Congratulations, you’ve graduated, landed a great job, and have enjoyed enough job stability that you’re looking for your first five-figure car. Your heart says second-hand BMW or 20-year-old Porsche Cayman, but your brain says new or late-model economy car with reliability, good fuel economy, and cheap consumables like tires and brakes. Can’t choose? How about satisfying both sides with an ND2 Mazda MX-5?
There are good reasons why Mazda has sold more than a million of these little roadsters over the past 35 years. They’re historically reliable, inexpensive to run, and stick to a classic formula that promises ear-to-ear beaming enjoyment: Low curb weight, a just about perfect manual gearbox, engine at the front, drive to the back, and low enough output to truly be exploitable on an everyday basis without being flat-out slow.
While MX-5s have always been reasonably priced among the sports car set, between rent and student loans, $30,765 for a new one is a lot of scratch. However, if you’re willing to really hunt around, you can still pick up an MX-5 that’s only a few years old and just as much fun as the latest model for about two-thirds of that price.
What Are We Looking At?
For 2016, the Mazda MX-5 got the sort of glow-up normally reserved for Hollywood. Sticking to the classic script of a lightweight front-engined rear-wheel-drive two-seater, Mazda crafted a sub-2,400-pound roadster with positively rakish sheetmetal that punched far above its price tag. Then, for 2019, things got even better. Parts like reworked heads, a new rotating assembly, and a larger throttle body enabled Mazda to raise the redline on its little roadster to 7,500 rpm, kicking output up to 181 horsepower and 155 lb.-ft. of torque. At the same time, the steering column became telescopic in addition to tilt-adjustable, the seat controls and cup holders were redesigned, and every trim got a backup camera. The result was the most liveable MX-5 yet and a more exciting sports car than the first-series ND, without sacrificing anything. As Car And Driver wrote:
The engine revs more freely, the exhaust barks with more authority, and a jab at the throttle nudges you back into the seat a bit harder. Throttle response is prompt, and the power curve is more linear than before—peak power is reached 1000 revs higher, at 7000 rpm, and yet torque peaks 600 rpm lower, at 4000 rpm. More important, when the power starts to taper off in the 155-hp 2.0-liter at about 6000 rpm, the new 181-hp example keeps climbing for another 1000 revs. This allows for just a single shift to reach 60 mph. Spinning the tach all the way to the elevated redline is thrilling in a way that it wasn’t in the old 2.0-liter, elevating this engine to the same emotional plane as the rest of the car.
What Mazda did with the ND2 was take a great sports car and make it one of the best of the 21st century. The handling is grin-inducing, the steering is just about as good as you’re going to get this side of a Porsche, the whole thing feels feather-light, yet you still get Apple CarPlay and a backup camera and air-con and good headlights. You can use an ND2 MX-5 as your everyday car, and now you can pick one up for new Versa money.
How Much Are We Talking?
First off, let’s assume you want a Versa with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You’re then looking at the S+ trim, which stickers for $21,380 including freight. That’s not a lot of money for a new car, but you can still buy a used ND2 Mazda MX-5 for less. For instance, this 2022 MX-5 RF, the one with the stowable hard roof, sold for $20,500 on Cars & Bids last month. Sure, grey isn’t the most exciting color, but this thing’s loaded with a limited-slip differential, leather seats, a Bose audio system, and navigation, and it has the six-speed manual transmission. With 67,800 miles on the clock, warm climate ownership, and a cold air intake as the only functional modification, this seems well-bought.
If you’re enthusiastic about sensible mods and looking to spend time at the track, something like this 2019 MX-5 Club might pique your interest. A southern car with just 30,900 miles on it, this thing’s been modified for light trackday use, and the list of components is quality. We’re talking Verus brake cooling ducts, a Flyin’ Miata Koni damper and spring package, a tasty yet reasonably subtle Good-Win Racing exhaust, an oil temperature gauge, a Blackbird Fabworx roll bar, and a Karcepts sway bar with the recommended subframe reinforcement for a larger sway bar, among other things. Functionally, it has just about everything I’d personally want on an ND2 for frequent HPDE use, and it sold on Cars & Bids for just $20,250.
If you don’t want to wait on an auction, you might want to start shopping Spirit flights to pick up something like this 2021 MX-5 Grand Touring up for sale in St. Louis. Alright, so it does have a minor damage entry on its history report and 88,000 miles on the clock, but it’s a loaded soft-top model in deep blue, has a manual gearbox, and is listed for $19,425. At that sort of price, why not, right?
What Could Possibly Go Wrong On An ND2 Mazda MX-5?
