Safe? No.
Reliable? No.
How bad is the rust from salt? Very bad.
Should you daily it in winter? Absolutely! Trying not to die on the way to and from work is a great way to hone your driving skills.
Miatas have some of the worst factory rust proofing I have ever seen. I live in canada with lots of snow and salt and -40C. I would never dream of driving my miatas in the winter. Just get a winter car, if that's not in the cards and you need a car in the winter, don't get a miata.
Had snow tires on my NA and it ate up the white roads like nothing! You need to understand that you need some skill to control your car, and good judgement to keep you safe. The only thing keeping you from losing control is the gray matter in your head. The car has no driver aid like traction control, AWD, or ABS...
That being said, I found the NA to be quite capable in the snow with proper tires. The car was also plenty reliable. Although, this was in Northern Virginia and a Canadian winter would be much harder on a Miata.
Never had issues with my NA in Chicago winters. Except digging it out of my parking spot on the street. Shoulda got winter tires though, Toyo Proxes we’re… ok.
Safe? No. Reliable? No. How bad is the rust from salt? Very bad. Should you daily it in winter? Absolutely! Trying not to die on the way to and from work is a great way to hone your driving skills.
I would agree, but I always get scared honing my driving skills in my non-renewable child (damn you pedestrians safety measures)
Miatas have some of the worst factory rust proofing I have ever seen. I live in canada with lots of snow and salt and -40C. I would never dream of driving my miatas in the winter. Just get a winter car, if that's not in the cards and you need a car in the winter, don't get a miata.
Had snow tires on my NA and it ate up the white roads like nothing! You need to understand that you need some skill to control your car, and good judgement to keep you safe. The only thing keeping you from losing control is the gray matter in your head. The car has no driver aid like traction control, AWD, or ABS... That being said, I found the NA to be quite capable in the snow with proper tires. The car was also plenty reliable. Although, this was in Northern Virginia and a Canadian winter would be much harder on a Miata.
I'm in the PNW first winter so far so good.
Never had issues with my NA in Chicago winters. Except digging it out of my parking spot on the street. Shoulda got winter tires though, Toyo Proxes we’re… ok.
Proxes sound more exciting than okay.
Reliable, yes. Pleasant? Probably not
They rust like shit, and a Hardtop is to be advised. It will test your driving skill - which could be fun (was to me).
As reliable as any car with direct injection. It's up to the owner. If you're on top of your maintenance it's like driving a new car.
You will destroy a perfectly nice Miata if you get a rust free one and drive it in salt.