And here you thought I was done car-blogging.

A few weeks my wife’s minivan got rear-ended, and it ended up spending two weeks at the repair shop. My Cruiser is big enough for Jane and all the kids, so she used it whilst I went off to this year’s Tcl Conference; but when I got back, we needed another car. The Cruiser was working for her, so….

….we went out and rented a Miata for the week. I found this rental place on-line that rents Miatas at what seemed like a good price, and away we went.

Turns out the rental agency is a little dodgy–bad reviews on-line–but I didn’t know that, until I got there. It was a dinky little hole-in-the-wall, with just one person on duty to drive people to and from the airport, take rental cars to and from a private lot, and do all of the paper work. The Miata he brought out was eight or nine years old, and thus of the previous body style and interior, and had over 96,000 miles (!) on it. It was rather a bait-and-switch kind of moment.

But the price was good, and so I drove it for the next week.

Jane’s minivan was still in the shop, so for the next week I drove a 1987 Toyota Longbed pickup truck with less than 29,000 miles (!) on it.

So….just how do they compare?

Dash Board: The Miata’s interior was in pretty good shape, considering how heavily used it was. All of the instruments worked, though the speedometer’s backlight was a little too dim. There was a tachometer, and a clock, and all the usual trimmings. The Toyota’s dash is cracked from exposure to the sun, and there was no clock or tachometer to begin with. Advantage: Miata!

Upholstery: The leather seats were worn, though, and several passengers complained that they were too slippery. The Toyota’s upholstery, on the other hand, seems to be in near perfect shape, and remains very comfortable. Advantage: Toyota!

Radio: Both cars have an AM/FM radio. The Miata’s has a CD Player, but no auxiliary input; the Toyota’s has a cassette deck. This means that I could listen to music on my iPhone in the Toyota (via a cassette adaptor) and not in the Miata. I didn’t, as it happens, but I could have. Advantage: Toyota!

Visibility: The Miata’s visibility is excellent when the top is down, except for the bar across the top of the windshield, which is very unfortunately placed. When the top is up, visibility is lousy. The Toyota’s visibility is better than any car I’ve driven in the last ten years. There’s no back seat, so the rear window is right behind you; the pillars are narrow, so the blind spots are tiny; there’s no tinted glass, so you can see clearly. You don’t sit as low as in the Miata, and the roof is high enough over your head that it doesn’t get in the way. Advantage: Toyota!

Convertible: Well, OK. The Miata’s a convertible and the Toyota isn’t. Advantage: Miata!

Freeway Driving: At freeway speeds, the Miata shook, shimmied, and vibrated. It was very unpleasant, and I came to hate driving it on the freeway. Some folks thought it was just due to the sport suspension, but I think there was more to it than that. The Toyota, on the other hand, is very pleasant on the freeway. Advantage: Toyota!

City Driving: The Miata was lovely to drive around town with the top down. It was a lot of fun. The Toyota is a pickup truck. Advantage: Miata!

Transmission: The Miata has a six-speed manual transmission and over 96,000 miles. Jane drove it once or twice, and hated the gearbox with a passion. She said it was rough and unpleasant to use. The Toyota has a five-speed manual transmission–and I have to say, it was much more pleasant to use than the Miata’s. Advantage: Toyota!

Performance: Granted, the Miata has more power and was really fun to accelerate up to freeway speeds. But the Toyota is not bad either. Given the Miata’s worn gearbox and nasty behavior at speed, I have to call this one a wash.

Handling: Advantage: Miata! ’nuff said.

AC: The Miata has air conditioning (though I didn’t use it). The Toyota does not have air conditioning (and I didn’t use it). Advantage: Miata!

Fun: I really enjoyed driving the Miata around town, especially when I could bring Jane along. But on the other hand, I really enjoyed driving the Toyota around town, and it was much more pleasant on the freeway–and hey, this is Los Angeles. So this one is a wash, too.

Bottom Line: each car earned five points.

You heard it here first: a low-mileage well-maintained 1987 Toyota Longbed pickup truck compares nicely to a high mileage rented Mazda Miata.