By the time the ND2 rolled around, Mazda had fixed pretty much all the teething issues of the fourth-generation MX-5. Add in a reputation for reliability, and you’re looking at a remarkably solid sports car. However, there are three things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, even though the ND2 received a revised manual transmission and a dual-mass flywheel that vastly improved transmission longevity in hard use, the synchros don’t always take well to abuse. If you hear a whine, particularly in third or fourth gear, walk away. Secondly, rear hub carrier bushings can wear, causing clunking. Mazda only sells the carriers as whole pieces for between $659 and $722 per side, but aftermarket bushings are now available as a far cheaper solution. Thirdly, there’s an air conditioning line that can crack. It retails for $105.99 from Mazda and doesn’t take long to fit, so expect roughly a $500 fix if it goes out on you. Finally, Mazda’s infotainment screens can delaminate, but a replacement digitizer can be had for less than $20 from eBay and is an easy DIY. That’s about it, though. These cars are generally, well, normal cars. Tires are cheap, brakes are cheap, and by-and-large, everything just works.
Should You Buy An ND2 Mazda MX-5 For New Versa Money?
If you don’t absolutely need rear seats, yes, buy the MX-5, especially if you’re young. A time will come when you might need rear seats, or cargo room for a cello, or space for an Irish Wolfhound to stretch out and nap on road trips, but if that time isn’t now, then why not have a bit of fun? Sports cars exist to plaster a grin across your mug, and since the MX-5 has the reliability you’d expect from a regular car, that grin will last a while between scheduled service appointments. Low depreciation, low running costs, huge fun. No wonder it’s the world’s best-selling two-seat sports car.
Top graphic image: Cars & Bids
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Thomas is writing from maple-syrup and goose land, and I felt the need to comment that the prices up here aren’t that bad either. A quick search shows 25 ND2 examples near Toronto, priced $26-40K loonies. Considering how much more we pay for some stuff than the USA, this one stacks up well.
Me? I want 4 seats in a convertible, so I’m basically stuck with Mustang if I want something from the last 20 years. That, or hold out for the rare PT Cruiser…
One of the most irritating Internet circlejerks is the “there are no affordable sporty cars left” circlejerk. You can bring up the argument about wages not keeping up with inflation, but that doesn’t explain the dominance of $50K+ SUVs. Instead, people find reasons NOT to buy something like a Miata, BRZ, or WRX from the choices we do have. “Ew, it’s ugly”, they say, and then cry when another choice disappears. If in the event affordable sporty cars really were to go away, the Miata would probably be the last one left.
hit this person in the head with a large spoon!
I recently test drove a Mazdaspeed Miata, but the NB is just a bit too tight for me; knees were rubbing on the steering wheel. I cannot believe how expensive even NCs still are, or maybe it’s just my area. I’m in Denver so there’s not a ton of other cities in a reasonable radius, at least in my budget.
I’d say NC’s are going up in cost or at least staying steady. I think more people are driving them and finding out how great they are. The aftermarket community is really coming together for them too.
I never pass up an opportunity to weigh in on buying a Miata. And, uh, yeah. Do it. You’ll only regret not getting one sooner. I daily a 2020 ND2 RF and I put at least 15,000 miles on it per year due to all the travel I do for work. It is just as great for highway as it is for autocross. (I do both.) Strap winter tires on it and it’s surprisingly very capable in the snow. It’s not the fastest car, or the coolest, but it will bring the most smiles to you and everyone nearby.
That said, I don’t always recommend it as your ONLY car. Sometimes you actually might need a backseat and trunk space. But for what it’s worth, I did just convince a friend who drove a Versa to buy a used Miata. Guess who’s never been happier?
Those things are tiny though, no matter the generation, so as long as you care little about comfort, sure, daily a Miata. There’s plenty of other, better than a new Versa, cars I’d get before a Miata to daily.
…but I seriously wouldn’t mind having a Miata as my spare/weekend car.
I’m not much of a convertible fan, I feel like southern OH only has a few months (or weeks) where it’s nice enough for the top down. I bought a super cheap ’90 a few years ago & played with it, so much fun to drive.
Once in awhile I think about newer models with the retractable hard tops, or the Targa model (if I’m remembering the correct term. RF?)
Where are you in southern OH? Other than winter, the Dayton area is really nice for open air stuff like bicycles, motorcycles, convertibles etc.
Dayton area. It just seems like it’s either cold, or stupid hot/humid, a majority of the year. The last few, and next few, days are really nice convertible weather though.
It has been weirdly hot and humid the last few weeks; I’m glad we’re past that.
If you see a doofus putzing around on a copper TU250X that’s me!
