Everyone Is Wrong About The NC Miata But Me

It seems like every long-produced car has a generation that is detested by enthusiasts and owners alike. You have the 7th gen Civic with its rampant transmission issues, the C3 Corvette with its wimpy power figures, and the humble, horribly misunderstood NC Miata. I have never truly comprehended why the NC was so universally disliked online. I had one as a daily driver for years after buying it new in 2015. I started modifying it in 2019, and continued to daily drive it until I upscaled to my Mazda3 Hatchback in 2023. To this day, nothing I have owned has fully lived up to that happy little roadster.

The third generation, or NC MX-5 Miata, was produced by Mazda from 2006 until 2015. Prior to the ND, or 4th generation, its nine-year lifecycle was the longest production run of any generation of Miata since the nameplate’s creation in 1989.

More notably, the NC was also the first generation of Miata to squeeze a 2.0-liter engine under the hood. They still didn’t make a significant amount of power–in the low 170s at best–but in a car as light as a Miata it’s really all you need. Also, if we’re going purely on technicality, the NC and ND are not “Miatas.” They are merely “MX-5s” as Mazda dropped the “Miata” name with the introduction of the NC (Sorry, Mercedes).

What’s In A Name?

When the Mazda Ibuki Concept was shown at the 2003 Tokyo Auto Show, attendees and journalists alike immediately noted that it was most likely a sign of what’s to come for the world’s best-selling sports car–and they were partially right. The concept, as they often do, differed significantly from the production NC that was unveiled a couple of years later.

The Ibuki concept had a wheelbase that was nearly a foot shorter than the NB’s, made 10 more horsepower from a teeny 1.6L engine, and incorporated cool gadgets and gizmos like in-seat AC vents. With the production NC varying so heavily in such significant ways, like being noticeably larger and heavier with a disappointing lack of the aforementioned seat vents, you would imagine the press would have torn it apart, but they didn’t. They absolutely loved it.

Motorweek praised its “motorcycle-quick” steering. Edmunds praised its comfy interior dubbing it “an ideal companion for spontaneous adventures.” Car and Driver even called driving the 2006 NC Miata a “joyous experience that verges on religious.” Despite all of the initial praise the new Miata received, it was on the receiving end of a significant amount of hatred by passionate Miata and car enthusiasts alike online.

While the NC Miata is, generally speaking, more positively viewed in 2026, it’s still pretty widely disliked. As a resident automotive Facebook group lurker, I asked about 60,000 people across a handful of Miata-specific and general car interest groups to see what specifically the most common gripes were. To no surprise, the complaints could generally be broken down into three general points:

• It’s too heavy and slow.
• It’s ugly.
• It’s a bad Miata.

‘It’s Too Heavy And Slow’

Despite this being the most common gripe towards NC Miatas, the nameplate is largely known for two things: being lightweight and low power. After all, the 1990 USDM Miata weighed just over 2,100 lbs and made a piddly 116 horsepower. This combination of qualities, along with its perfect 50/50 weight distribution and well-tuned factory suspension, meant that even at the absolute limit of power, any amateur driver with two brain cells to rub together could easily (and relatively safely) drive the car down a twisty road with no other emotion than absolute glee.

The NC weighs a minimum of 2,450 lbs depending on trim, which is the equivalent of an NA with a refrigerator (weighing 350 lbs) somehow strapped to it. That much of a weight difference might seem extreme, but over the same time period the Honda Civic Si bloated from about 2,300 lbs all the way up to almost 2,900 lbs for a 600-lb gain. The Ford Mustang went from 2,800 lbs to almost 3,400 lbs. Cars, in general, tend to get heavier as time crawls forward thanks to things like size preference and safety regulations, not because of laziness or poor skill on some poor chassis designer’s part.

Official spec sheets released by Mazda only state a 24-lb difference between the equivalent trims of the 2004 NB and 2006 NC, meaning the weight jump from NA to NB is far greater than the jump from NB to NC. The bare frame of the NC Miata is a whole 3.5 lbs lighter than its predecessor, all while increasing its torsional rigidity by an astounding 47%. The engine, despite being higher displacement, is a wonderful 42 lbs lighter than the standard, naturally aspirated engine in the NB. Even at its heaviest trims, the NC weighs 31 lbs less than the turbocharged 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata and makes only 8 fewer horsepower.

The Mazdaspeed Miata (MSM) is lauded as being the best Miata for speed lovers. It produces 26 lb-ft more torque than the NC, making it feel punchy but still light on its feet. Upon its release in 2004, MotorTrend even called it “A Miata with Muscle.” However, the NC is still objectively faster, with the 2006 GT earning a 0.3 seconds faster 0-60mph time and quarter mile than the 2004 MSM, according to Zeroto60times.com.

The NC also sports a very slightly better power-to-weight ratio and higher redline of 6,700 rpm which gets even higher depending on model year and trim. My 2015 Club trim had a 7,200rpm redline–and trust me, I loved using every bit of it.

‘It’s Ugly’

Aesthetics are one of the most subjective things out there. People, now more than ever, build their entire personalities around their preferred aesthetic. From the quarter zip-loving finance bros and pink pilates princesses to the studded belt donning alt baddies and their Sylvia Plath loving, matcha-drinking “performative male” counterparts–the human species is one ultimately guided by things our eyes like looking at. Our cars are no exception.

