5 things we HATE about the ND Miata (and one GLARING problem)

The ND Miata has a lot of common complaints, such as wind noise from the RF hard top, cargo space, visibility, low ground clearance . . . . but you were shopping for a Miata, right? Let's talk about some stuff that may actually surprise you, from the navigation to the headlights.

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[redhenracing]

UPDATE FROM THE FUTURE: This video is over a year old, and I hate it. Our style, editing capability, and overall production value have come a LONG way in the last few months.

As much as I'd like to re-do this video to the level we are now capable of, I'm leaving it as a testament to where we started. If you're here watching this and have any gripes about the production quality, I beg you to take a look at our more recent work and see how we've grown.

[susanhaddon]

Great video man! Entertaining & pretty fair points.

I’ve had a 2020 GT RF (PMG) and now have a 2019 Club RF (MG)

1 - Shift assist
Ridiculous! If you need this, buy an automatic already!
“Must have been programmed by a woman, am I right?” Idiot.
Anyway…

2 - Lane Assist: ALWAYS OFF
We’re driving a car that’s barely four feet high, we’re extremely aware of the lane we are in!

7:55 “well, I must’ve stayed in my lane then” 😂

3 - Infotainment: I do not miss Apple CarPlay from my 2020. I simply connect via Bluetooth for calls, music, maps. I don’t need any other BS. I’m trying not to be crushed by other idiots on the highway.

4 - Voice Command: Agreed, useless. I use the volume knob in the center console instead of the volume button on the SW. I’ve had too many arguments with that woman commanding me to “say a command”. SHUT UP!!

3:10 “Potato” 😂

5 - “Flashing” Yep, I got that a lot in the 2020 but not as much in my 2019. Maybe the LED lights just aren’t as common yet because I mostly get that when I’m driving in rural areas.

Anyway, I like your style of review, (facts, humor plus clips to hammer a point, etc.) so get your ass to work and make more of them. You’re good at this.

PSA: Drop the ‘dumb-women’ BS. Caveman humor is only funny to cavemen.

[angelo]

I never had a car that I enjoyed more than this. I got over all the things that tend to annoy other people.

[gwpeoples]

I've noticed that since manufacturers switched to LEDs some cars have obnoxiously bright headlights now. Obviously they aren't angled up like high beams but they can still be blinding just by how harsh and bright they are.

[kensmalley]

The video production roughness, adds to the content. This was great! I agree about your Mazda issues. I have two, but put up with them, as Mazda is still the best value for fun and reliability.

[PaullHutchh]

The shift suggestion should just be what gear you're in. That would be my biggest change. Otherwise using my phone for navigation is a must as well.

[waresiscool]

Never heard these issues from anybody else. I hate all the extra safety features that you can't fully turn off. Good vid and subbed

[BDFLFUN]

If people kept flashing me, I'd be tempted to flash back to demonstrate my high beams. I had this problem on a 2020 Accord. The LED beams were bluish and way too "sparkly" / dazzling from factory.

[howardreplogle]

I bought a new ‘21 RF GT that I love, but every one of your complaints are valid. I seriously avoid night driving because I have bad eyes, but I wanted to see how the lights worked so I took one short drive in the dark, and sure enough, I got flashed several times. I immediately turned of the lane departure warnings, I think on my test drive, and it has stayed off, but yeah, the instrument lane departure light does annoy me a little. The gear indicator wouldn’t be bad if it just said what gear I was in, but I agree, it’s poor advice is annoying. Good video, and as I said above, all valid complaints.

[baro]

Great video, I'm looking for a trunk spoiler, yours looks awesome, would you have a link to where i can purchase one? Thank you

[KennethCarpenter-ss]

After driving a car for 25 years and not being able to see well driving at night I will be happy with these headlights!

[agallgood]

Coming from a car 2014 Honda Accord Coupe V6 manual what made me switch over to a truely driver focused car was the Crash Mitigation System that was flashing the lights at the bottom of the windshield along with a warning beep. The NANANIES drove me from that car. Disable it & you get that bright Amber light on the dash just like you ! That is why I bought a 2016 MX-5 Club with the Brembo / BBS package because it was was driver focused with no BS warnings. No heated seats they are cloth. 1st car with a Navigation system bought the little memory card cheaply off E Bay for under $100 ! Voice commands she understands because its ONLY used for phone calls. If you can't pull over to use the infotainment system go back to your Tesla ! This MX-5 is focused on driving not stopping at cool blue houses you saw 2 weeks ago ! Yes the gear change digital display is useless but I'm not stopped at a charging station for 40 minutes. Your video editing abilities are fine. What comes thru to me is someone comparing a Tesla to an MX-5. No offense but it seems you would be much happier back in that Tesla based on this video.

