DAILY DRIVING A TRACK-READY ND MIATA

Mazda Miatas are great daily drivers in stock form. Especially the 4th-generation ND. But what happens when you direct the car towards track-oriented performance?

We all fantasize about the idea of driving a sports car every single day, but on top of that we would also like to take that same fun car through not just the drive-thru line at Starbucks, but also hit the canyons and throw down some laps at the track on occasion. Well, I want to know what that experience really looks like from a day-to-day experience. Where is the balance of a car that doesn’t break your spine and rattle your teeth, but in a package that can take a beating on track…. Where is that fine line? And god forbid for a reasonably attainable price? Where else would one start looking?

*repeat after me*

1… 2… 3…

MIATAAAAAAA!

My main commute to work is a hair under 10 miles each way, with 70% of it being on the freeway with a singular 90 degree freeway sweeper. I can also take surface streets with a small freeway onramp that results in a commute time adding only a few minutes. In my week of commuting, canyon carving, and grocery shopping merriment I can assure you that every single time I walked up to the car to drive, I was always cracking a smile at the impending shenanigans that were to come.

Unlock the car, hop in, and unload your pockets into the empty passenger seat beside you. Pull the convertible release lock, and throw the roof back. Push the roof down to ensure that it is in fact locked down, and you’re good to go. The naturally aspirated 2.0L springs to life with one push of the ignition and the car happily purrs in the cold start mode until quickly settling to its natural idle. Clutch-in and select 1st gear via the incredibly notchy (no I’m not going to make THAT cliché reference) 6-speed manual, and pull away with the pure and natural up-take of the clutch. Luckily with a car that weighs as little as an ND Miata while making the factory 155bhp, a heavy-duty clutch would be frankly, unnecessary.

This example of 2017 ND Miata would appear to the random passer-by as a stock Mazda convertible that would be owned by a card-carrying AARP member that worked their tail off for 35 years and finally was able to treat themselves after sending the kids off to college and paying off their mortgage. But a more keen petrolhead would notice the 16” Konig Dekagram wheels wrapped in some fairly heat-cycled Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires measuring a 225mm contact patch. Known to other Miata enthusiasts as THICC BOYS.

Then come the impressions that come from someone that has actually driven the thing… Within the constraints of modern passenger vehicle design, engineering, and development, Mazda has genuinely created a masterpiece with the ND Miata. The interior is laid out well (there is an exception I will get to later), the car isn’t too noisy with the top down and windows up, and gets decent fuel economy as well.

Now, the main separation from what makes this ND Miata in particular worth mentioning from any other ND you could find on the street is what keeps the body/chassis afloat. The suspension on this Miata can only be described as literal magic. I swear, whoever engineered or developed the damping and valving in the struts of these coilovers must have a Doctorate Degree from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Lap Times, because holy shit the package this setup provides is DIALED. And speaking of dialed, you get to have it your way from the 31-way adjustments on all four corners of the vehicle. Doing low-speed over less than ideal pavement? No problem! Crank the dials all the way left and soften the car to OEM-spec softness. Going to do some long-distance highway commuting to a far away canyon road? Turn the coils up to about 18 and retain moderate comfort while maintaining a direct experience with the steering wheel. Want to powerslide literally any intersection at any speed? Do as you would at the club on a Friday night and GET. TURNT.

The brakes supplied are from Brembo, but have upgraded pads with blank rotors, steel lines, and DOT 4 fluid. With the combination of highly enthusiastic canyon carving, stop-and-go traffic commuting, and even joyriding with the top up in the rain, the car never skipped a beat. And OH MY SWEET GIDDY AUNT this car is supremely balanced in the wet. With all the sports and supercars I’ve driven in canyons and cars on track, I’ve never had such a deep and whole-hearted laugh as I did while entering a right-hand corner in an intersection at 20mph, turn the wheel, and pin the throttle at the mid-corner with a 35-degree, 155hp power slide pinging off the limiter.

