That's one of the cars on my list. I'll be revising that right until I sign the paperwork; any car could get struck if I sit down in the driver's seat and have that moment of instant ergonomic/design revulsion. But I've heard pretty good things about not-'90s Mazdas, have inherited goodwill toward the Volkswagen Jetta (which would kill me in repair costs), and haven't heard much nice about anything American.

My limited experience with a Miata involved a lot of evenings losing passenger-side footspace to a six-pack and a friend's occasionally-repeated story about how a Miata couldn't accommodate her suitcase. How you fit that much stuff in passeth my comprehension!