How prescient, ArsTechnica just had a review of the Miata RF and strongly recommended against it. Just one man’s opinion but I was surprised to hear how worse it was to deal with:
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/08/2025-mazda-mx-5-rf-review-why-this-folding-hardtop-isnt-the-one-to-get/
No matter what your needs or your budget, you can always not buy a Nissan Versa.
I used to have a part-time job for CCC, the research company that provides the auto industry with up-to-date used car values. You basically take a clipboard to a dozen dealership used lots, notate the vehicles for sale there, how much they’re listed for, and what options they have. This gave me a broad survey of all late model automobiles available for sale circa 2016-17. I saw cars and trucks I liked, and I saw cars and trucks I didn’t like, but the Nissan Versa was the one and only make and model of automobile that made me shake my head and chuckled to myself and say, “What a piece of shit.”
I take it that you didn’t see many Saturn IONs then?
Here’s the one thing I’ll say about Mazda:
Other brands have six figure halo cars that are unobtainable to the average person. Mazda’s halo car is one of their cheapest.
That’s their honest, unspoken philosophy.
Side note, I’m six five, average NBA size, and cannot fit in a Miata. Not without removing the foam, or seat, or chopping off limbs.
So yeah, it’s also forbidden fruit for me.
Many years ago I took the springs out of the seat of my NC to be able to close the roof with me inside. Easy and reversable.
The upside of being tall with this kind of car is that you can just step over the closed door and drop down in the seat if the windows and roof are down.
Soon after I bought my NC, I got offered a great deal on a soul red 2016 ND1 automatic with about 70,000 miles by someone who wanted to sell it to someone in the local Miata Club. It was basically what Carvana had offered him and came with a full service history and and extra set of winter tires and wheels. I snatched it up for my son as a commuter car to college. He dailies it through the winter, gets about 35 mpg no matter how he drives it, and is just living his best life. We both have Miatae to wrench on, go on drives with, and talk about. He’s in the club now too (I’m sure he’s the youngest member). It’s dependable, fun, economical, and was a really affordable used car. Insurance isn’t bad either. I actually paid less for it than I did for my 2006. He wants to learn stick now so he can drive my NC.
+1 for the classically correct “Miatae.”
My son bought his first car and it was an NC1 Miyachta. Turns out they are not as fat and bloated as people gripe about. It was so fun I bought one too. We have shared so many good times with our Miatae over the past two years doing Autocross, HDPE events and wrenching on the cars. His friend just got one too, same Nordic Green as mine. So now we are a group of 3. Every time we think about getting something else, we know the answer.
That’s awesome. Sounds like it’s been a great bonding experience for you too. It’s so hard to connect with kids in their late teens/early twenties, and Miatae have been so good for that relationship. It doesn’t hurt that they are quite practical in many ways in addition to being so much fun.
As someone who drooled over the Miata when it first came out selling for around 15k I do understand the attraction. But why haven’t we included the Fiata which I find more attractive and due to low sales should be cheaper? If I was buying and everything was the same I’d take the Fiat Spider over the Miata.
I’m glad the Fiat 124 was made, but it was not made for me. It has less power from a 1.4L Multiair turbo than the ND2. Maybe it’s a stout engine, but the 2.0L Mazda is a known quantity. The Mazda also has really good fuel economy which is one of the reasons it’s so inexpensive to operate. C&D recently tested an MX-5 and got 34 mpg (which is just about what I get) while they only got 24 in the last Fiat they tested.
The Fiat may be cheaper to buy, but good luck sourcing those Fiat-specific parts if you need them. Also, the styling of the Fiat doesn’t do much for me.
I think I prefer the Fiat Spider 124 Abarth–my sister has one and it’s the bees knees. With a slightly larger body and a slightly larger trunk, it’s actually a better choice as a daily driver than the Miata. The 1.4L MultiAir punches above its weight, and that engine has a few advantages over the Miata’s 2.0L: 1) lower revs, more torquey feeling 2) factory turbo. You can buy a $500 piggy-back tune (no cutting wiring harness at all–easy to return back to stock) and add another 50hp. Can’t do that with a Miata.
I’ve you like winding your car out to the redline, then the Miata is your answer…but if you want some grunt in the middle of the rev range, then the Fiat may feel better.
What fuel do MIata and 124 use? Is it 87 octane?
A friend of mine just bought a Fiata Abarth last month and I really like it. He said they are quite hard to find with a clean title for some reason though.
I had a manual Abarth 124 for years and loved it. I find it much more classically handsome than the ND and it had more character (subjective, obviously). Will probably regret selling it some day, but unfortunately it needed to happen at the time.
I do like the look of the Fiat Spider. Something about it hits just right
A million in 35 years? That can’t be right that is like 25k a year. It must be millions right?
