Finally got up close with an ND today

Had some time to kill at the Mazda dealer this morning, and decided to climb in the red ND sitting in the showroom. It's the first I've had a chance to climb in one.

My take aways:

• feels smaller inside than my NB

• I (5'9", 185lbs) am too fat for the seat bolsters

• the shifter is amazing (at least while stationary).

• I don't care for the window switches being on the door, but the placement is great

• the styling looks way better in person

• the rear styling does not look good to me

I still want to drive one, but overall I think I prefer the layout of the NB

Obligatory photo:

On a humorous side note; I was looking at a pair of RX8s in the service area when a dealer employee advised me "you DEFINITELY do not want one of those"

It's a shame the US Brembo pack doesn't offer the awesome Recaros that Canada gets. Grippy, but slimmer than the regular seats, allowing taller people to fit better.

We had one show up to autocross over Memorial Day weekend. He kicked some serious ass. I'm not a convertible fan, but it's a pretty sweet car.

Isn't the NB a bit smaller than the NA? (Full disclosure: I haven't ever driven an NA or an ND) I remember fitting OK inside the NB with the roof down at 5'11". The NC I don't really care for the driving position with the roof up. Down it doesn't really matter obviously but I'm still seated straight up all the way back to get comfortable.

I'd be interested in how the four generations compare for taller people in stock form. I'm certain I'll never be able to race one since my head sticks up further than the roll bar in most instances.

The NB is the same size as the NA (the chassis is very similar because Mazda didn't have much money to redesign it in the mid-90s). The NB seats, however, are slightly higher and further forward than the NA ones, so it may feel smaller.

I've never been in an NC, but I've sat in an ND. It felt roomier on the inside than my NB did when it was stock.

If you wanted to race an NA/NB, there is a lot of room to be gained by going with a race seat, deleting the sliders, cutting the factory seat mounts out of the unibody, and bolting it straight to the floor. Doing that dropped my head about 4 inches compared to stock.

Seriously Canada gets these seats and we don't, those are tasty seats.

Did the same sit in the showroom test. My take away was that I did not like what felt like a wall right behind me. I think it would have been claustrophobic with a big helping of blind spot with the top up.

I do bet I could learn to live with it. Not at $45,000 though.

NOHOME wrote: Did the same sit in the showroom test. My take away was that I did not like what felt like a wall right behind me. I think it would have been claustrophobic with a big helping of blind spot with the top up. I do bet I could learn to live with it. Not at $45,000 though.

Miata costs 45k?

In reply to plance1:

In Canada. Yes, they can.

I got to sit in one, start it, and open the roof. No driving, however. I get NOHOME's comment about the view out the rear, but could probably adjust. A few have shown up at autocrosses and done very well. The material quality and finish is definitely better than my MSM. Too bad they most likely won't build a fastback coupe.

plance1 wrote:

NOHOME wrote: Did the same sit in the showroom test. My take away was that I did not like what felt like a wall right behind me. I think it would have been claustrophobic with a big helping of blind spot with the top up. I do bet I could learn to live with it. Not at $45,000 though.

Miata costs 45k?

Low dollar exchange (30% hit), higher unit cost due to lower sales volume and 13% sales tax all add up in a hurry.

Rule of thumb is twice advertised USA price on anything gets it to your door. One of the reasons you don't see many Canuk challenge entries.

Here in Ohio the cheapest one locally is $30k, for a white Club.

Actually, MSRP on the Miata in Canada is $31,900 Cdn. Which is $25,037 in US dollars today, and $100 more than the same car in the US. But the Canadian price includes freight and PDI. The US price does not - so the US price is actually $26,050.

CAN you spec a Miata up to $45k Canadian? Sort of. MSRP, freight, PDI, fees and levies push the highest spec up to $41,125 Cdn. So you'd have to fall for undercoating and scotchguard and extra dealer profit to get to $45k. Sales tax amounts will depend on the province, but of course pretty much every car in North America is subject to sales tax.

Sources: mazda.ca and Google currency conversion.

Canadians love to bitch about pricing. It's a running joke around our office. Of course, when the Canadian dollar was trading at more than the US dollar, we never heard them offer to pay more...

Interestingly, the GT model in Canada gets an LSD. In the US, it's open.

I've been to visit the highest volume dealer in Denver, and they were moving Sports out the door and even had one on the showroom floor. So the $26k USD Miata is a reality and actively being sold.

The ND really does look much better in person. Haven't had the chance to sit or drive in on yet. As far as space issues are concerned, I'm 6'1 with a 32" inseam and about 165. For me, the NB fits best compared to both the NA and NC. I'm not sure why. Time Lord science?

dculberson wrote: Here in Ohio the cheapest one locally is $30k, for a white Club.

If you want one, order one.

Why is everyone so against special ordering a car?

penultimeta wrote: The ND really does look much better in person. Haven't had the chance to sit or drive in on yet. As far as space issues are concerned, I'm 6'1 with a 32" inseam and about 165. For me, the NB fits best compared to both the NA and NC. I'm not sure why. Time Lord science?

The leather NA/NB seats always sit you higher than the cloth ones, so the choice of leather vs cloth is more important than NA vs NB. The NC is definitely a larger car, but offers no extra headroom. It has more room for, umm, overflow.

In reply to z31maniac:

You mean, other than it being a Yuuuuge pain in the posterior with most dealers?

As an ND owner who's owned his fair share of NAs in the past, the ND does feel more roomy inside. I still don't have enough headroom with the stock seats to wear a helmet and pass a broomstick test though.

JoeTR6 wrote: I got to sit in one, start it, and open the roof. No driving, however. I get NOHOME's comment about the view out the rear, but could probably adjust. A few have shown up at autocrosses and done very well. The material quality and finish is definitely better than my MSM. Too bad they most likely won't build a fastback coupe.

The RF model gets you pretty close:

https://www.mazda.ca/en/vehicles/mx-5-rf/overview/

Keith Tanner wrote: I've been to visit the highest volume dealer in Denver, and they were moving Sports out the door and even had one on the showroom floor. So the $26k USD Miata is a reality and actively being sold.

Local Mazda dealer here has a Sport for $23,800 + $699 dealer fee so $24,510, which I think is invoice. The Sport is a pretty good deal IMHO.