard at work).

Speaking of the NSX, I've always loved the mid-engine feeling and balance, with the revving engine. We took two trips in Boxsters last year, one in a 2015 to Morro Bay/Hearst Castle and a second trip to Monterrey and up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. The Boxster has a similar feeling of balance to the old NSX. In fact, it's the same width, the same length, similar weight and, of course, the same mid-engine placement. We loved the Boxster with better canyon handing balance, fun power and stability on the longer roads though the wind management is not as good. We decided to buy a newer 718 Boxster and went to the dealership to just try the 4.0 liter 6 cylinder engine. We just get out of the dealership for a test drive and the stop light a guy yells "you have to buy that car...it's amazing and my dream car". Warmed up the car and wow, the engine sound was just amazing! The surround sound of the engine induction noise was intoxicating as it revs to nearly 8,000. So, despite it making no value sense to buy a new 4.0 compared to a used turbo 2.5 liter, I ordered my new GTS.

Took 4 months to get it and it’s amazing. Where its really amazing is in the long sweeping canyon curves of the Angeles Forest. You'll see every sports car and motorcycle up there. You can use much of the power and handling up there and it's amazing. I picked the Boxster over getting a 911...too big for my driving preference and the Boxster looks better to me than the 911 convertible. The leather interior is super nice and I love the Burmester stereo. It's a special car and even driving at 6/10s you can feel the specialness of the mid-engine design. The top goes up and down in 9 seconds upto 30 mph....super convenient. I love the Spyder design but the convertible top is a non-starter for me and I do put the top up more in the Boxster because the wind management isn't as good as a Miata….gets quite a bit colder than in the 718 cabin due to the wind.

I’ve had the GTS for five thousand miles now and it’s always a special ride with amazing quality. The ride is exceptional, so much better than the Type R which could be bumpier/stiff at times. The combination of light weight, special engine, mid engine handling, great suspension and great quality always make me happy to drive the Boxster (but I still enjoy choosing the Miata to drive at times).

 

[PeC]

Boxsters were considered "hair dresser" cars as well for a long time. Didn't stop people from buying and enjoying them. I think stigma is pretty much of a bygone era now. I haven't heard Miata are girl's cars in a LONG time. Miata Is Always The Answer is the prevailing reputation.

Interestingly, there was no stigma on the MX5 here in Europe but we had more on Boxster (still have).
One reason I believe is the name.
Miata sounds absolutely terrible, a bit of gay to be honest, and we have the MX5 name what is much better.

 

[30642]

Interestingly, there was no stigma on the MX5 here in Europe but we had more on Boxster (still have).
One reason I believe is the name.
Miata sounds absolutely terrible, a bit of gay to be honest, and we have the MX5 name what is much better.

Agreed. Just as MX5 works better for the Mazda, I have thought Porsche should rather rename the Boxster & Cayman, "718 Roadster & 718 Coupe" respectively.

Early on, I re-badged my 1997 Boxster to simply "986" by purchasing a set of 968 numbers from Porsche & rearranging them on my rear trunk lid to "986" in place of the Boxster script. That badge is still there today. I never have liked the names, "Boxster" & "Cayman" - too cute IMO & not in Porsche's naming tradition.

Edit: Come to think of it, maybe it's likely Porsche intentionally used those cutesy & sort of diminutive names to establish Boxsters & Caymans as something less than the 911s.

 

[Wiscombe64]

Agreed. Just as MX5 works better for the Mazda, I have thought Porsche should rather rename the Boxster & Cayman, "718 Roadster & 718 Coupe" respectively.

Early on, I re-badged my 1997 Boxster to simply "986" by purchasing a set of 968 numbers from Porsche & rearranging them on my rear trunk lid to "986" in place of the Boxster script. That badge is still there today. I never have liked the names, "Boxster" & "Cayman" - too cute IMO & not in Porsche's naming tradition.

Spyder, Speedster, Targa???

They’re different, for some reason…..

 

[30642]

Spyder, Speedster, Targa???

They’re different, for some reason…..

Yes, also Carrera, GT, GTS & so forth. These identify special versions of the base models 718, 911, etc.

 

[CaymanMatt]

I fit perfectly in the Miata and I am 5'11", but anyone over 6' may find it a bit more difficult. I agree with you. I think the RF, especially the side profile, looks nicer than the soft top. The side profile of the RF has some Ferrari vibes .

I have long torso & short legs. We demo'd an RF & it was funny how much of me stuck out above the roofline. It cracked my wife up!! We obviously did not buy one.🙁

 

[Viv]

Agreed. Just as MX5 works better for the Mazda, I have thought Porsche should rather rename the Boxster & Cayman, "718 Roadster & 718 Coupe" respectively.