Most were sold early on. They’ve averaged about 9k annually in the US for the last 20 years. It’s really amazing that they keep making them.
As someone who just bought a low mileage ND1 Club/Recaro last year for my 40th birthday, do it. I thought about getting an NC back when they were new and I was in my 20’s. I could have afforded it but talked myself into being more practical. In hindsight I could have done most of my 20’s and 30’s with a Miata as my only car. Dont wait, buy one now.
Sad that you could have had one earlier, but glad you got one now. I’m 48 and just bought one last year. I also should have gotten one way sooner. I picked up a basket case of a NC1 with a 2.5 swap and a turbo. It still needs tuning tweaks, but is a blast to drive, especially for autocross and HDPE days.
And THIS is a sensible buy.
There is a ND1 near me on FB marketplace. It has like 20k miles and they want $16k for it. I found a ND2 RF in soul red for $22k. I forget mileage but it’s not much. The ND1 is so cheap but the ND2 in that configuration is the dream miat, but not sure if it’s worth the extra $6k.
As someone who just went through the ND1 vs ND2 question drive them both first. Yes the ND2 is faster, but the torque curve in the ND1 is pretty nice. I ended up going ND1 because to me the Recaros were more important and I found a good low mileage ND1 with them (and the cherry red top). 22k for a ND2 RF sounds like a steal to me.
Gonna need to know where “near you” is…
This would qualify as my superego weekend sports car purchase. It’s completely sensible in every way and will give you years of fun with 0 headaches and minimal hit to your bank account. There’s a reason everyone loves and recommends Miatas.
That being said, I do sometimes feel like they’re almost the regular person’s 911…aka a bit of a cliched choice that’s spent so long being perfected that they’re almost boring in their greatness…kind of like watching a dynasty in sports. If it’s your team it’s a blast, but if it isn’t it just gets tiring.
With that out of the way I think my id weekend car purchase would be the best Boxster/Cayman I could get my hands on and my ego purchase would be a Corvette. Which would win out? I’m not sure. I’ll let you all know in a few years.
The Toyota Corolla of sports cars, in the best way possible.
Cheap to run, cheap to insure, cheap on consumables. Moreover, depreciation on these will be light. What might it bottom out at over time? $12K?
Had an NC for 8 years. Zero regrets. The SkyActiv is a more engaging power plant than the MZR. Just warm the trans up on the ND before you start to thrash it.
I’ll add that Hagerty has no problem insuring my 2006 NC as a classic/specialty car for about 20-25% of the cost of my other cars, since it’s an extra vehicle. Also cheap to run, dependable, and gets 28-29 mpg no matter how I drive it. It’s a great bonus/fun car. It so much more useable day to day (with AC and a easy to deploy top) and so much less work than my MG was.
The Miata RF in Soul Red is one of the most gorgeous vehicles currently produced. There are many days where I run the mental analysis of whether this should be what I drive next. I haven’t gotten there yet, but each year of depreciation pushes a low mileage used one over to the plus column.
This is one use case where you probably can should go for it. Life is short, the future is unpredictable and I got a full week of groceries in my NC quite easily. They can stand in as a economical commuter for most use cases unless you really need 3+ seats. For that we have a Civic Si.
I have a 2021 RF and it’s hands-down the best car I’ve ever owned. I throw winter tires on it and get through Chicago winters just fine.
Loved driving the the 23 RF I had for the about 5-6 months earlier this year but after the trans went out at a whopping 8k miles on the odometer I just do not know if I could go back to the ND Miata especially if it is out of warranty.
Nooooo!!! Im seriously considering scooping up a lightly used RF as a second car… Anyhow, dead trans sounds like a fluke or manufacture defect – anything from Mazda outside of maybe the CX-70/90 should be pretty damn solid, especially the running gear covered by the 6/60k.
I thought the same thing but look up ND miata’s and they 3rd/4th gear synchro issues it really has put a sour taste in my mouth. Was nice that the trans was replaced under warranty but I just could not trust to keep the car around because I do not need another project car needed a reliable daily. There are actually a lot of stuff on the forums of guys swapping in NC 5-speeds and they hold up much better. Of course there are also people out there that have gotten 50k+ miles out of “bad years” I forget which years it was that are considered bad I know the early ND’s had some manual trans issues (which was a different issue then my synchro issue) Think it was 22 and up that started having synchro issues as said there was a good Miata forum post that was keeping track of the synchro issues.
But side note if you are looking at getting one slightly used still under warranty and wont be like me (I put 25k+ miles on my vehicles a year) as your second car it should be fine. Hopefully your local Mazda dealer is cool like mine was and did not fight me for the warranty repair.
this is great info – thanks!