CarAndDriver

I am thinking of a 2nd car and am looking at a 1995 MX-5 Miata with about 99,000 miles. It has a 5-speed manual. It seems to be in very good shape with regular maintenance.

What is the typical city/highway mileage people get with the first generation?

Thanks!

Added: my new 2nd commuter car. Not a Miata though unfortunately, but hopefully it will get good city gas mileage.

bruce_van

My 1994 5 speed got about 26 mpg. That's pretty good considering most of it was city and I drove it the way you want to drive a small tossable sportscar.

It's a great little car to have in the Bay Area. Go for it. How much are you looking to spend?

CarAndDriver

Thanks for your MPG. I only get 16MPG in my 8 pure city and I don't rev it too much. If I can get 26MPG in the city on 87, I'd be happy.

I put a limit of $5K. This one is less than that and a good price using KBB. I wanted 94 or newer since it had the slightly larger engine plus the additional structural bracing in the car. I read that the smaller 1.6L engine does even better with gas though.

I figure--rainy winter is the perfect time to go looking for a convertible.

Groundrush

My 90 gets about 26-27. By the way, you might want to check the classified section at Miata.net if you're shopping for one. Typically the people that sell their cars there know them well, and you can find a nicely modded NA for cheap. I was recently looking at a 94 with a supercharger for about $6k...almost bought it, but decided to keep mine instead.

Also, if you decide to go WAY back and look into a '90 or early '91, read up on the short-nose crank issue. It can be found in a sticky on the forums there...just do a search.

faboo

i have a 99 5speed.....average ~21mpg...city/canyon/freeway driving

I know ur looking for a NA, but i have the 1.8 so just wanted to give some data....

also...on the miata.net forums...u see alot of people saying they get like 25mpg city and like 30+ freeway...I personally dont see how..but yea...just be careful what u read over there

bruce_van

CarandDriver, looks like you've done your research. Definitely get a '94+ Miata.

When I was in the Bay Area, I flew down to buy a Miata in Southern California. They have a better selection and prices are much lower too.

Be careful with any Miata, they are extremely mod friendly! It'll be very hard to not spend more money on it. There are so many aftermarket parts available, it's not even funny.

briann

Get this one!

Found it on miata.net. Has some Z3 conversion or something. But it's $19500

bruce_van

Whoa. That costs more than a Z3 used. It looks like they did a good job, but I don't really see the point. If I were to spend that much time and money on a conversion, at least I would do something a bit more creative and exotic.

CarAndDriver

Thanks--I have read up on them. The 1.6L gets better gas mileage but the 94+ models have other advantages that outweigh the slightly better MPG.

I think it is realistic to get mid 20s city and 30+ on the highway if you're not driving it like a race car.

They are so easy to mod--that it gets more difficult to find unmodded ones!

robrecht

I have a '93 with some "added lightness," in other words, I've removed about 100 lbs of unneeded weight. I can't tell you my average milieage 'cause I don't keep track of it and I drive it like a sports car so I'm not sure I want to know. But every year or so, after a fresh tune, I drive it on a long Interstate trip very, very conservatively (I mean coasting to a stop with the engine off conservative, no AC, windows up with hardtop) and I've twice gotten 40 mpg under these bizarre conditions. Like I say, the rest of the time I drive it like a sports car and it's a great little car. You'll love it.

CarAndDriver

Well I took a look at it and its in great mechanical shape, but it looks like the 2nd owner had done nothing to keep up exterior maintenance. Paint is shot, little dings and scratches all over and a front bra that trapped crap and scratched it to hell.

I sort of passed--I said for him to give me a call if it didn't sell since I was not going to buy it for the 3500 asking price.

CarAndDriver

Just to update, I did not get the Miata. It was in excellent mechanical shape but the owner must have done nothing to keep up the exterior. It looked like it had been a cat scratching post in every possible place. It also looked like some maintenance to the top was due. I passed but the owner said it went for $3K. I knew if I got the car I would be sinking money into it to bring its looks up.

So I went trolling back on Craigslist. I finally bought a 1997 Nissan Sentra GXE White 4DR with a 5M for $2149. It was very well taken care of by the 2nd owner in terms of maintenance. The exterior was okay for an 11 year old car, but the interior was immaculate and everything worked.

I know its a far cry from the fun Miata, but the Nissan should get me good gas mileage in town and on short local jaunts. I'm going through my first tank so we shall see. I will post a pick when I turn on my work puter.

s13lover

I know this is a little late, but my best friend had a '91 Miata for years (now has an '07). He got anywhere from 29-34 mpg average with the car and he drove it spirited most of the time. It had an RB intake and a mildly ported head. I've averaged just shy of 28 mpg with my Mazdaspeed Miata since I bought it 3600 miles ago.