This fall will be 25 years that I've been writing about cars for a living (or part of one, anyway).
Every one of those years, there's been at least one Mazda MX-5 Miata that's shown up in the schedule. So I've driven at least 25 Miatas in a quarter-century.
"I want a convertible."
"I want a sports car."
"I want a car that gets great mileage."
"I want a car for track day."
"I want a reliable car."
"I want an affordable car."
"I want a car I'll love driving every day." M-I-A-T-A (Miata Is Always The Answer). Just is. It's an immutable fact of life. Find a winding back road, throw the top down, go for a drive and you'll realize that for 30-plus years now, Mazda's been getting this one right.
The only time I haven't had fun in a Miata was driving 100 miles in a downpour at night on Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Folsom with semi trucks surrounding me. From that experience, I'd argue that, at least for me, at this stage of my life, a Miata shouldn't be the only car I have available. But the good news is a Miata is a reasonable enough car that you can have something else to drive when you need to accommodate more than one passenger, carry a bunch of stuff, or whatever.
Miatas come in retractable hardtop models (the Miata RF) and ragtops that are either tuned for enthusiastic cruising (the Miata Grand Touring) or for sport up to and including track days. That's the Miata Club, and that was our tester. Base price $30,290. Check the window sticker below for the standard equipment at that price.
The only extra-cost option on ours was the $4,470 Brembo BBS Recaro package---Brembo brakes, BBS wheels and Recaro sport seats. Worth every penny. With $945 delivery processing and handling fee, the as-tested price of the 2021 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club is $35,705.
I'll probably own a Miata myself someday. And the recent run-up in used Miata prices means I'll probably just spring for a new one. The base model, the Miata Sport, starts at just $26,830. But Sport, Club, Grand Touring, or the RF retractable--- there is no wrong choice when it comes to this car.
Miata is always the answer.