Early on, I re-badged my 1997 Boxster to simply "986" by purchasing a set of 968 numbers from Porsche & rearranging them on my rear trunk lid to "986" in place of the Boxster script. That badge is still there today. I never have liked the names, "Boxster" & "Cayman" - too cute IMO & not in Porsche's naming tradition.

Edit: Come to think of it, maybe it's likely Porsche intentionally used those cutesy & sort of diminutive names to establish Boxsters & Caymans as something less than the 911s.

No. The Cayman is not a "coupé". A coupé is a shortened version of a larger car, hence the word. 3Coupé"' = "Cut".

 

[30642]

No. The Cayman is not a "coupé". A coupé is a shortened version of a larger car, hence the word. 3Coupé"' = "Cut".

I do think Coupe is apt. Search on "Coupe meaning". One thing it certainly is not is a deminutive alligator.

 

[Viv]

I do think Coupe is apt. Search on "Coupe meaning". One thing it certainly is not is a deminutive alligator.

Exactly.

 

[slilley]

...My only two complaints are the steering was super light compared to my preference and the back-end was a bit snappy and not as progressive as I would like. But this is minor, taking the car through hills, corners, hearing the engine rev and being in a convertible is the best. I added a Goodwin SSST exhaust which was awesome in making the car roar to a nice tune and was easy to put in. Such an easy and cost-effective modification for a little extra HP but primarily the sound is awesome. Flexible too....when we take very long trips (6 hours to Yosemite, 14 hours to Arches), Awesome to see nature from the Miata, smell the scent of the forest, drive through the landscape of Utah. We were suprisingly comfortable enough and there is just enough space in the trunk to make these trips work.

Thanks for sharing your tale! Props for taking the Miata on long trips with your wife! One other complaint I forgot to mention -- because I was never in the passenger seat of mine -- is how little passenger legroom there is in the Miata. For the driver, legroom is totally fine. Mazda puts some extra crash-absorbing plastic right where the passenger's feet want to be. On the NC (possibly other generations too), you could remove this plastic footrest - but then the carpet in the passenger footwell didn't quite fit right - so I ended up leaving it in place since I rarely had a passenger.

 

[Treemagnet]

I loved my Spitfire 1500. Once managed to fit 5 college kids inside (including me) with the top up. Its big-brother, the GT6, is my current fantasy car.

An obnoxious clown that lived in our doom just happened to drive a Spitfire (Mark I). One night (actually early morning) after a few pops, five of us were meandering our way back from the on campus pub (yes, they were a thing in the early 70's) and noticed said clown's Spit in the parking lot. Thinking quickly (admittedly, not appropriately) we grabbed a few tools from one of our cars, removed the Spit's bonnet, wrangled the car onto the elevator, then up to the 10th floor, replaced the bonnet, then set the car right outside the owners door.

Needless to say, no alarm clock was necessary the following morning. Being good dorm neighbors, we emphatically condemned those who would pull such a prank and helped return Bozo's car to it's rightful outside parking spot. No harm done. Anytime I hear or see something related to a Triumph Spitfire, it always elicits a massive grin...thanks for the reminder folks .

 

[PorscheJohnny]

Agree that the Miata feels faster at the same speed and allows more thrills at a lower speed which is fun around town. My wife is a saint because she’s 5’ 8” and never complains about the limited legroom on the passenger side. I thought about removing the subwoofer on the passenger side but …I don’t think it’s easy to replace that bottom end elsewhere in the Miata (even though I have a 10” kicker powered subwoofer behind the drivers seat, it’s still not enough for me).

 

[RajahX]

View attachment 75524 Around 2000, my wife and had looked at buying a used Miata and thoroughly enjoyed driving it through the Malibu hills, a bit of sliding around corners, the freedom of driving in a 360 degree panorama of hills and ocean but....we were planning a family and decided we need a more practical car and ended up with an Acura Integra GSR (followed by an RSX Type S, then TL Type S) that took us through the early stages of our family.

After countless SUVs, during the midst of Covid 2020, we Turo'd a ND1 and had a blast going up and down the coast of Ventura County. Nothing like the feeling of freedom of being roofless and no pillars behind you, just mountains and the ocean. Being free with our kids in college, we finally took the the plunge to get a Miata and bought the ND2 in February of 2021. We thought about getting the various generations of the Miata but ultimately the safety, reliability, power and revving of the ND2 was compelling.

What an amazing car to drive in the hills of Palos Verdes! There is nothing like quickly getting the top down, feeling the sights and sounds around you. The Miata is perfect for the street and tight peninsula drives and the best way I can describe it is that it’s the safest go-kart with its light tossable weight.

