[Traum]

When the ND first came out, I went for a Mazda autox-style test drive, and I was HOOKED right on the first try. Bear in mind I'm saying this as a current NC owner, and have driven plenty of NA and NB aggressive on and off the track.

The thing that I liked most about a stock ND is how light and agile it is. IMO, the best trait a sports car can have is a lack of weight, and the ND scores major, major points there because there is absolutely nothing else that can reproduce the same experience. (The Elise / Exige is a whole different price level, and lacks the comfort, practicality, and even just ease of getting in and out of the car compared to the ND. And then it is nowhere nearly as reliable as an ND as well.) Dynamically, the car is neutral and telepathic. I literally just have to think of doing something, and then the car just does it. Even in the ND1 stock form, the engine is very, very torquey, and that makes for a very responsive drive.

The things that do not work for me are:
- the tight cabin
- a good seating position with enough head room
- the stock ND1's engine runs out of breath at the top end
- the stock suspension is too soft, and you really need to wait for it to settle

The small cabin really fits like a glove. For me, that is really both a blessing and a curse. When I am only focusing on driving, it is fantastic because everything that I need is there within easy reach, and everything is at the right place! When I try to factor everyday living with that, I know there are going to be challenges. I'm sure it'll be doable, but it isn't naturally meant to do that.

The seating position / headroom issue is because of my physique. I have a longer torso and shorter legs for my height (5'9"+), and the way the ND seat works is, as you bring the seat closer to the front (to help my short legs reaching the pedals), it also moves the seat higher. This means it eats away my headroom. I'm sure an aftermarket seat setup would eliminate this problem, but it makes the stock seat less than ideal for me.

At the end of the day, I couldn't pull the trigger (on an ND1 when it first came out) because I couldn't make the math work. My NC was lightly modded to suit my needs at the time, completely paid off, and sitting right at a comfortable zone on the depreciation curve. If I didn't already have my NC at the time, or if I were in a more comfortable financial position, I would have bought the ND despite all of its short comings. It was that good. I agonized over the decision for quite a while, and tried to come up with different ways to make it work, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it because of the numbers.

I didn't like the RF when I sat in it at the autoshow. The rear glass and associated enclosure make it seem too claustrophobic for me. But I don't have that problem with the soft top.

An ND friend with the Brembo front brakes can't sing enough praises for it as a stock brake setup. It even works well at the track. However, it also limits your wheel choice by quite a bit (due to clearance issues). There is no shortage of BBK for the ND though, including some that are very affordable (eg. FlyinMiata's ND LBBK). So personally, I wouldn't insist on having the factory Brembo.