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Miatas handle a lot like a 944. The early ones are a bit flexy, but the aftermarket support is awesome. S2000s are twitchy at the limit. Late model Corvettes are serious cars. Late model Mustangs are surprisingly agile, but they get a lot of complaints for steering feel. They hook up at autocross though.
I have a supercharged 1.6 Miata. I take it out for any kind of errand, where I often won't take out the 911 if I'm not going to have a good warmup period. The supercharged engine will easily keep up with a stock SC, and pulls like a train to 7000 +. Not much there past 100 or so, but that would be my street limit in any case.
I find that I like the Miata a lot more than I thought I would. It has the feel of a nice Swiss watch movement in a cheap body, and it has superb chassis balance. It has a raw feel like an early 911, but after a while you realize that the raw feel of a 911 is communicative of how it likes to be driven, and the raw feel of the Miata is just body flex and cheap shocks, both easily fixed.
With appropriate upgrades, Miatas are more like a scalpel, and like a clean driving style, no tail out, just even drift. They like that in any guise, but are more dramatic to throw around in stock form, and this equates to a lively sporty feel at any speed. Air cooled 911s have to be driven correctly to get the best out of them, and tell you so, and this makes them more engaging. They like proper corner set up and approach, where the Miata can be trailed in, chucked in or whatever, and it will still be your friend without much protest. They have a carefree, unburstable feeling of Japanese reliability and serviceability that makes them a fun, cheap date.
Truth be told, If I had gotten the blown Miata before I ever drove a 911 by the scruff of the neck, I wouldn't own a 911 today. But I didn't. They are fun like candy and ice cream, where a good 911 is fun like cocaine and heroin in a speedball. This may be why people like the S2000, because they definitely give you the feeling that they could turn and bite you at the limit. Well set up, a Miata can give you some serious cornering and speed. A well set up 911 however rewards excellence and provides constant feedback all the way from the autostrada to the racetrack. The Miata will let you do things. The 911 will let you do things and feel like Vic Elford if you get it right.
Bottom line, If you don't need a car set up like the Hammer of the Gods, a Miata might do it for you. Modern Corvettes fall into that HotG category, BTW.
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