I started writing this note on April 20th, a date when a "false spring" in Finland should already be mostly over and a comeback of winter is unlikely (not impossible, though).

When I decided to buy a Mazda MX-5, also known as a Miata, in 2025, one of my concerns was a soft top versus the Finnish winter. While I did my search on the internet, I usually either saw posts from people using their Miatas as a second car for occasional winter events or posts from people who live in climate zones where winter temperatures are much milder than in Finland. I didn't find much about driving Miatas in -10°C to -20°C daily. Therefore, now that I've been driving a Miata during the 2025–2026 winter season, I want to share my experience of how it feels when an MX-5 is your daily driver.

I did consider a hard top at first, but unfortunately it lacks two centimeters of headroom compared to a soft top, which is crucial for me, as I am tall (190 cm). So I went for a soft top. Also, I didn't find a hard top that would fit my budget, lol, but the lack of headroom was a primary reason. I got a 1.5L MT ND in the Prime-Line spec (the minimum spec?). All specifications have the same gearbox and engine (at least here in Finland), though older models can have a 2L engine, but if I am not mistaken, a better spec may have an LSD and Brembo brake calipers and pads. The 1.5L is enough for me. I don't see an issue with installing aftermarket brakes, and the lack of an LSD wasn't a deal breaker. But you do you.

Also, full disclosure: while an MX-5 used to be my only car, as I sold the previous one when I got the MX-5, I eventually bought a second car for reasons not related to the MX-5. I became a father and bought a car that can actually fit my wife, my kid, and me. That being said, I have kept driving the MX-5 when I don't need to drive my kid and consider the MX-5 my car, while the other, bigger car (a Mazda SUV) is the family car shared between my wife and me.

Now, let's get to details.

Driving

I assume that if you are considering buying an RWD for winter use, you already know how to drive an RWD and how to drive in winter (on slippery surfaces in negative temperatures). You don't need any extreme experience, but you must know how to handle an RWD on snow, ice, and so on, how to deal with oversteering and a lack of grip. The Miata is stable, and built-in stability features do an excellent job (unless you turn them off to have some fun), but you have to maintain reasonable RPMs and avoid locking the wheels (e.g., because of hard braking or downshifting without matching RPMs). If you can do that, you will be fine. No need to be a rally driver.

I am not a fan of winter tires with spikes, but I chose them for my Miata to get all the grip I could. I went with Continental IceContact 3, and it worked well. Ironically, a larger AWD Mazda SUV that I own has a longer braking distance on icy downhill than the MX-5, perhaps due to weight but also because I cannot precisely control braking in an SUV like I do in the MX-5.

Temperature-wise, with some exceptions, the colder it gets, the drier the road. So driving in -20°C is easier than in -5–0°C; a slight minus is often accompanied by wet slush, snow, snow plus rain, or all of the above. And while you might be confident in your skills, don't forget about other drivers and how reckless or unconfident they might be in snow. There were a number of times when I drove the full distance in the left lane at the allowed speed while much bigger AWD and FWD cars drove at half the speed limit in the right lane, yet they still failed to brake on time before highway exits or changed lanes with recklessly sharp moves, perhaps due to a panicky mental state in a snowfall. Be realistic and cautious about your capabilities, but don't panic. Use public transport instead of driving if you don't think you can make it to the destination safely in your car; follow common sense.

Roads are usually well maintained in the Helsinki area during winter. Unless you drive in a heavy snowfall, you should experience no issues; roads will be clean (not covered with snow) most of the time.

Whether you get a soft top or a hard top, you won't get cold. The cabin is tiny and warms up in no time. I had no issues driving a soft top in -21°C.

One aspect I didn't consider, and that caught me by surprise, was dirt. It's obvious, but I promise it's much worse than you might expect. Your line of sight is at the level of the top of a rear bumper on a fat-ass SUV. All the dirt will always be flying straight into your windshield. Before the temperature drops below approximately -8 to -10°C, while it's still wet, your car is always dirty, even if you wash it multiple times a week (trust me, I tried). But below -10°C, many self-washing stations close their doors due to frost, and washing tunnels are a no-go because of the soft top. So you either need to find an indoor washing station to clean your car or give up. The latter isn't really an option, though, as you need to wash salt off your car's body.

