Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Some time ago I got the idea that I'd like a convertible while I'm young and my knees worked. So, I started going through them. I drove Z3s, Corvettes, and a few others before landing on a 2000 Porsche Boxster. Later, I got a 2004 Mazda Miata. Those, by and large, were the best of the bunch, especially considering I spent less than $15,000 on the two of them (I even made money on the Porsche). Which small cheap roadster is best? I have some thoughts on that.PracticalityPorscheWhen it comes to usability, I vastly preferred my Boxster. In addition to a factory roof rack (which I never needed), the Boxster has two trunks. That's pretty much that. Inside, the Boxster also boasted way more storage than the Miata, with cubbies in the door pockets, a shelf behind the front seats, and a glovebox (on later models).The Miata's small trunk, tiny door pockets, and pitiful glovebox mean it isn't the most practical thingChase BierenkovenMeanwhile, my NB-generation Mazda Miata has but the one trunk, with just 5.1 cubic feet of space inside. It does have a glovebox, though, which my 2000 Boxster lacked. Unfortunately, my Miata's trunk spoiler means fitting an over-the-back bike rack is a huge pain, while the rack hooked right up to the Boxster.AdvertisementAdvertisementPoint: Porsche BoxsterCost To OwnUnsurprisingly, the small, cheap Japanese car is easier to maintainChase BierenkovenAll that space in the Boxster means it was a nightmare to work on. I did much of my own work to avoid the usurious rates German specialty shops charge, but I often regretted it. The Boxster's mid-engine layout and German luxury car parts costs drove me to sell the thing, so I'm sure it's easy to tell where this is going.The dreaded IMS bearing, an expensive clutch job, and more were all concerns of mine while owning the Boxster. The dumb simple Miata? I guess it might explode? Somehow? Even if it did, a junkyard engine is under $1,000. I paid more than that to replace the motor and transmission mounts in the Boxster. Predictably, the Miata has been the more reliable of the two, and it gets better gas mileage. More than that, I got a 33% drop in monthly insurance premiums once I registered the Miata.Point: Mazda MiataWhich Is More Fun, The Miata Or The Boxster?Chase BierenkovenView the 2 images of this gallery on the original articleAdvertisementAdvertisementTo cut to the chase, I learned during my time with the Porsche that I like a front-engine, rear-drive car better. The Boxster, though, was not a "bad" car to drive. Its flat-six made all those good Porsche noises, and once I replaced the shifter bushings to bring that back up to snuff, the rest of the car held up as well. All those Porsche stereotypes are absolutely true.But it understeered. A lot. I hate understeer. It is the enemy of a good time and, more than that, it is the work of the Devil. Any attempt to get the Boxster to rotate was met with either catastrophic understeer or massive pants-ruining oversteer.Chase BierenkovenIn contrast, the Mazda Miata is much more progressive. All those Miata stereotypes, too, are true. The shifter is better than the Porsche's, and so is the pedal placement. It'll rotate right, and it'll do it in a fun, progressive way that implies the car was designed to do this without being overdriven. The Porsche thing, really, wasn't for me. It took until the day I drove a Miata for me to realize that, in fact, I'd spent several years lying to myself about how much I liked my Boxster. That, more than anything, is the verdict here.Winner: Mazda MiataAdvertisementAdvertisementThis story was originally published by Autoblog on Jul 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.