The trope here is that sports cars are not a valid choice for so many because they are impractical, right? Wrong, at least for some people. With no other responsibilities but myself, I’ve been able to make driving sports cars (most of them rear-drive two-door ones) work for the better part of eight years now. My current car, a 2004 MX-5 Miata, is by far the least practical of the bunch. Yet here, you’ll find a list of the surprisingly large objects I fit in my allegedly dumb, impractical, limiting, tiny, useless sports car.
Two (2) 11-foot Inflatable Paddle Boards
Other miscellaneous items also in the car:
- A 24-liter cooler
- Two lifevests
- Two water guns
- A day pack (filled with towels, a speaker, food, a Crazy Creek chair, hopes, dreams, and the like)
- Unfortunately, no sunscreen
When your friends want to take a day at the lake, you can’t let your sports car stop you. I fit these two massive inflatable paddle boards in the front seat of the Mazda by placing the passenger seat dead upright and as far rearward as it would slide. Later, I also fit them in a 2026 MX-5 for the return trip. Sure, they were a darn tight fit, but both fit in their original storage backs with the collapsible paddles inside. More than that, I still had some room behind my seat and a totally empty trunk I was able to stuff with the above miscellaneous nonsense one might want for a day out paddleboarding at the lake (except for sunscreen). Heck, I was able to put the roof up.
A Full Weekend Of Backpacking
Considerably less space is taken up by my backpacking setup. A simple 50-liter pack, my Gossamer Gear Gorilla fits well into the trunk of the Miata. Once, I was able to fit enough gear for two by just dumping everything into the trunk and putting the packs behind each front seat. The Miata has less than 20 cubic feet of cargo space here, but it’s surprisingly wide. I fit food and gear for three full days in the pack, but headspace was limited.
The solution is to empty the pack’s front pocket, which is usually full of my layers, my camp shoes, and a first-aid kit. These fit nicely around the sides with loads of room to spare. As I pointed out above, there’s also a good bit of room behind my seat and behind the passenger seat.
A Very Very Large Dog*
This one gets an asterisk because I had to do some extra work here. To get my dog to fit, I took a trip to the hardware store and snagged some cheap scrap wood. From it, I built the extension you see. It has a few legs and usually accommodates a blanket anchored around the edges. With this, my 85-pound dog fits pretty comfortably. Though he can only just sit up in the car, my dog will eventually lie down and spread out, putting more of his weight onto the platform once he realizes it can be trusted (again).
About the author
Chase Bierenkoven
Senior Editor, Autoblog