We always drive the ND2 with the top down and music beating, freeway or anywhere, hot or cold. One time in Ojai, it was over 100 degrees and we had to put the top up since the AC couldn't keep up. One thing that is great about the Miata is that it’s never too cold outside to put the top down in LA. It's not drafty inside, the wind doesn't hit below your shoulders and the heated seats can go from warm to pretty hot to toasty. With its small interior and heated seats, you can have the top down in any temperature you'd find in LA...40 degrees is no problem. It's a great advantage for the Miata to be comfortable with the top down at any speed and temperature.

My only two complaints are the steering was super light compared to my preference and the back-end was a bit snappy and not as progressive as I would like. But this is minor, taking the car through hills, corners, hearing the engine rev and being in a convertible is the best. I added a Goodwin SSST exhaust which was awesome in making the car roar to a nice tune and was easy to put in. Such an easy and cost-effective modification for a little extra HP but primarily the sound is awesome. Flexible too....when we take very long trips (6 hours to Yosemite, 14 hours to Arches), Awesome to see nature from the Miata, smell the scent of the forest, drive through the landscape of Utah. We were suprisingly comfortable enough and there is just enough space in the trunk to make these trips work.

I modified the stereo and eventually to improve the stability, a new alignment from Brian Goodwin and better tires (Continental ECS II). The ND steering lost its twitchiness with more grip and a more confidence inspiring stability.

We love the ND so much, that we even sold our 2019 Civic Type R to get our next car. The Type R is fast, great brakes, fairly good ride for a track oriented car, great utility being a hatchback but....its just not as fun as street car and its no competition for the feeling of a convertible, especially one that is so quick and easy to put up and down and fun with some intentional sliding of the ND….the joy of rear wheel drive. I never would have guessed that we would sell the Type R since it was a dream car of mine and I had chosen it over buying a used 1st generation NSX (just don't want to deal with the maintenance of an older car while I'm hard at work).

Speaking of the NSX, I've always loved the mid-engine feeling and balance, with the revving engine. We took two trips in Boxsters last year, one in a 2015 to Morro Bay/Hearst Castle and a second trip to Monterrey and up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. The Boxster has a similar feeling of balance to the old NSX. In fact, it's the same width, the same length, similar weight and, of course, the same mid-engine placement. We loved the Boxster with better canyon handing balance, fun power and stability on the longer roads though the wind management is not as good. We decided to buy a newer 718 Boxster and went to the dealership to just try the 4.0 liter 6 cylinder engine. We just get out of the dealership for a test drive and the stop light a guy yells "you have to buy that car...it's amazing and my dream car". Warmed up the car and wow, the engine sound was just amazing! The surround sound of the engine induction noise was intoxicating as it revs to nearly 8,000. So, despite it making no value sense to buy a new 4.0 compared to a used turbo 2.5 liter, I ordered my new GTS.

Took 4 months to get it and it’s amazing. Where its really amazing is in the long sweeping canyon curves of the Angeles Forest. You'll see every sports car and motorcycle up there. You can use much of the power and handling up there and it's amazing. I picked the Boxster over getting a 911...too big for my driving preference and the Boxster looks better to me than the 911 convertible. The leather interior is super nice and I love the Burmester stereo. It's a special car and even driving at 6/10s you can feel the specialness of the mid-engine design. The top goes up and down in 9 seconds upto 30 mph....super convenient. I love the Spyder design but the convertible top is a non-starter for me and I do put the top up more in the Boxster because the wind management isn't as good as a Miata….gets quite a bit colder than in the 718 cabin due to the wind.

I’ve had the GTS for five thousand miles now and it’s always a special ride with amazing quality. The ride is exceptional, so much better than the Type R which could be bumpier/stiff at times. The combination of light weight, special engine, mid engine handling, great suspension and great quality always make me happy to drive the Boxster (but I still enjoy choosing the Miata to drive at times). View attachment 75524

Wonderful writeup, and great to hear the comparisons against some other Japanese enthusiast cars. The type R is on my list of cars to try at some point. I love my CGTS, and get lots of compliments on it from a lot of folks. But the Miata is wonderful at normal speeds. The only downside for me with the Miata is the extremely limited space which makes it less usable as a daily. But as a fun weekend car its amazing.

 

[jskicet]

When on Oahu I rented a Harley fat boy for our trip around the Island. Pretty cheap. Around $165 for 8 hours. When on Maui we rented a Mustang convertible for the road to Hana and went all

the way around the island. We visited the grave site of Lindbergh so we decided to just go the rest of the way instead of turning around. So glad we did. It was the most scenic part of the trip. Both were awesome trips.