Mazda MX-5 Miata
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 12 sports cars
People recommend it as a cheap, fun-to-drive car that turns ordinary trips into an experience, though critics say it is not powerful or fast.
People recommend it as a cheap, fun-to-drive car that turns ordinary trips into an experience, though critics say it is not powerful or fast.
46 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 42
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 42 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 11 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun to drive at legal speeds
“So many people swear by Miata! Not powerful, not fast, but a blast to drive !”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “When electric cars were for women” “My Miata is 90% of the fun 100% of the time, at (mostly!) legal speeds”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “Maladaptive Frugality” “it's much more fun to drive a 'slow car fast' than a fast car slow”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Maladaptive Frugality” - Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Show HN: I made an emergency page for my family. You should too”
- Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Maladaptive Frugality”
- Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo”
Cheap, enjoyable driving
“as a former Miata owner I know that expensive cars tend to just be more fun to drive”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Maladaptive Frugality” “It’s a terrific car if you want a great handling convertible at a low price point.”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo” “You don't have to go expensive to buy something you actually enjoy driving.”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Maladaptive Frugality” Owners keep them and love them
“I've been campaigning the car for about a decade though, fantastic machine.”
Comment from 13 Oct 2026 in “Citroen revives the 2CV for an electric age” “unreasonably in love with my (at this point classic status) little car”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “Maladaptive Frugality” “which I still have, mostly maintain myself, and will never sell”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive” Makes everyday drives feel special
“goddamn does dropping the roof and pulling out of the driveway put a silly smile onto my face every single time”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “Maladaptive Frugality” “Its turned boring trips to the store into an experience.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “My Midlife Crisis Corolla Is Fast, Furious, and Modded”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Low power, lacks acceleration
“Probably the best, most enjoyable ride I've had. But not dripping with horsepower”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “The Miata Is a Better Sports Car Than the S2000 (2020)” “the miata was a fun car but really lacked acceleration”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “The Waymo Ojai Will Soon Offer Autonomous Rides Around the U.S.” Small and not very comfortable
“a Mazda Miata is probably too small for a lot of people”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Ford kills the All-Electric F-150” “I've never felt comfort in a Miata haha”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “An Homage to 90s –/Public_HTML Hosting” Connected features restrict and track
“disables it while in motion (which sucks badly, and I just learned there’s a hack to fix)”
Comment from 4 Jul 2026 in “CarPlay Is Additive” “sends a bunch of data to Mazda on ignition off”
Comment from 30 Nov 2025 in “Modern cars are spying on you. Here's what you can do about it”
Other sports cars people recommend
The four most recommended other sports cars, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mazda MX-5 MiataThis page | 42 | 4 | 91% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Toyota GR Corolla | 25 | 4 | 86% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Porsche 911 | 21 | 4 | 84% | 8 | 27 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Chevrolet Corvette | 10 | 5 | 67% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Volkswagen GTI | 7 | 4 | 64% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 54 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“So many people swear by Miata! Not powerful, not fast, but a blast to drive !”
“There is a reason to enjoy a humble Mazda MX-5 over Tesla 3 performance”
“A Miata or Elise/Exige would be what I'd put that label on.”
“I went on a 2000 km road trip in a 1993 Miata which was awesome.”
“I've been campaigning the car for about a decade though, fantastic machine.”
“That's why I settled on building and modifying a first generation mx5.”
“MX5 is a great little car, you can carve your name with those.”
“My mx5 will happily sit at 150kph cruising, it's just a bit over 1000kg.”
“The same design cues that made the VW Beetle and the Mazda Miata (1st gen) popular cars.”
“It’s a terrific car if you want a great handling convertible at a low price point.”
“The Miata is good at one thing which is being fun.”
“Take the design team from the MX-5 NA days and marry it to Apple's design team.”
“Its turned boring trips to the store into an experience.”
“I suspect the Miata will be subjectively better when rated for "is it fun to drive"”
“Mazda really nailed hardware buttons navigation there.”
“disables it while in motion (which sucks badly, and I just learned there’s a hack to fix)”
“You can wail on the car and still be driving the speed limit.”
“the Miata is a car designed for the delight of the driver”
“unreasonably in love with my (at this point classic status) little car”
“My Miata is 90% of the fun 100% of the time, at (mostly!) legal speeds”
“goddamn does dropping the roof and pulling out of the driveway put a silly smile onto my face every single time”
“it's much more fun to drive a 'slow car fast' than a fast car slow”
“as a former Miata owner I know that expensive cars tend to just be more fun to drive”
“it is fun to drive... and it was engineered to be that way.”
“You don't have to go expensive to buy something you actually enjoy driving.”
“the Miata is just so much more fun in every conceivable way”
“doesn't have all this terrible new technology that prevents maintenance”
“Compare it to a proper sports car like a Miata.”
“I can have a lot of fun in an old M Coupe, or Miata.”
“the miata was a fun car but really lacked acceleration”
“Driving my NA (pre-TC) was a pleasure in part because it had so little grip”
“a Mazda Miata is probably too small for a lot of people”
“which I still have, mostly maintain myself, and will never sell”
“Probably the best, most enjoyable ride I've had. But not dripping with horsepower”
“buy a new MT-07 and a used ND2 Miata for less than the cost of a new ND2 Miata”
“sends a bunch of data to Mazda on ignition off”
“that's not entirely a bad thing in the case of the MX-5”
“I've never felt comfort in a Miata haha”
“having much more modern internals,comfort, reliability and fuel economy”
“with just general maintenance it'll treat you very well”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.