The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

My thoughts on my 4 days with a 2003 Miata…

The Good:
1) That new car smell. There is just something about the aroma given off by the outgassing of still solidifying plastics.
2) That new car feel. Everything is still tight and rattle free.
3) Black leather from the factory. Finally Mazda has eliminated the need for having an ugly exterior/interior combination just to get leather seats.
4) Round Knobs for the HVAC controls. The sliding levers of the 1st generation Miata are so 1950’s.
5) Remote electronic trunk release. – This may have been inevitable, see the bad #1. Coupled with a gas strut this would be awesome.
6) No zip back window. Eliminates a step in putting the top down.

The Bad:
1) The keyhole for opening the trunk is too low. It is hard to get the key in and turn without squeezing your fingers.
2) No zip back window. Reduces the headroom, so tall drivers will now hit the fabric panel used to automatically raise/lower window.
3) The speedometer is calibrated in 20 MPH increments with little ticks every 2 MPH, this makes it hard to tell your speed at a glance. I don’t know about your town, but where I live, we have speed limits of 25 & 45, not 22 or 48.
4) 6-speed transmission. Always seems like I needed to shift. I know with more use I would have adjusted to it, but why didn’t they leave the 5 speed ratios as is and make 6 a real overdrive? (At least here in North America.)

& The Ugly:
1) Splash Green Mica. Who you kidding, it’s teal. Looked odd but interesting in the mid 80’s on other cars, but why now on a Miata? The color grew on me, by the end of the 4 days I no longer gagged when I looked it.
2) You call that carpet? This stuff can only be charitably called floor covering. Makes the cheap loop carpet of the 1st generation Miata seem like a $50/yd plush Saxony.
3) Where the heck is the exhaust note? When the Miata first appeared they had an ad that ran in magazines about how they tried 100s of mufflers to get just the right sound (and they did,) but it is all but gone now from the factory.
5) Plastic brushed aluminum trim. Looked exactly like what is was, an afterthought and tacked on. The interior door handles would have looked a lot better in that finish had they did the cups behind them that way too.

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2485.39
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 251