Mazda Miata Owners Barely Drive Their Cars: Study

The Mazda MX-5 Miata is the everyman's sports car. It's reliable and practical, and designed to be used every day without huge compromise. Yet, according to the latest study by iSeeCars.com, Miata owners barely drive their cars.

The study analyzed odometer readings from over 1 million three-year-old used cars sold between November 2024 and April 2025, finding that, on average, owners drove 12,307 miles per year. The Mazda MX-5 Miata emerged as the least-driven car of the vehicles analyzed, averaging just 5,073 miles per year—less than half the average.

The GMC Hummer EV came in second place, averaging 5,205 miles per year. And in third place was the MX-5 Miata RF—the retractable fastback body style—at 5,375 miles per year. Here's the full list of the top 10 least-driven cars, according to iSeeCars.com:

Though the Miata can make for a perfectly acceptable daily driver, we're not surprised to see it at the top. Most people use it as a second or third car, meant only for nice weekend jaunts. That means less seat time throughout the year, when it's cold or rainy. Had iSeeCars analyzed rare or exotic car mileage, we bet this list would be nothing but Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Koenigseggs.

There are also a healthy number of electric cars among the least-driven vehicles in America. That's due to their limited range, according to iSeeCars.

"It’s telling that vehicles like the GMC Hummer EV, Mazda MX-30 EV, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Volkswagen ID.4 are among the least driven models," said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. "These are all utility vehicles that should be seeing a lot of use, but their electric drivetrains appear to limit their annual miles."

The list of the most-driven cars in America is exactly what you'd expect: Mostly utilitarian workhorses designed to haul people or cargo.

Though most of these vehicles are vans and SUVs, cars like the Chevy Malibu and the Mustang convertible can be explained by huge rental usage. "All of these sedans see a certain amount of rental fleet use, which is likely pulling up their annual mileage numbers," says Brauer.