afzan

equal drivers with equal mods, the s2000 will blow the miata away on track. It's not even close

RedCelica

Moved to car talk

2Kaputnik

A nearby dealership in Redwood City has exactly the 2016 I would love: white on black, grand touring package in 6 speed.

Chris S

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a Mazda ND event @ Texas Motor Speedway. The event consisted a a couple of braking drills, a mini autocross course, and a couple of laps around the infield road course.

First, the braking exercise. The ND's light weight helps, it seemed to brake well, though it wasn't getting enough abuse to determine how soon the brakes will fade.

Next up, the autocross course. Here, the soft suspension ruined the fun, esp. in the sharp transitions typical of autocross. As w/ the NC, it's a great chassis w/ (IMO) way too soft a suspension.

Finally, the road course. The soft suspension allowed a fair amount of body roll, but it had surprisingly decent grip and handling here. The car was peppy, and the fun was over way too soon. I'd want stiffer suspension, but it did much better on the track vs. the autocross course IMO.

Stock, it's no match for the S2000, but a set of coilovers and sticky rubber will probably make it very close. it's a fun car, and will be extremely cheap on consumables when tracked due to the light weight and low cost parts.

Saki GT

If you ask me, the new Miata has the same problem the rest have had - not enough power. I've seen one ND on the road and it looked... interesting, I'd need to get a better look, but another thing against Mazda is that the local dealership is stuck in the 90s - bad showroom, bad salespeople, bad location - add it all up and it doesn't really compel me to go.

kolyan2k

Not sure why they keep sticking low power motors in Miatas. I get it that power is not everything, but even S2000 doesn't have enough, sometimes you just want to punch it and go...

Mazda dealerships do suck, and new Miata does look very good

CosmosMpower

Agree, unless you can make the car weigh 900 pounds, 160 hp just isn't going to cut it.

suprmonky73

I also agree. I get that the point of the miata is the "feel" of a roadster, but the power doesn't cut it these days.

However, I think the design is exciting. The NC was ok, but it was pretty bland. It got the job done.
Everyone has their own subjective tastes but this was a move in a good direction, if the performance is going to remain the same as the NC, at least the look has been upgraded.

Sebring AP1

This car with the power output it has trumps the FR-S/BR-Z in just about every performance category rather handily. I'm sure with some boltons it could get to 160 wheel, which would make it pretty damn close to the S in terms of acceleration.

But yeah, if the S is your acceleration benchmark then lawlz.

termigni

i love the new miata. do s2000 owners really care that people call Miata a "girly car"? to the general public, in my experience, they can't tell the difference between a miata and a s2000.

I agree to the fact that a lot of miata drivers at DE events are very good/experienced drivers who are capable of keeping up with faster cars, and that tells us a lot about the balance of the miata and its capability.