Now unlike what most have to say about Miatas, it’s not all sunshine and roses. Conversely, to what I have to say about modern Mazda interiors, I have a bone to pick with the interior designers of this car.

Why in all that is holy would you place the scrolling knob (ya know, the one that controls the entire interface) to be positioned DIRECTLY underneath your forearm of the hand that does all the shifting? If you’re driving the car exclusively on track or never touch the volume knob to turn on the radio, then okay…. Whatever. But if you’re driving this car on every clear and sunny opportunity you get, you’re going to turn the radio on… and chances are you’re going to connect your phone via Bluetooth. With that said, the chances of bumping and altering the Master Control knob in the ND Miata are just about as high. It’s an immensely flawed design that needs to go away ASAP.

While we are on the train of dogging the ND, why in God’s name are we dunking on the Honda S2000 with numb steering when the ND Miata is just as bad? In the city, at a normal pace with the flow of traffic, the car is summed up as ‘fine’. But as soon as you hit a freeway on-ramp and merge with traffic, and hit the cruise control, you must dedicate 100% of your concentration and focus towards your steering position? I drive a Fiesta ST and Nissan NV200 every single day. Over the past 3 years I’ve put over 130,000 miles on the NV200. Both cars have electric power assisted steering systems, and I am completely enabled to fuss with music controls, HVAC controls, and others. But with the ND Miata if I do so, I have to catch myself almost veering off into a different lane of traffic. Why? This is a sports car that is allegedly designed to be engaging and involved with communication with the driving experience. No matter the location or setting.

The answer, unfortunately, has to do with the modern construction and design of cars in the current age. Modern cars just have Electric Power Assisted Steering Systems (EPASS) these days. Which feels unfortunate in the space of these enthusiast sports cars like the ND Miata, BRZ/GR86, and others…. As a daily driver, I have a Fiesta ST. I’ve had it for over 18-months now. It also happens to have torque vectoring (via braking). I hate to say it, but the Ford hatchback that I picked up for 16k has a more direct and communicative steering system than a more purpose-built roadster with a front-engine and rear-drive layout. It just does!

Now, I have heard murmurs of the ND2 (facelifted) Miata having an improved EPASS and steering system than the ND1 (the car I drove). I will do my due diligence in finding an ND2 to drive and review to give my full thoughts on the new system. But as of writing this article, my experiences with the ND1 EPASS have been less than ideal. Sure, the rest of the power steering is incredibly sharp and direct. There is no question about that. The car does in fact go exactly where you point it. Unfortunately, you only reap the benefits of that while flying up a deserted canyon road, or on a race track. I’ve only done one of those things, so that means I need a Second and Third Half of this review. I need to drive the same ND1 Miata on-track to reap the full benefits of what this particular car has to offer. I also need to find an ND2 Miata to see how much further the car has actually come in the facelift (more power and torque with an increased redline, “better steering”, etc.)

Attempting to sum up my experiences here, I am immensely grateful for my long-time friend Sasha lending me his car for a whole eight-days through sunny canyon drives, my weekly commute in top-down merriment in 70-degree mornings, and even some rear-wheel drive shenanigans in the wet. My week with the car is one I won't soon forget, and am already perusing the AutoTempest (not yet sponsored) listings for current examples I’d want to buy. Miatas are good. Don’t sleep on them. As someone who has driven every generation of Miata, but was more of a pure NA (1st-gen) fanboy, I now understand and respect the ND generation of cars much more.

After getting out of Sasha’s ND1 for the last time, I’m left with a few feelings. First and foremost, I want to find an ND2 and discover both the sensations and applications of the car’s added power and increased redline. Word on the street also has it that the electric power steering system in the ND2 is actually revised and supplies marginally more steering feel, which I felt the ND1 was lacking in. Driving both ND1 and ND2 back to back would be an eye-opening experience for me as a journalist. Ya know…. Because Science.