If you found an open washing station, whether it's indoor or outdoor, you still need a warm indoor place to dry your car. When water crystallizes into ice or ice melts into water (and back and forth), it can be harmful to the soft top. While it's inevitable with street parking when temperatures fluctuate, you want to at least avoid it when washing your car. I am lucky because my company has a warm underground garage. Therefore, I washed my car before work, and then it dried at a comfortable +15°C during the day while I was in the office. But a few times, when I couldn't use the company garage, I had to pay for a place in a warm parking lot. It's expensive, but at least it's not hard to find in Helsinki.

Parking

When I bought my Miata, I lived in an apartment building in Helsinki. My building had an underground garage, so I didn't have any doubts about the soft top. At the end of the day, the temperature never fell below +5°C in the underground garage at my place. Many modern neighbourhoods in the Helsinki area have warm parking garages, underground ones or as a separate building. If that's your case, you have nothing to worry about. Wash your car regularly, and you will be fine.

Last autumn I moved to a row house in Espoo (rivitalo in Finnish, aka townhouse/terraced house). I have two parking spaces there, but neither is covered. Both of my cars were parked outside without any cover during the winter season, collecting all kinds of precipitation. I was on a short timeline when I searched for a new home and compromised on parking conditions because everything else about the house met my requirements.

Snow can damage the soft top if it accumulates weight and stays on the soft top for a while. We did have snow this winter, but we didn't have many snowfalls. Most days I didn't need to clean the rooftop at all, as it didn't gain much weight, or it was enough to clean it once a day. However, there were some days when I had to clean the rooftop 2–3 times a day, just a few days like that, but it's something to keep in mind. If, for example, you will be travelling while your Miata is parked outside, someone will need to clean it for you. When I went on business trips this winter, I parked my Miata in a covered garage at Helsinki Airport, as I didn't want to bother my family.

Ideally, if you park outside, it's much better to have a place in a carport. But even without a carport, my Miata got through the winter just fine. A carport or garage will be a must-have criterion when I search for the next house, though.

Depending on where you live, your schedule, and so on, you may or may not get a proper cleaning of your parking space. I usually left home and headed to work after a snowplow had cleaned the parking lot (I head to work later than most of my neighbours), so both my parking spaces were not properly cleaned (no complaints here; the maintenance company cannot clean a place if it's occupied). Due to that, cleaning the parking spaces was on me. A similar situation applies if you have a house with a driveway - it's usually your responsibility. Cleaning snow is not rocket science; if there is a place nearby to pile it, it takes a little time but must be done regularly regardless. The Miata is low. It's very easy to reach a point when it's hard to open the doors and sit down or leave the car if you don't clean the parking space.

Clearing snow from the Miata is easy and doesn't take much time. It has a small cabin, and the heater warms it up (and the windshield) very quickly. The mirrors and the rear window have electric heating.

I didn't have any issues with frozen doors or windows; in other words, I was always able to get into the car. However, just once I wasn't able to lock the car. I unlocked it in -20°C, drove a few minutes, parked, and locked the car from the remote. I have a habit of double-checking the door, and this is how I noticed that the driver's door stayed unlocked. Luckily, all I had to do to fix it was manually push the door lock from inside the car-lock and then unlock. After that simple manipulation, remote locking and unlocking worked fine again. The lock was probably frozen, and the remote mechanism gives a very gentle touch. Either way, it didn't happen again, and I assume it occurred that day because the ride was very short (my usual commute is 20+ minutes, which is enough to defrost anything with the heater on in the cabin, but this ride was approximately 4–5 minutes).

Conclusions

So tl;dr: it's been a great ride, and if you have doubts about driving a Mazda MX-5 in winter, don't. It's a magical experience to drive an MX-5 through narrow, curvy forest roads with elevation changes near a frozen lake and trees covered with snow on a sunny day in January. If you know how to drive an RWD, are willing to pay for winter tires, and don't mind cleaning snow and washing the car frequently (especially if you have a warm garage at home or work), an MX-5 will be a great daily driver for you even in wintertime.

Hope this note helps someone decide to own one of these great cars.