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Home » Best road trip convertible: 2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Best road trip convertible: 2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata

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2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition
2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata: best road trip convertible

It’s top-down weather.  Time to feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your face on the open road.  Which is the best convertible for a road trip?  According to KBB, that would be the 2012 Mazda Miata MX-5, which also has the distinction of being voted the best sportscar for total cost of ownership, including a starting price under $25,000 and its fuel-sipping MPG.  The Miata is also rated as best convertible for the money by US News & World Report. 

It’s a great little two-seater. Fun to drive, and good-looking, too.

Available in four trims, the MX-5 is a lightweight, low-slung, rear-wheel-drive sports car with happiness-inducing handling, features and pricing.   All 2012 Mazda MX-5 Miatas are equipped with a 2.0-liter gas engine that produces 167 horsepower with the manualtransmission and 158 horsepower for automatic.

The roadster starts at $23,470 MSRP with a soft top and at $27,540 for the Power Retractable Hard Top (PRHT), which turns the little roadster into a little sports coupe. Fuel economy is rated at 22 MPG city and 28 MPG highway.

Upgrade to the Touring model to get keyless entry, a trip computer, and cruise control. The next model up, Grand Touring, offers heated leather seats, automatic climate control, a better grade soft top, and other things I call “creature features”.  Traction control is available on most models, but not electronic stability control.

Here are some longer reviews of the 2012 Mazda Miata MX-5 from other auto writers I trust —

  • Car and Driver
  • Autoweek

Click here to read other ecoXplorer reviews of best buy cars under $25,000.

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Filed Under: Budget Cars, Test Drives Tagged With: 2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata, best affordable convertibles, Best Cars Under $25 000

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ecoXplorer is published by Evelyn Kanter, an award-winning journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter and guidebook author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

Evelyn Kanter is the Past President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA), a past Board Member of a prestigious professional group for travel journalists, and a member of several other top international organizations of journalists.

Evelyn Kanter is Senior Editor of SeniorsSkiing, which focuses on the 50+ outdoor enthusiast.

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