The Mazda Miata is a superb modern sports car that flaunts retro design features. It easily captivates your attention with its flowing silhouette lines and doesn’t let go. In addition, the Miata is not only an adorable roadster but an affordable compact sports car.
Over the years, the Miata has evolved, gaining undeniable charisma and poise. It also boasts longer front hood slopes that showcase its sharp headlights and front grille. The longer hood helps give the Miata a slightly broader and longer illusion. If the Miata isn’t your ideal roadster, here are some alternatives to get your blood pumping.
10 Honda S2000
In most ways, the S2000 is better than a Miata. Even though it's over two decades old, this two-seat compact sports car offers plenty of fun thanks to its spectacularly balanced chassis. The S2000 gets a high-revving powerplant that turns through a 6-speed manual transmission.
The crown jewel of the S2000 is the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine. It produces 240 hp, enough for a fun driving experience. The S2000 gets a high redline of 8,900 rpm, which creates a lovely soundtrack and encourages you to push the S2000 to the limit.
9 Fiat 124 Spider
The 124 Spider is one of the most probable cars competing with the Miata. Unlike the Miata, the 124 Spider sets itself apart with unique styling cues. From behind the steering wheel, the 124 is a relaxed version of the Miata.
Fiat adds more sound-deadening materials to help reduce interior noise. The 124 also gets a more powerful turbocharged engine, a high-quality interior, and slightly more storage space. However, like the Miata, the engine lacks responsiveness even with its 164 hp output.
8 Toyota 86
Even though the 86 can't offer the open-air thrills of a convertible, it provides exciting rear-wheel drive performance at a reasonable price. The same applies to its siblings, the Subaru BRZ and Scion FRS. Unlike most sports cars, these compact sports cars offer a combination of practicality and athleticism.
They offer an excellent driving position, a small backseat, and generous cargo space. They are also lightweight coupes that boast communicative steering and balanced chassis. Under the hood is a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 205 hp and 156 lb-ft of torque.
7 Mini Cooper
Like the Miata, the Mini Cooper is an icon in the automotive world. It offers many customization possibilities, sharp handling, and bold styling. The Mini is available as a hardtop or soft-top hatchback.
The convertible variant is one of the best Miata alternatives, since it fits in almost the same footprint and price range as the Miata. It's available with a 134 hp turbocharged 1.5 liter 3-cylinder engine and an optional 189 hp turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder powerplant.
6 Nissan 370Z
The Nissan Z series offers some of the best compact sports cars. Both the 350Z and 370Z are great alternatives to the Miata. However, the 370Z provides more power and a unique profile with its low, long hood and a swept back rear hatch.
Unlike the minimalistic Miata, the 370Z offers a sports car cockpit design. In addition, the 370Z gets a punchy 3.7-liter naturally aspirated V6 powerplant and a 6-speed manual transmission as standard. The engine makes sporty noises at higher revs and responds quickly to throttle inputs.
5 Mercedes-Benz SLC
The SLC is one of the best compact sports cars competing with the Miata. It’s a luxury roadster that offers a thrilling wind in the hair experience. The SLC has a handsome exterior, making it a great roadster to drive carefree down the coast or your favorite twisty roads.
In addition, the SLC offers excellent driving dynamics and handling that can make the entire experience entertaining and pleasant. Unlike the Miata, the SLC gets up-to-date driver assistance features to alert you to possible mishaps. Like most of its German competitors, the SLC receives a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 241 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque.
4 Chevrolet Camaro
Unlike the Miata, the Camaro offers ample space and a look that turns into stares. The convertible variant is not only large, but it also provides more power than the Miata. Chevrolet offers multiple packages of the Camaro, allowing buyers to pick what they’re comfortable with.
The base convertible Camaro retails at $33,995, a higher price than the Mustang and Miata. However, for the price, you get seating for four passengers, a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, and a 6-speed manual transmission. The powerplant offers 275 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, capable of 5.4 seconds from 0 to 60 mph.
3 Audi TT
The TT is one of the best alternatives to the Miata. It's available as either a 2+2 coupe or a two-seat roadster. Over the years, the TT has become a style icon and a great sports car. Unlike the Miata, the TT gets a high-quality interior featuring a flat bottom steering wheel and well-bolstered seats.
Under the hood of the TT is a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that produces 220 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. It also gets a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with Quattro all-wheel drive. This enables the TT to offer responsive handling and performance.
2 Ford Mustang
Muscle cars make some of the best alternatives to the Miata. The convertible Mustang is one of the best examples since it offers a larger and more spacious cabin for four passengers. While the base convertible sells for $32,970, it makes for a great alternative thanks to a punchy 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost engine producing 310 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque.
Even though it isn’t the best Mustang, the EcoBoost variant offers better performance than the Miata. In addition, the Mustang has great standard features, including an independent rear suspension. The suspension helps isolate road imperfections and minimize body roll.
1 BMW Z4
BMW’s Z4 is one of the best small convertible sports cars you can get instead of the Miata. It’s a better-equipped convertible that readily serves its sports car mission. The Z4 is only available with a soft top roof, but anyone interested in a similar fixed-roof coupe can opt for the Toyota GR Supra.
BMW offers the Z4 with two engine options. The base powerplant is a 255-hp turbocharged 4-cylinder. The base Z4 only gets the 30i badge, a rear-wheel-drive layout, and an 8-speed automatic transmission. It handles sharp thanks to its quick transmission and crispy steering.