Faults:

Minor heat shield rattle (fixed under warranty).

Factory tires suck.

General Comments:

This is the best Miata ever made! I've owned a few Miatas and driven all of the various generations and iterations at one time or another (including the Mazdaspeed versions) and I can say without a shadow of doubt that this beats them all. For the first time the MX5 is legitimately quick, 0-60 consistently shows up in under 6 seconds. The gearing in the new 6 speed is almost perfect, the shifter is tight and direct. Handling is traditionally Miata, playful and easy to approach. In its stock setup the car is a little soft and has a fair amount of body roll, but this is easily remedied with aftermarket modification if you feel so inclined.

The Club is the set up the way a sports car should be, all drive, little fluff. The Bilstein dampers are tuned brilliantly to provide perfect control and greater comfort. The Torsen limited slip differential has been a mainstay for high performance Miatas since the mid 90s and no Miata is complete without it. If you don't know what an LSD does, try this next time you go running, hop on one foot every time you go around a turn... this is essentially how an open differential works. An open diff sends power to whichever wheel has the least grip, this causes RWD, especially light ones to become less stable in corners. The Torsen unit used in Miatas is fantastically predictable and gives you the confidence to really stick this car into a corner and get it to do whatever you want.

I have always maintained that the Miata is the perfect toy car for drivers at any level. Beginning drivers will find it simple and predictable with performance that won't land you in jail. More experienced drivers will have a great deal of fun experimenting with steering this car on the car on the throttle and inducing little bits of predictable oversteer. Advanced drivers will find that this chassis will do everything you tell it to without hesitation. There is a reason these are the most raced cars in the world.

If you are looking at buying one of these cars, DO IT! If you do make sure it's a Club, these cars are incomplete any other way.