Mazda MX-5 Miata vs BMW Z4
A 2,366-lb two-seat roadster with a fabric soft top, a six-speed manual standard on every trim and an EPA-rated 29 mpg combined. This page sets the MX-5 Miata’s sourced specifications beside the other two-seat roadster on sale for 2026, one row at a time, with the source and the model year named on every row.
Mazda MX-5 Miata vs BMW Z4
Body style is deliberately not a row on this page. The BMW Z4 is the one rival in our research that is also a two-seat roadster with a fabric top, so the open-roof difference the MX-5 Miata carries against every coupe is a tie here — and a tie is not a difference worth publishing. What is left is weight, EPA combined mileage and whether you can have a manual gearbox at all, and the Mazda leads all three. Each row below names its source and the model year that source describes.
Every row above names its source and the model year that source describes; verification of a comparison is the dealer’s responsibility. Competitor figures are that manufacturer’s own published specifications for the model year shown. Rows the MX-5 Miata does not lead are recorded in our research and are not published here, and no price row appears at all — competitor MSRPs are published excluding destination while Mazda’s include it, so no like-for-like price comparison exists.
The Mazda MX-5 Miata in Mobile, AL
Two Roadsters, and What Actually Separates Them
The 2026 MX-5 Miata weighs 2,366 lbs as a Sport with the manual, is EPA-rated at 29 mpg combined, and comes with a six-speed manual as standard equipment on every one of its three trims — Sport, Club and Grand Touring — with an automatic available on the Grand Touring. Against the only other fabric-top two-seater in our research, those are the three dimensions that separate the cars; the roof does not, because they both have one that folds.
How to Read This Comparison
Every figure in the table above carries a source and the model year that source describes. Mazda’s guidelines put verification of a comparison on the dealer, so a row that could not be sourced to a manufacturer publication is left out rather than estimated, and a row the MX-5 Miata does not lead is recorded in our research and not published here. Ask us for the documentation behind any row and we will show it to you.
MX-5 Miata Comparison Questions
Does the Mazda MX-5 Miata come with a manual transmission?⌄
A six-speed manual is standard on all three 2026 trims, and a six-speed automatic is available on the Grand Touring. That is the third row of the comparison above, where the question is whether a manual can be had at all.
Why is body style not one of the rows above?⌄
Because both cars are two-seat roadsters with fabric tops, so it is a tie. A tie is not an advantage, and this comparison only publishes rows where the research shows a real difference in the MX-5 Miata’s favor.
Where can I compare the Mazda MX-5 Miata near Mobile, AL?⌄
Dean McCrary Mazda is at 1739 E I-65 Service Rd S in Mobile, serving Daphne, Spanish Fort, Saraland and Theodore. Drive a MX-5 Miata and judge the comparison for yourself.
How are the figures on this page sourced?⌄
Each row names the publication it came from and the model year that publication describes. Verification of a comparison is the dealer’s responsibility, so no row appears here without a citation, and a row nobody could source is left off the page rather than estimated.