[EdwardVarner]

I must have just stayed in my lane then 🤣

[christopherhoward]

The whole purpose of the car telling you went to shift is based on achieving the best fuel efficiency. Ford had a light in their instrumentation panel for the late eighties Ford Escort for fuel efficiency and it would light up whenever it was time for you to change gears. You don't have to follow it if you don't choose.

[pjpez]

I agree with some of these annoyances moreso than others. The Mazda navigation is God awful. I never use it, and recommend using CarPlay or Android Auto instead. You're spot on about the lane departure warning. I personally find the rumble less annoying than the beeps, but worse is the bright indicator that stays on when you turn it off. I also find it a little annoying that it resets every time you turn off the car (same with traction control). I do get some flashes from oncoming drivers from time to time, which I find puzzling seeing how the factory stance is lower than most cars on the road. I can only assume it's a lag in the automatic high beams. The shift indicator is kind of silly, but easy to ignore.

I think you're reaching a bit, but you have to if the point is to find complaints that aren't in every other video. It's really an awesome car!

[Violianom]

This is the best video I've seen in this format for the ND. I'm getting mine next year and everyone repeats the same bs about wind noise. I was worried about the hump for the passenger, the lane keep assist, and the rain problem I've heard about.

Do you not have rain fall into the interior when you roll down the windows with the top up? Like it happens after a dewy morning or just in general rain from the day before I've heard. There's no rain rails so apparently that happens especially if you waxed or ceramic coated your car

Also, that flashing was VERY unexpected. It's clearly cutting at your knees and lower. What the heck is going on ahahah

[thomaschristof]

Good points. Let me add some after daily driving it for over 2 years:

1. The windows go down with one press, but you need to hold the toggle to pull them up
2. The board-computer is super fucking slow. Everything lags and isn't responsive
3. Map updates cost money, instead of offering a free online flash service. Why charge money when we have free apple/google carplay?
4. The rain sensor sucks sometimes. It doesn't include the car's speed into the equation. Manual adjustment of the "sensitivity" wheel is required on the highway
5. The car doesn't remember when you toggle off the lane departure safety feature
6. The RF roof takes 14 seconds - at a traffic light stop you better know how much time is left
7. Due to the low sitting position, driving at night is a horror. Oppostive traffic project their lights directly into your retina. Combine that with heavy rain and you are on survival mode.
8. Stock breaks are too small. After a track day I had to replace the front breaks - they overheated and damaged the brake disc.

Else I totally agree on all of your points. Regarding the lane departure warning: You can tinker with it within the options menu. For example, you could reduce the frequency and decrease the sensitivity. Regarding the headlights: I also do get flasehd a lot at, although I have the adaptive light option. Hence, the car adjusts the height and brightness all the time automatically - I cant do anything about it. However, I think some people aren't used to LED lights that well.

With all that said, the pros outrange the cons by far. I would buy it again - even with all the criticism.

[BoostedNDMiata]

Good points. I cured the HP problem but don’t like the volume button on the steering wheel. The voice command button is the same button and I keep hitting that instead of changing the volume of the radio.🤷🏼‍♂️

[scottchamberlain]

Right on about the 'cat lump'. Can't ride shotgun in ours for more than a few minutes. Love the lights. Live way out in the country, and they're the best. The lane departure is permanently 'off'. Biggest complaint is lack of cabin storage. Certainly they could have done better. Oh, and the cupholders suck. Totally. I live for cupholders and these are the worst, including the aftermarket ones I've cobled together. Removed the windblocker; it has remained 'removed'. Hated the stock tires. The Michelin Pilot 4s fix almost everything wrong with the handling. BTW, ours is a dead wringer for yours- a 2019ND-RF GTS, red.

[ajr]

Lane departure warning… im not saying that you can easily take out the gauge cluster, use tweezers to drop a piece of electrical tape under the gauge overlay on top of the square that contains the warning light, and put it back together with no issues… but if someone was to do that it would probably work 100% of the time to completely eliminate the warning light in a completely reversible way.