anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

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Alone2Gether
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anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by Alone2Gether »

Hi all,
My first post here but I've been lurking on this forum for a while. I've been driving an '02 Nissan Sentra 5 speed (my first stick) since September. I kinda just bought the car because it was a last minute thing (I was going back to school) and also something to practice driving stick in. 6 months and 12,000 miles later (yea, I like driving...a lot. haha), I am confident with driving stick and want something fun to drive.
I've always wanted a coupe with rwd so I've decided on buying a 2nd gen Miata or a 3rd gen MR2. So I was wondering if anyone here owns one and if so, tell me about your experience with them.
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padauk_dust
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by padauk_dust »

I haven't owned an MR2, or a second gen Miata, but let me tell you, the Miata (1st gen) was THE MOST FUN I'VE EVER HAD IN A CAR.






Well, the most fun I've had driving in a car :wink:


It was beautiful, fast, efficient, spacious (yes) and well equipped with the essentials, all in the right places so there's nothing to make you think, "WTF", with regards to any aspect of the car.

The only things that annoyed me when I had it were:

Occasional lifter noise/spark plug knock.
Really freakin cold and damp in the winter, until you get it warmed up inside (I had a soft top).
Only fits two people.



I can't recommend this car enough to anyone looking for a FUN vehicle. The only thing you might want to change is the power; I personally like them just the way they are stock - a good blend of responsiveness, forgiveness, speed as well as economy - but slap a turbo on that thing and it'll be good to go. Kits are easily found for the Miata.

Get the black with black leather interior. Man.
Anyway, take my opinions as you will. I'm sure you've got something to say about it.

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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by Bawked »

Get a mr2 2nd gen... t-tops and it'll be fun.
<3 fwd
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by Leedeth »

MR-S is garbage, don't even think of getting that one.

MR2 vs MX-5, it really depends if you want a mid-engine or not. MX-5 is lighter, but MR2 is mid-engine. And we all know that a mid-engine is so much more leet.
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by Warner »

I've driven a friend's 2nd gen. Miata and it was a lot of fun. It seemed fairly quick to me, but I'm used to a Geo Prizm. Objectively, if I can look at it that way, I'd say it's not fast, but it's pretty quick. I definitely wouldn't mind owning one.

Here's what Motor Trend has to say about it (from this article):

"[...] 140 horsepower (138 in the Golden State). That's good enough to run 0-60 mph in 7.9 seconds (same as the BMW Z3 1.9), and tour the quarter mile a tenth quicker than BMW's lowest-priced droptop, at 15.9 seconds. If that doesn't convince you that Mazda has gotten serious about the Miata's performance, how about a wickedly fast cone-dodging display through the 600-foot slalom at 70.5 mph. Believe it or not, that's in the realm of the F355, NSX, 911, and even the record-holding Viper!"
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by Tinton »

Warner wrote:I've driven a friend's 2nd gen. Miata and it was a lot of fun. It seemed fairly quick to me, but I'm used to a Geo Prizm. Objectively, if I can look at it that way, I'd say it's not fast, but it's pretty quick. I definitely wouldn't mind owning one.

Here's what Motor Trend has to say about it (from this article):

"[...] 140 horsepower (138 in the Golden State). That's good enough to run 0-60 mph in 7.9 seconds (same as the BMW Z3 1.9), and tour the quarter mile a tenth quicker than BMW's lowest-priced droptop, at 15.9 seconds. If that doesn't convince you that Mazda has gotten serious about the Miata's performance, how about a wickedly fast cone-dodging display through the 600-foot slalom at 70.5 mph. Believe it or not, that's in the realm of the F355, NSX, 911, and even the record-holding Viper!"
The 2nd gen Miata is only as fast as my V6 Fieros. I've also kept up with those in the twisties so they aren't THAT fast. The 1st gen is very slow, like 0-60 in 9 seconds and 1/4 mile in 17. I actually drove a 2006 (3rd gen?) or 2007 6-speed Miata, and it was quick. I think it had like 170 hp. The only thing I didn't like was its tendency to oversteer, I'm used to my cars having a lot of grip all the way around. It was fun and controllable oversteer in the Miata though.

The 2nd gen MR2 Turbo will spank a Miata in a straight line and probably in everything else but autocross. But the N/A 2nd gen MR2 is only as fast as my V6 Fieros, it would have trouble with a Miata. The mkIII MR2 (MR2 Spyder, MR-S) could be a fun car, but its lacking in power. Its slower than a mkII turbo, but it is pretty lightweight.
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by six »

It still puzzles me why the Fiero is not in Pontiac's current lineup. They've let the Miata steal all its thunder after its departure. Just imagine what the Fiero would be like today had it been in continued development until now.
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by Nychold »

six wrote:It still puzzles me why the Fiero is not in Pontiac's current lineup. They've let the Miata steal all its thunder after its departure. Just imagine what the Fiero would be like today had it been in continued development until now.
It is. They just moved the motor to the front, gave it a 4 cylinder NA/Turbo motor, modeled it to look like the S2000/Miata type of car, made it a convertible, and call it a Solstice. :D
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by six »

hehehe, it's like history all over again. That's exactly what happened to the MR2.
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by comingbackdown »

They seriously need to re-release the Fiero, and with a V8 option, and none of the "It looks like a suppository" that you get with a few newer cars... It needs to look sleek, rough, and sporty like the original, with a much better transmission, a V8 option, V6 mid-level, I4 base with extreme fuel economy... I'd get a V8 one and be very very very very very pleased with it. (Except: No immobilizer. No DBW, none of that fancy unnecessary electronic crap.)

Honestly, I'd go with the Miata in this case, especially with the modding options... *cough*monstermiata.com*cough*
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Re: anyone here own a miata or mr2 spyder?

Post by Bawked »

the fiero is one of my favourite cars, I would buy one if they weren't like $9000 in nz. Instead I'm grabbing a mr2 prolly turbo or mk3 supra depending on what pops up.
<3 fwd
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