Price: $26,550
Gas mileage: 21 mpg/28 mpg/23 mpg
Dollar for dollar and pound for pound, the Miata remains about the most fun you can have behind the wheel. Engineered to be tossed around curves, handling rather than horsepower is the aspect that cranks up Miata's fun-to-drive quotient.
Mazda calls Miata's driving experience "the oneness of horse and rider."
The quoted price reflects the $1,100 premium charged to replace Miata's standard six-speed manual transmission with a six-speed driver-shiftable automatic that funnels output from a 158-horsepower, 2-liter four-cylinder engine to the rear wheels.
Miata seats two and provides 5.3 cubic feet of trunk space.
Standard equipment includes full power accessories, remote keyless entry, air conditioning, cruise control, tilt steering wheel with redundant audio controls, four air bags, trip computer, and a six-speaker audio system with in-dash six-disc CD player and auxiliary input jack.