The honest truth about daily driving an MX-5 for a year

I bought an ND2 MX-5 (30th Anniversary Edition, 1 of 3,000) almost a year ago and I've daily driven it ever since. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. But if you're thinking about pulling the trigger on a Miata or any lightweight sports car, here's the stuff that nobody talks about in the reviews.

The squeaks are real. Dashboard, doors, roof, everything creaks and rattles on rough roads. Less than a year old and it already sounds like it's falling apart. It's not, but it sure sounds like it.

Wind noise is worse than you think. I'm not talking about top-down driving. I'm talking about the soft top up on the highway. Above 60 mph, conversations require yelling. At higher speeds, forget it.

The suspension meets Eastern European roads. It's tuned for the track, which means every pothole feels like you hit a landmine. I'm in Eastern Europe, and the roads here look like they survived a war. If your daily commute has rough pavement, this will get old fast.

The stock exhaust doesn't match the car. For a sports car, the exhaust has no character at all. It doesn't sound bad, it just doesn't sound like anything. For a car that does everything else with personality, the stock exhaust feels like it's holding back.

Power is humbling at traffic lights. 184 hp is fine for canyon roads, but sitting at a red light next to a turbocharged Accord or a GTI, they just pull away without trying. It's not slow, but the stoplight pulls remind you where 184 hp sits in 2026.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. The driving experience, the steering feel, the way it makes every drive fun, it's all worth it. But these are the trade-offs.

What's the most annoying thing about your daily driver that you've just learned to live with?

I made a full video going through all 7 things if anyone's curious