Get an 00 or 01 Prelude. With 200 ponys it's got some nice pull and is a very nice looking car. Handles pretty well too.

 

haha yeah Preludes are nice *im actually a Lude owner trying to get an S* but as for room and decent/usable power the Prelude seems to do just fine. A Type R would be an excellent choice except its an eye out for theift. IMO get a Type R if your out on the track alot but get a Lude if you want something more roomy/comfortable for everyday use.

 

I have both cars (a '93 Miata and '03 S2000) and the Miata compares very favorably to the S2000. They both handle great, but the Miata has less power and a smaller cockpit. If you like 2-seat roadsters and fit in the Miata cockpit, it's a good option. I'd suggest a test drive. In particular, the '99 Sport is a popular enthusiast car, and does very well autocrossing in CS. I bet you could pick a nice one up for less than your target price.

 

Get a 1996 Corvette LT4 engine if possible...

 

www.miata.net is the best for reference materials.

a lightly used '94 to '97 is the way to go, in my opinion. bigger engine, better brakes, tons of afternarket stuff. on the low side $6K, m-editions up to $10K. i just never warmed to the m2 look. it's just too generic.

 

man i knew they were coming out with a hardtop miata but didnt know about the turbo charger on the mazdaspeed version. if i did get the car a turbo would definitly be a future mod. im going to test drive a 99 again today the interior isnt too small im only about 5 9. anyone know how relable the wrx is ive got a friend that has one but dont want to base my opion off him he blew the engine when he put on a new turbo.

 

A stock WRX is pretty damn reliable, and light to moderately modded ones aren't bad, either. I've got a bunch of friends with stock to light/moderately modded WRX's, and none of them have had any sort of mechanical failure in close to 2 years of ownership.

The widely recognized weak point on the WRX seems to be the transmission. A lot of owners seem to run into transmission problems when they go for big power. The consensus is that somewhere around 280 HP is when the transmission starts being unhappy. I know one guy who's gone through several transmissions on his WRX in pursuit of bigger power.

As for blowing the engine in the WRX with a new turbo, that's a risk with any aftermarket turbo. Turn the boost up too high, have bad fuel management, etc., and you can damage the engine. The WRX isn't any different from other turbo cars in this respect.

Also, as for the Miata, there's a bunch of aftermarket turbo kits to choose from, so no worries about the MazdaSpeed version. I personally second Ace10's suggestion of a '94-'97 model. They have the 1.8 liter engine and can be had with decent mileage for $5k-$7k.

 

Thought I'd pipe in with a few opinions on the subject. If you're interested in a Miata...go for it. For the amount of money you have that you could spend you could practically find a NEW Miata...and if you go used (either first generation or the current bodystyle you could dump some money into mods (either handling, power or both) and have an extremely well balanced and capable sportscar that I guarantee you'll enjoy.

Don't worry as much about mileage as the condition of the vehicle and engine. I've got a 1992 that, with routine maintenance, has 144k miles on the clock and easily another 100k to go!

As for interior space, it's a negligible difference from the S. It's different in every dimension, but basically the same size. I'm 6' or so and I fit fine in my car for drives of 3-4 hours with no problems. The trunk is a little small, but if you toss the spare it actually can fit a lot of junk in there!

Anyway, as was mentioned, www.miata.net is a fantastic resource or feel free to PM me and I'll answer what I can.

 

Here's another vote for a '94-'97 Miata. I got out of a '97 M-Edition (beautiful metallic green with tan leather and a tan top) before I got my S. I had it moderately modified with a Jackson Racing supercharger, some suspension parts, and a few other things. It was very nice. I suggest you look for a '94-'97and get some performance parts. Others might suggest you stick with a '94 or '95, for the OBD I (vs. II), which is supposedly easier to modify for performance. As others have said, the Miata aftermarket is huge.

 

drove the 99 miata yesterday.... not a bad car at all the only major complaint i had was when i got to the dealership there was condinsation with the top up!! whats the benifits of owning a 90- 98 model over the new generation? looks wise i think the first gens are ugly as hell.