Mazda is no stranger to making beautiful cars. The current elegance of its Kodo design era, all the way back to the striking lines of the 787B Group C race car, and the almost European simplicity of the NA Miata, gave the manufacturer a reputation of making cars that are effectively motorized pieces of art. However in the mid-2000s the company was in an awkward teenage phase, with their cars bearing big toothy grins, cat-eye-shaped headlights, and plenty of matte black plastic in their interiors. The NC Miata was not saved from this fate, with its first release being outfitted with a catfish mouth-shaped grille and blobby oval headlights. The first facelift gave the NC2 its signature goofy grin.

The styling decisions that led to the NC1 looking… like that are unknown, but the car still was undoubtedly in line with Mazda’s overarching design language at the time. Cars of the early 2000s, in general, were becoming more organically shaped, with smooth curved lines and rounder motifs that are in stark contrast to the modern taste of automotive designers adding body creases in places just seemingly for the hell of it.

These rounder lines did, sadly, seem to visually emphasize the NC Miata’s relative largess compared to its predecessor. It was half an inch higher off the ground, an inch taller and wider, and had almost two inches added to its wheelbase and length. That may not seem like a lot, but when the car is basically the size of a shoebox those small increases are immediately noticeable. The last facelift of the NC, the NC3, is widely regarded as the best looking and the most aggressively styled. The entire aesthetic of the car was sharpened just enough to be distinguishable to the trained eye from the NC2, and in my opinion, enough to make its otherwise blobby profile look less like a benign growth and a lot more intentional.

I’m not going to sit here and try and pitch the NC Miata as one of the best looking cars on the planet because frankly–it isn’t. But it’s very, very far from the worst looking and I think we as a collective need to be more accepting of things that simply look average.

‘It’s A Bad Miata’

If I were being a pedant, I would say “Correct! It’s technically not a Miata, it’s an MX-5.” But the mere technicality of what’s on the nameplate doesn’t detract from the fact that many of the words journalists used to describe the very first Miata back in 1989 (via pre-release drives) were used to describe the NC when it was the new kid on the block. An original Car And Driver review of the 1990 Miata complimented its open, roomy cockpit, simple gauge cluster, shockingly high redline, its artfully crafted suspension and direct, analog driving feel.

When I test drove the NC that I eventually purchased in 2015, all of those sentiments carried over. In fact, I was only purchasing an NC because my NA sadly had to be laid to rest after developing a gnarly crack in its engine block. I test drove an ND since they had the 2016s on the lot at the time, and it felt almost robotic in comparison to the NA that I so deeply loved. It was closer in size than the NC, sure, but it felt too modernized. Its throttle felt oddly detached from its engine response, and the fully electronic power steering was almost arcade-like when

I compared it to the NC’s hybrid electronic-hydraulic power steering. The current and third iteration of ND has solved these issues, but back in 2015 they were too glaring to ignore. When it came down to it I ultimately picked what felt most like the NA Miata that I limped over to my local Mazda dealership that day–and that was the NC.

Driving dynamics aside, many of the complaints about the NC being a “bad Miata” are tied to its weight and size, but as I’ve outlined earlier in this rambling of a madwoman masquerading as a thought piece, they’re exaggerated. In my aforementioned polling of some groups on Facebook, a very common sentiment was that people hated NC Miatas and thought they were the worst of the now four generations until they drove one, whether in a stock or modified form. As soon as they got behind the wheel, the friendly little NC became a favorite.

The Reality of NC Ownership

Outside of being vastly underrated for its driving experience and looks, the NC Miata is generally speaking a fantastic option for a daily driver, weekend car, autocross build, track car, or really any other purpose you can dream up. It also has the most cargo room out of any of the other 3 generations of Miata, so you could even take one to Costco for your monthly large scale impulse buys and paper towel restocks. They Say M.I.A.T.A (Miata Is Always The Answer) for a reason, and the NC is no exception.

Its near lifelong stint being the most universally hated Miata generation has largely saved it from the “Miata Tax” that has caused NA and NB values to skyrocket in recent years. For the same cost as a relatively stock or tastefully modified, well maintained NA you can get a car that’s 20 years newer with a nicer interior, more trunk space, more power, and is more reliable with less effort. The price ranges for recently sold NA & NC Miatas are very close to one another, so if you have $15,000 to spend on a Miata you have a pretty wide range of options.

Personalizing your bargain sports car will prove to not be an issue either–as their popularity in track driving communities means NCs have incredible aftermarket support. They were also in production for almost a decade, so sourcing OEM parts for them is incredibly easy and if you want to shell out the cash, Mazda will even still sell you a pretty good chunk of their original parts catalog. And if you feel like being crafty, they were built on what is essentially a shortened RX-8 chassis platform, so a lot of RX-8 parts serve as OEM+ functional upgrades for NCs.

My personal favorite upgrades were RX-8 sway bars, which offered about a 25% increase in thickness to the NC’s stock sways, and the intermittent windshield wiper switch. If you’re feeling especially chaotic, there is even wide aftermarket support for swapping in a Duratec 2.5L engine that can output close to 300 horsepower with a tune and turbo added.

I think, collectively, the car community owes the NC Miata an apology. For years it was ruthlessly ridiculed for being bloated, ugly, slow, and just generally bad–but it has always been just incredibly misunderstood. Recently the tides have started to shift, as more and more people get their hands on them in the affordable used market and realize how amazing they really are. Sure, an increase in desirability may make prices jump up eventually, but until then, NCs will be the comfortable, affordable, smiling underdog of the Miata family.

Top photo: Author